Community Hubs for Economic and Climate Resilience as a model: Enhancing Iraq's Sustainable Social Contract

Our challenge lies in overcoming the environmental, social, and cultural barriers impeding sustainable development and community cohesion in Thi-Qar and Muthana governorates. This encompasses the need to empower youth, transition towards a green economy, and rebuild the social contract without adequate spaces for collaboration and innovation among agencies, citizens, and stakeholders.

The history of our challenge is deeply intertwined with Iraq's longstanding issues of corruption, political mistrust, and economic instability. The 2021 UNDP research illuminated how corruption, perceived as embedded within the political system, significantly hinders political participation and access to services, weaving through the social fabric of Iraq. This systemic corruption, coupled with the muhasasa system's unrepresentativeness and the consequent disillusionment with the electoral process, has eroded faith in political mechanisms, urging a shift towards issue-based politics. Gender disparities further complicate the scenario, with societal norms limiting women's participation despite their crucial insights into addressing corruption and improving service provision, security, and political fairness. Moreover, the economic situation, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and an overreliance on oil revenues, lack of diversification in the economy, and public sector employment underscores the dire need for economic diversification and equitable opportunity distribution, particularly for the youth. These challenges are driven by a complex interplay of factors including  corruption, ineffective political representation, gender inequities, declining personal security, economic deterioration, and a gap in civic understanding. Involved stakeholders encompass the government, citizens (with a notable emphasis on youth and women), and non-state actors, all navigating a landscape marked by a desire for change towards a more inclusive, transparent, and responsive governance and economic system. The current situation manifests as increased social and economic inequality, diminished trust in state institutions, heightened insecurity, and obstacles to civic engagement and political participation. These challenges underscore the urgent need for creating Community Hubs in Thi-Qar or Muthana governorates as  safe spaces for collaboration on cultural, social, and environmental challenges. The hubs aim to engage youth, promote green economic transitions, and rejuvenate the social contract, striving for a vibrant, cohesive community actively contributing to a sustainable and resilient Iraq.

The UNDP Iraq Accelerator Lab's unique value proposition in addressing the challenge of reimagining the social contract, with a focus on the Souq Al Shoyukh Climate Hub (SSCH), stems from its innovative ecosystem approach, which emphasizes partnerships, local engagement, and the strategic repurposing of government infrastructure for community resilience and empowerment. Strategic Partnerships for Local Impact: By collaborating closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, private sector, and local NGO, the AccLab  leverages institutional support and community insights to ensure the SSCH is both relevant and responsive to the needs of Souq Al Shoyukh. This partnership model ensures that the initiative is rooted in local realities while benefitting from the expertise and resources of national bodies and civil society organizations. Renovating Government Entities for Community Use: The decision to base the SSCH within a government-owned youth center represents a strategic use of existing infrastructure to foster community engagement and provide a physical space for innovation and collaboration. This approach not only optimizes resource use but also symbolizes a tangible commitment from the government to support community-led initiatives and climate action, reinforcing the social contract. Empowering Youth and Local Communities: The Accelerator Lab's emphasis on youth engagement and community participation is vital in a context where empowering the next generation is key to sustainable development. By transforming a government youth center into a vibrant community hub, the Lab ensures that young people and community members are at the forefront of driving change, from climate action to economic diversification. Facilitating Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration**: The Lab's role in convening diverse stakeholders — including government, civil society, academia, and the private sector — around the SSCH creates a platform for integrated solutions to emerge. This collaborative space not only addresses the multifaceted challenges of climate change and economic resilience but also models a participatory approach to governance and community development. Driving Innovation with Local and Global Insights: Leveraging the global network of Accelerator Labs, the UNDP Iraq Lab brings both local and international best practices to the table. This exchange of knowledge and experience enriches the SSCH's initiatives, ensuring they are both grounded in local needs and informed by global innovations in climate resilience and community empowerment. Promoting Environmental Sustainability: The UNDP Iraq Accelerator Lab places a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability in the development of the Souq Al Shoyukh Climate Hub (SSCH). By renovating a government youth center into an eco-friendly building, the initiative prioritizes green building practices such as energy efficiency, sustainable materials, and water conservation. This commitment not only demonstrates practical applications of environmental sustainability but also educates and inspires the community and stakeholders about the importance and feasibility of such practices in local development projects. Supporting the Green Economy: In addition to its focus on eco-sustainability, the SSCH is designed to act as a catalyst for the green economy within the community. Through its programming, the hub encourages local businesses, entrepreneurs, and community members to engage in sustainable business practices, invest in renewable energy, and adopt environmental stewardship as a core part of their operations. This strategic orientation towards the green economy aims to create new employment opportunities, stimulate eco-friendly innovation, and align Souq Al Shoyukh's economic activities with global trends towards sustainability, offering a scalable model for economic diversification and resilience.

Embarking on reimagining Iraq's social contract, we're transforming a youth center into the Souq Al Shoyukh Climate Hub: a beacon for green economy, community empowerment, and eco-sustainability. It's where innovation meets action for a resilient, inclusive future.

Our learning question for the Souq al Shoyukh Community Hub (SSCH) challenge is: "How can we effectively leverage the partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) and engage diverse community stakeholders to co-create a sustainable, community-led hub that addresses climate change, promotes economic diversification, and enhances youth employment, while being adaptable to the evolving needs and challenges of the Souq al Shoyukh community?"

Crowdsourcing Ideas and Solutions: Engage the wider community, including local communities, business, universities, NGOs, and the youth, in brainstorming sessions to gather ideas on tackling climate change, promoting economic diversification, climate crisis and enhancing youth employment. This can help identify local needs, priorities, and innovative approaches that may not be immediately evident to enablers, leaders, actors , and decision makers. Community Surveys, solutions mapping, and Data Collection: Implement surveys and use technologies to collect data and explore innovative local solutions from the community on various aspects of the challenge, such as perceived climate impacts, economic needs, and potential areas for youth employment. This data can provide a solid foundation for designing targeted interventions that directly address community concerns. Hackathons and participatory design: Organize events that encourage participants to develop creative solutions to specific aspects of the SSCH challenge, such as sustainable building designs, green business models, or climate resilience projects. This can harness the creativity and expertise of a wide range of individuals and groups, fostering innovation and community ownership of the hub's initiatives. Collaborative Workshops and Human-centered design: Conduct workshops that bring together community members, MoYS representatives, environmental experts, and other stakeholders to collaboratively design the hub's programs and operations. Using design thinking principles, these sessions can explore complex problems from multiple angles and co-create human-centered solutions

Ecosystem Mapping:   - Identify Key Actors: Ecosystem mapping helps identify the key actors or stakeholders relevant to the learning question. This includes organizations, individuals, and communities involved in the ecosystem.   - Understand Relationships: By mapping out connections and relationships between different entities within the ecosystem, you can understand how they interact and influence each other.   - Analyze Dependencies: Ecosystem mapping helps analyze dependencies and dependencies within the ecosystem, highlighting areas of interdependence or potential bottlenecks.   - Identify Gaps: By visually representing the ecosystem, you can identify gaps or areas where certain stakeholders or resources are missing, which can inform learning and intervention strategies. Ethnography   - Understand User Needs: Ethnography allows researchers to observe and interact with users in their natural environment, providing insights into their needs, preferences, and behaviors.   - Explore Contextual Factors: By conducting participant observation and interviews, ethnography helps explore contextual factors that influence decision-making and behavior within a specific context.   - Uncover Unmet Needs: Ethnographic research helps uncover unmet needs or pain points that users may experience but might not articulate explicitly.   - Generate Insights: Through in-depth data collection and analysis, ethnography generates rich, qualitative insights that can inform the design of products, services, or interventions.

Short-Term Plan:  The short-term plan is to rehabilitate the facilities of the youth center including:  Creating a co-working space where youth can gather and working individually or in groups.  Tech Lab  Sewing Room  Painting Room  Food Production Room  Gym  A theater   Long-Term Plan:  The long-term plan to have  six working streams to implement activities in the abovementioned rehabilitated space.   Nature Friendly Dhi Qar Working stream  Socially Just Dhi Qar Working stream   Supporting capacity building for youth and women  managing the workspace as well as the SSCH facilities  Reducing Carbon Emissions Dhi Qar working Stream  reporting on the workflow and progress of the SSCH

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