The Skills Trainings That Continue to Appeal to Young Syrians

October 19, 2022 - As summer ends and the weather started to become more clement in Syria, Baytna’s activities have been going full steam and our field staff has been busy completing the latest series of workshops.

Themes relating to political empowerment continue to trigger much interest, as an essential part of Syrian civil society’s concept for a better future. In a training on International Humanitarian Law, nearly 70 young women and men delved into the importance of building strong and independent legal institutions, and the activation of civil society’s role in ensuring the observance of laws. Participants also covered the legal ramifications of violations committed during the conflict in Syria.

Baytna’s trainers have reported that participants' attitudes are being influenced by these workshops, with speech often shifting from an emotional approach to a more disciplined, legally aware discourse; this reflects not only a higher comprehension of these issues, but also the additional factor of responsibility. As one participant put it to us, “the many examples of violations were very helpful in our understanding of how documentation and legal recourse work, and what is their importance for our future.”

Other workshops have focused on other judicial themes, including social justice and transitional justice. Just as with international law, the importance of procedure is central to convey the importance of transitional justice, its mechanism in providing justice to the victims and accountability to perpetrators, and the consolidation of the rule of law.

Differentiating between transitional justice and other aspects of justice, and familiarization with international human rights law and its link to transitional justice, were the welcomed outcomes for participants, who discussed the concept of national identity and national reconciliation as necessary components to transitional justice and peace. “Such workshops are always well received, because they are very aware of the need for physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims, the restoration of rights, and have a better context with the basics of the transitional justice that must be achieved,” said trainer Firas Sameh.

This wave of trainings also covered Remote Management tools and strategies, a theme that has become increasingly relevant for teams that are spread over various locations, and that participants found engaging. “We performed various roles, including leadership roles, that taught us methods of motivating team members and managing their performance effectively. This really helped us define the responsibilities of administrative levels in remote management," commented one of the women participants.

With a thorough Financing Planning training, our participants also gained a general understanding of financial issues relating to civil society, learning some of the stages necessary to working with international donors – from drafting a project proposal, developing a financial plan, and ensuring a comprehensive overview of their projects from start to finish. “The subject of this training is crucial to our work,” told us one of our participants, himself an active civil society group member. “We hope to implement these ideas in our organizations, as this helps not only for the higher management demands, but also those of the donors."

The consistently high demand for trainings such as these is a testament to young Syrians’ constant thirst for applicable knowledge and professional skills, a service Baytna is committed to provide as it helps empower Syrian civil society.