Boosting Your Beliefs (BYB)

Young men and women in Kurdistan, in particular in and around Erbil, are often targeted by extremists and have little to no space for public political discussions and collective initiatives. The programme built young people’s resilience, paved the way for a future workforce and subsequently diminished the risk of future radicalisation.

SPARK offered talented 20 youth from Erbil the chance to take in an eight month Digital Workforce programme in 2018, which is designed to nurture the digital and storytelling skills of future leaders to effect positive change. Members of the workforce received a series of trainings by experts and will work together as a team to develop innovative ways to prevent and counter violent extremism through social media campaigns. The skills and experiences gained throughout the programme can be transferred to a range of different career paths.