German Ambassador begins his visit in Tripoli
To welcome the German Ambassador, SHIFT and forumZFD team members lined up in front of the Centre in Tripoli, awaiting the Ambassador's arrival. After the warm welcome, the organisations and the Ambassador went on a tour of the newly refurbished Centre.
Shifts Centre in Tripoli
The "SHIFT - Social Innovation Hub", an incubator for social change, opened in Tripoli in 2015. In proximity to “Syria Street” Shift office was not chosen at random. Between 2011 and 2014, the street was the confrontation line that separated two neighbourhoods during several rounds of clashes: The Sunni neighbourhood of Qobbeh and Bab at Tabbaneh and the predominantly Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen. The building that Shift chose for the Centre is still marked with bullet holes from the violence. Nowadays, however, “Syria Street” symbolises a cohesive process that is taking place in the area through the work of different NGOs, among them not only Shift, but two other partners of forumZFD, Ruwwad and March.
SHIFT the Social Innovation Hub
SHIFT was founded by a group of volunteers in reaction to the security plan that was implemented in Tripoli in 2014 to put an end to the clashes. SHIFT seeks to transform the local communities by creating a positive, diverse, dynamic and harmonious momentum through a “space” for inspiration and learning. The NGO wishes to have a sustainable socio-economic impact on the communities of concern. Since September 2017, SHIFT and forumZFD have been cooperating in implementing projects and initiatives in the Community Mobilising Programme in the project Future Together Now! II (FTN II). The project aims to establish processes for social cohesion, joint decision-making and non-violent conflict transformation and participatory development within communities.
Presentation of CPS projects to the Ambassador
During the Ambassador’s tour, SHIFT, forumZFD and GIZ-CPS, who will soon mount a media project with SHIFT, were able to present their projects and ideas to the Ambassador so that he could get an understanding of their work and the overall CPS approach. Each project had its own representative to explain the different strategies behind the project and the project itself. Bourak Omar a community activist from SHIFT presented the FTN II project. Georg Birgelen showed high interest by asking many questions regarding the approach adopted in the FTN II project. Topics such as the dealing with high numbers of community members and understanding community needs were discussed. All in all the day offered a great opportunity to give a broader understanding of SHIFT, forumZFD, GIZ-CPS's and CPS work in general.