Background:

In 2003 when the dictator regime of Saddam Hussein collapsed, the Iraqi society became extremely unstable and dangerous. Violence, often with a sectarian character, has touched all groups in society and led to large numbers of refugees and IDPs. Tensions among political parties over the determination of the status of Kirkuk have been further fuelling social divides between ethnicities and communities living in the city and have favoured the increase of violence. Peaceful co-existence among groups has been negatively affected by political and social agendas of political leaders and by the poor economic context, limited resources available and high unemployment rate. Gaps between communities have widened and have negatively affected sets of minds and attitudes among members of diverse communities especially after the arrival of the displaced communities who have been forcibly fled their cities due to the ISIS invasion and the military operations. It is necessary to address the current situation through developing a peace and tolerance culture and peaceful co-existence among groups to ensure that cohesion is safeguarded and to prevent the situation to develop into a violent crisis. Youth is a group that gets particularly affected at times of conflict, crisis and in poor economic context as their views towards a positive future get gloom. But youth can also be an asset in peace building processes as they are large resources of energy and creativity that can cross many barriers to achieve their own goals and to passionately pursue their beliefs and to see a prosperous future