The Centre for Civil Society and Democracy in Syria has finished the second workshop within the project “Women for Syria”. This workshop was held in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, between August 22nd and 24th, with the participation of twenty Syrian woman from Aleppo province, under the supervision of Rajaa Al-Tally, trainer Hind Kabawat , and coordinators Shadi Turk and Kadar Sheikhmous. Also Maria Stephan and Catherine Al-Tally attended this workshop.

The participants offered their personal experiences within the Syrian revolution, and presented an assessment of the current situation. In addition to discussion circles about the future of Syria, in the years of 2015 and 2020, they targeted issues on politics, economy, health, education, peace and security, civil society and the environment. Other topics that were also extensively discussed were; religious education in schools and the question of the form of authority that should run the country at the moment, whether it be a military or political authority. Information and Culture will be discussed in a later workshops.

from the workshop

The workshop raised small projects such as: organizing a demonstration calling for peace and not to seeking revenge, organizing Turkish language courses for refugees in the region of Kilis, and studying the possibilities of organizing workshops about psychological counseling. Participants also watched the film, “Pray the Devil back to Hell,” which tells the story of the women’s movement for peace in Liberia. The workshop sought for “Women for Syria” to develop skills in speech and mental stimulation, dialogue and discussion, negotiation and teamwork, planning and strategies. The center of civil society and democracy in Syria would like to express gratitude to the Office of Conflict and Stability Operations, in the U.S. State Department, for funding the workshop. Also thanks to trainer Hind Kabawat for her valuable participation.