Syrbanism:Summary of activities in 2018

Syrbanism has conducted various initiatives and projects in five main areas in 2018, and the following posts will show what we have achieved so far;

The action areas are:

• Provide information about current policy and implications.

• Facilitate access to existing research and conduct new research.

• Produce and curate multi-disciplinary advocacy resources.

• Provide platform for exchanging and mutual support.

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Provide information about current policy and implications.

In 2018, Syrbanism produced informational articles and videos explaining the technicalities of Law 10 and what it meant for Syrian’s and what steps are expected of people to comply with the legislation in order to retain some semblance of property rights. These videos, in Arabic and English, were released in mid-May and within one week had received over 25,000 views, demonstrating the need for this type of information.

Facilitate access to existing research and conduct new research.

In 2018, Syrbanism started conducting a comprehensive research about Housing, Land and Property rights HLP in Syria. This research is part of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) research project on ‘Land and property rights in the Middle East’s contemporary conflicts’. The objective of this project is to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how the land and property rights systems have been intentionally violated and manipulated in the Middle East’s contemporary conflicts. Syrbanism team members also participated in a closed workshop to discuss the entire file with other researchers involved in Tunis, December 2018

Produce and curate multi-disciplinary advocacy resources.

In 2018, Syrbanism established relationships with agencies and organisations that have an important role in influencing polices and laws, such as UNESCO and Chatham House. We have engaged in events and conferences and shared our knowledge of the context and our engagement with stakeholders and partners.

- UCL Publication: The Politics of Urban reconstruction in Syria - London, July 2018

- Chatham House: The political economy of Syria’s urban context - Beirut, Sep 2018

- UN-ESCWA: Policy gap analysis, stakeholders meeting - Beirut, Sep 2018

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Provide platform for exchanging and mutual support.

In 2018, Syrbanism team members has participated in many events to facilitate knowledge exchange, giving presentations, undertaking research, providing media commentary, as well as responding to individual questions and comments through social media.

- Tourab: Syria Art Space, funded by Goethe Institute - Brussels, April 2018.

- Exeter University: Resilience and Urban rights- Exeter, June 2018

- Syrisk Kulturcafe: Talk about Property Law no.10 in Syria - Copenhagen, June 2018

- Heinrich Boell Stiftung: Together to gather - Beirut, Nov 2018

- Bauhaus, University Weimar: The Syrian Lab of virtual urban planning - Weimar, Dec 2018

Syrbanism is very happy about these contributions that hopefully can mobilise societal change and will continue working towards more just development. We wish a peaceful year for everyone.