Assisting Iraqi Women Parliamentarians

Beirut, Lebanon
July 18 - 22, 2010

From July 18-22, 2010, IF successfully held the first Iraqi Women Parliamentarians’ (IWP) workshop in Beirut-Lebanon. The workshop included 19 Iraqi women parliamentarians (15 newly elected, 3 re-elected and one former parliamentarian) coming from various provinces and representing almost all political parties. Trainers/speakers included Moroccan and Lebanese Parliamentarians as well as regional and international experts.

Topics covered included:

1. Approaches to conflict resolution, consensus building, and negotiation
2. Public speaking and leadership
3. Research and administration
4. Committee operation
5. Constituents relations
6. Oversight of the executive branch agencies
7. Policy analysis

Participants were extremely pleased with the workshop and the material covered. They were also particularly happy that IF gave them the opportunity to meet each other abroad and start building alliances based on common interests regardless of their party affiliation.

The level of interaction was very high and the quality and number of questions reflected a strong grasp of the material, an ability to relate the material to real life issues, and a keen interest to develop personal skills.

Media Coverage:

Al-Mada Newspaper

Al-Sabah Newspaper