Iraq NHDR Youth Focused Group Discussions

To support the preparation of the Iraq National Human Development Report (NHDR) 2012, which will focus on Youth, a group of 18 young Iraqi men and women living in Jordan were invited to participate in a focused group discussion to help the authors of the NHDR understand the reasons that force Iraqi youth to leave their country, and to understand the challenges they face outside, and how these youth see the future of their country.
The discussions were facilitated by two Iraqi youth who were trained to conduct Focused Group Discussions, and had conducted a series of such discussions with the youth in six locations inside Iraq.
Experts from the NHDR author team joined the meeting to record the discussions and later process the information generated to support the analysis of the report.
The exercise was supported by the Lead NHDR Expert from ESCWA and the UNDP project team.
But the real stars of the show were the youth themselves. The Iraqi youth in Jordan spoke about the reasons that drove them out of Iraq with their families. They discussed the challenges and the anxiety they face living outside their country. They also expressed their feelings about the future of Iraq, and when if ever they will be able to return to their country.
It is hoped that this exercise will enrich the analysis of the NHDR, which in turn will help development planners and policy makers to improve the development situation in Iraq, especially for the Iraqi youth.