SYRIA: Civil society organization DemoS holds conference in Zalin discussing results of counter violent extremism project

ZALIN, Syria — On Thursday, DemoS – Democratic Solutions Organization, a civil society organization, held a conference in Zalin (Qamishli) in North and East Syria to discuss its project “Promoting Positivity of Life to Counter Violent Extremism.” The DemoS year and a half long project directly targeted about 13,000 people and indirectly targeted many more across the regions of Hasakah, Raqqa, and the Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor) countryside.

The conference brought together more than 40 political, civil, and activist figures and personalities from the three regions and from all ethnic groups.

According to project manager Abbas Ali Mousa, the aim of the conference is to counter violent extremism by promoting positivity of life.

“The project included several activities in the three areas, including training workshops and dialogue forums, as well as many interventions on various topics,” Mousa said. “The most important of topics we discussed were: Enhancing Pride in Cultural Identity, Promoting Spirit of Responsibility, Countering Violence against Women, Cyberbullying and Promoting Positivity of life.”

Among the attendees were a number of civil institutions and political parties, including the institutions of the Beth Nahrin National Council, represented by the Syriac Union Party in Syria (SUP) and the Syriac Progressive Youth Union in Zalin. SuroyoTV provided media coverage of the conference.

Security for the conference was provided by the Internal Security Forces (ISF) of North and East Syria, including the Syriac Security Forces (Sutoro).