As a continuation of the joint project supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for promoting and strengthening participation in the Kurdistan region, the workshops on Participatory Planning and Development, between the University of Duhok, College of City and Regional Planning and TU Dortmund University, Germany, continued. The project is addressed at governmental directorates and non-governmental organizations that are engaged in development activities in the region.

The 2-day workshop, as a continuation of the November 2024 2-day workshop, took place between the 26th and 27th of February, 2025

The workshop was organized and conducted under the training of Dr. Basheer A. M. Saeed, the head of the Spatial Planning Department, Dr. Johannes Lückenkötter, the Project Coordinator from TU Dortmund University, with support from Mr. Saman Fakhradin, Mr. Baravan Abduljabbar, Mr. Aland Kamal, and Ms. Hozan Fawzi,

The workshop covered many aspects relevant to training participants in the field of participatory planning and development and engagement of citizens in plans, consisting of:

-Exercises on Stakeholder Analysis

-Attitude of stakeholders towards practical proposals

-Fears/worries about certain practical proposals

-Expected benefits from the proposal

-Resources they could bring in

-General interest ideas

-Exercises on moving from Position (What is the position) to Needs (Why holds the position)

-Designing a Concept Note

More workshops and events are planned to take place over the remainder of 1 year, with the project ending at the end of 2025.