International Journalists Coalition

Participants: Students, Professionals, and Faculty
Team Collaboration and Innovation: Actual Steps Toward Implementing Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs/UN
Country: Iraq
Trainer and Field Manager:
Raad Kurdi Abu Joghaida
Date: February 4, 2022
Language: Arabic with English Translation
Organized by MENA Studies Program
Supported by the US Department of Education
Goals

1. Raise the level of awareness of climate change among participants.
2. Discuss the impacts of climate change on the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Iraq.
3. Draw proposal for an action plan to combat climate change and minimize its disruptions on local communities.
4. Show how climate change presents the single biggest threat to development in Iraq.
5. Implementing proposed action plan.

Straightening Environmental Defense: Pollutions and Water Scarcity, Babylon Governorate
By Arshad A

Climate change and its effects on the whole world, especially the most affected countries, including Iraq becomes a serious problem. Considering the spread of pollutants and water scarcity in Babylon Governorate, we feel, it is our responsibility to develop a project to strengthen the environmental defenses in Babylon, whose civilization extends for thousands of years, but today it lacks green spaces. We launched a campaign to clean up streets and rotaries in the city. It looks unpleasant to see the middle of the street filled with waste, especially plastic, which requires time to decompose. As young activists, we raised the issue of the possibility to think of building a small waste recycling plant in the city, and to organize a public awareness campaign. Several meetings with the Director of the Office of Environment of Babel, Mr. Maki, he promised for more effective cooperation between us and the office. Thus, we seek to achieve partnership with the local government for Babylon to be cleaner and green.

We also met with media directors (the Sewer Department and the Municipal Department) for the purpose of participating with us in launching. Thus, we seek to achieve partnership with the local government in order for Babylon to be green, through the campaign to raise awareness of the cultivation of abandoned areas originally designated for agriculture and with modern technologies, in addition to the cultivation of middle carrots, streets and sidewalks, after the completion of people’s awareness to reduce the uses of plastic and the use of alternatives such as fabrics instead of water bottles, whose decomposition requires nearly 450 years. This campaign will be launched utilizing ads in newspapers along with several activities and events, including artistic and sports, to attract attention and provoke public opinion to achieve the agricultural campaign. In addition, our plan includes school activities for students to encourage them to understand the importance of agriculture and to acquire professional skills and to be in a race with climate changes.

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