In our new winter newsletter, we present, among other things, the new structures of our network, provide information about the Active Citizenship campaign, and the consequences of a devastating law in Iraq.
Excerpt of the editorial:
If the majority of the population in a society is under the age of thirty and sees little or no future worth living for within the existing structures, and their advancement and participation seem blocked, sooner or later there will be unrest or even uprisings. You don’t have to be a country expert to know this. The situation is similar in contexts as diverse as Nepal, Madagascar, and Morocco. But on the other hand, it also seems understandable why such developments are met with so little understanding in Europe in particular: with the exception of France, all EU countries have long been considered aging societies: In Germany, for example, the average age is 46.8 years, compared to 22.4 in Iraq. In Germany, just under a quarter of the population is now over 65, compared to less than 4% in Iraq.
No wonder, then, that people in Europe look back wistfully, longing for the “good old days,” while elsewhere the majority look ahead, as young people have always done. Even though birth rates in the Middle East and North Africa are now falling dramatically, old structures based on the extended family are disintegrating, and societies are changing rapidly in other ways, most people are (still) under the age of thirty. And what they see is not the promise of a better future, but rather a dystopian vision: war, destruction of their livelihoods, impoverishment, and virtually no politicians who seem willing or able to do anything about it.
Work like the kind we support cannot bring about change on a large scale, but it can certainly make a difference. This includes adapting structures to new developments. That is why we would like to present the results of a years-long transformation that we have undergone on site.
In addition, two of our colleagues from Gen Z will have their say. Our environmental projects, about which there is a small update, are also led by young women.
Many of these colleagues were born when Wadi had already been in Iraq for almost a decade: after all, we will be celebrating our 35th anniversary next year.
This is also possible thanks to your long-standing support, and we hope you will continue to stand by us. This is particularly important in such difficult times, as we too are affected by the massive cuts in development cooperation.
We all wish you a peaceful holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year.
Thomas von der Osten-Sacken
Wadi 
