The University of Duhok, College of City and Regional Planning and TU Dortmund University, Germany, are currently conducting a joint project for promoting and strengthening participation in the Kurdistan region. The project is addressed at governmental directorates and non-governmental organizations that are engaged in development activities in the region.

Supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), a capacity-building programme on participatory planning and implementation is being offered at the College of City and Regional Planning, consisting of a series of two-day workshops over the course of 12 months. The first 2-day workshops took place on 30/9 - 1/10 and on 2/10 - 3/10.

The workshop was organized and conducted under the training of Dr. Basheer A. M. Saeed, the head of the Spatial Planning Department, and Dr. Johannes Lückenkötter, the Project Coordinator from TU Dortmund University.
It covered many aspects relevant to training participants in the field of participatory planning and community development and engagement in plans, consisting of:

• Identifying and analyzing stakeholders
• Detailed analysis and mapping of relevant stakeholders
• Preparations for bilateral meetings with stakeholders
• Exercises on conducting bilateral meetings with stakeholders
• Basic rules and skills for small participatory meetings
• Group work exercises
• Planning and facilitating small participatory meetings
• Simulated participatory meeting

This is a step to establish a center on Participatory Planning & Community Development to be an active center in the College of City and Regional Planning.