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Welcome to OURAQ!

– A Civic Space for Knowledge –

On this virtual platform, we share information on various topics that influence and shape the civic society in Iraq. Our intention is to do this as unbiased and neutral as possible. This means Ouraq is an impartial and independent platform. It offers access to unambiguous information about Iraq for all Iraqi citizens as well as those who take interest in the country.

The content displayed on the site covers a wide range of topics – political, social, cultural, scientific, economic and others – in a neutral style and in clear language. This Internet presence is user-friendly, interactive and offers low-threshold access to information and participation opportunities. This is especially important for those in rural and geographically remote areas.

Ouraq strives to reach all audiences and connect with the people of the Republic of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This is reflected in the choice of languages that we offer on the platform, them being the three most commonly used in the region: Arabic, Kurdish (Sorani) and English.

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Civic education, also known as nation-building, means having access to impartial knowledge and information for all Iraqi citizens and those interested in the country. That way, we contribute our share to combating fake news as best as possible.

This includes the following items:

  • understanding the world of politics
  • extending awareness on societal issues
  • remembering Iraqis highly diverse cultural heritage
  • broadening knowledge about our rights as citizens in a democracy
  • expanding our skills regarding negotiation, speaking in public, advocacy, among others
  • rethinking our definition of tolerance, community responsibility, among others

This outline is but a sketch of what Ouraq envisions civic education to be. In the end, civic education is what we make it to be – together as Internet users and citizens from all walks of life and across all age groups.

 

Civic Values and Skills

Who “We” are

So What I am Iraqi

We are a community of NGOs from all over Iraq who wish to contribute to the core idea of having a virtual space for impartial information. We are all driven by the motive of making Iraq a civic society that is worth living in and worth protecting. We all share the vision of making the world a better place and our support of this vision will be through our contribution to enhance the platform’s library with relevant and insightful content. By contributing to Ouraq’s library we take part in shaping Iraq’s society.

Different local and international organisations are already adding their spirit to the Ouraq platform in different ways, e.g. by contributing content to the platform, advising the operating team behind the scenes, or sharing contacts.

Tishreen movement

We are also the Ouraq-behind-the-scenes operating team. We wish to create a lasting Internet presence that will contribute to Iraq's civil society. Ouraq firmly believes in the need of sharing unbiased and easy-to-understand information on civic education and other relevant topics, such as climate change, clean water and peacebuilding activities in the country. Communication on par, mutual understanding and sharing are the guiding principles for a peaceful social and political life.

Organisations

Different local and international organisations are already adding their spirit to the Ouraq platform in different ways, e.g. by contributing content to the platform, advising the operating team behind the scenes, or sharing contacts.

How it all began

Driven by the motivation of supporting the democracy development in Iraq, elbarlament undertook a feasibility study in the country: “Democracy needs Civic Education – a feasibility study for a digital civic education platform” in 2022. This was done to assess how a digital platform could aid to spread civic values and skills. The stakeholders’ input of that study was so encouraging that its first implementation has been financed by the German Federal Foreign Office and is now done with joint forces!

With continued input and support from the Iraqi community, this platform has the capacity to grow and become an invaluable reference point for Iraq’s society.

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Ouraq’s visual identity reflects the colours of the country’s flags of Iraq and Kurdistan alike. Also, the shapes chosen are a playful mirror of the beauty and lightness of the Arabic spoken and written language.

Street art comic

Multiple Channels for Ouraq's vision of sharing knowledge and information!

On the interactive and open learning platform for civic education throughout Iraq, you will find well-researched articles on different areas of interest – political knowledge, civic values, culture & heritage and societal issues related to civic education. 

Additionally, we provide you with interactive games, videos, infographics, and a network of non-governmental organisations all of which work in the field of civic education in both Iraq and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. 

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And we also have an up-to-date event calendar where we inform you about upcoming events (trainings, workshops, etc.) on civic education in Iraq. Feel invited to browse through them and apply if one event has piqued your interest! Registration for these events is possible here.

In addition, a newsletter is published periodically, containing a readers’ digest on the latest developments of the project and offering an outlook on the highlights to come. To subscribe to our newsletter, please click here.

 

Event calendar
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Besides this Internet presence, you may also find Ouraq on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Short, succinct posts are uploaded almost every day, and together with appealing photographs, this makes for a brief and insightful daily digest. Via these posts, you can stay up to date with the latest developments and the newest content from Ouraq. 

The comments’ function is available to all so that you may be able to interact with other members of the Ouraq community. Please note that we have content moderation in place, to stay true to our communication rules which do not allow for any form of violence, threats, or verbal abuse, or the instigation of such behaviour. We are committed to communicating on par, with mutual respect and in a civil manner. This may, at times, be challenging if, or indeed when we differ on certain topics, yet this is crucial to peaceful communication and understanding within a diverse community.

All available content will be accessible in all three languages: Arabic, Sorani and English.

At Ouraq, we use Creative Commons Licences

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Creative Commons Licences are a modern way of sharing Internet content legally and openly. Normally, all rights are with the person who creates something (e.g. author/filmmaker/photographer/designer/constructor/inventor/architect/…), and to re-use their work, their written approval is required.

Street art comic

The Creative Commons community has turned this idea around: In principle, all rights are freely available to everyone. Of course, there may be valid reasons for limiting or regulating the re-use. For this, the Creative Commons community drew up six licences of varying freedom for content re-use. For more information on Creative Commons as a non-profit organisation and on its licensing structure. For information on Creative Commons in Arabic, please read here.

At Ouraq, each contribution is licensed by a Creative Commons Licence. You will find that information at the end of each article.

Creative Commons License
Women Empowerment

Contact Us

 

We are always happy to receive feedback from you. Any comments, suggestions or ideas for improvement are welcome.

 

Contact us
Baghdad

Join us

 

You are an organisation and interested in joining the Ouraq team? We have a detailed registration page and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Join us

Contributions by Third Parties

Ouraq is a joint-venture project in the broadest sense of the term. It combines a diverse team of creators, actors, and others who are responsible for the visual identity, design, photos and implementation of this project.

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We owe our heartfelt thanks to the creators of this internet platform, webiator GmbH, who showed great patience when dealing with questions on wire frames, colour schemes, and the like.

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Second, we would like to extend our thanks our graphic designer Abraham Zeitoun. His ongoing and diverse input on shapes, logos and colours were the driving force behind our project’s visual identity.

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A big thank you also goes to the photographers Assead Niazi, Wadaa Abdul Karim, Ahmed Kadhim, Ibrahim Tahseen Ali, and Ahmed Ajej and the caricaturists Nasser Ibrahim Nasser and Halah Ziad. Their fabulous work adds colour and spice to all our written content, especially to our social media platforms, making them much more fun and attractive to spend time reading and perusing.

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Then, there is the team at elbarlament with its members from Iraq, Tunisia and Germany, as well as all partnering organisations who put in all their heart into making this project come true in its initial phase.

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Lastly, Ouraq would not have happened without the support of our donor, the German Federal Foreign Office. They believed in our vision and financially supported the project’s initial two-year phase.