On the 24th of October 2022, a kick-off conference was held in Erbil to introduce and officially start the Sustainable Development through Improved Local Governance (SDLG) Iraq project. Iraq is one of the eight countries where the SDLG program will be implemented. Whilst the overall program shares four thematic pillars, the projects differ per country as to fit the country specific needs and context. SDLG will run from 2022 until 2026 and is the result of a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and VNG International.

During this conference both the general and country specific project were outlined, and the country specific overall goal of ‘building sustainable futures by making local authorities more resilient and improving local services in areas with a large influx of displaced people’ was presented. SDLG Iraq will focus on migration related challenges with its subgoals being: improved local government decision-making processes, policies and services; improved mandate of local governments, empowered local communities and improved leadership through a better understanding of roles and mandate and enhanced capacity and skills.

The conference was attended by numerous stakeholders amongst which representatives of the Dutch Embassy, Iraqi politicians such as the minister of interior and the minister of municipalities and tourism, and international partners.

We are looking forward to the upcoming period where we will implement this project in KRI and Nianawa. If you wish to remain up to date with the developments of SDLG Iraq please check our website and facebook.