Towards actionable knowledge for change: dialogue with North and East Syria

The project is run by the Finnish NGO Emmaus Jokioinen, our partners in Northern and Eastern Syria being the Institute of Science and Modern Technology of the University of Rojava and Tigris Polytechnic Academy. Contacts are also maintained with the region’s Democratic Autonomous Administration's bodies, responsible for energy infrastructure and agriculture, as well as with the environmental organization Green Tress. The plan is to cooperate with educational actors in Kurdistan Region of Iraq as well. The project has received a grant from Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation for the year 2025.

The University of Rojava has strong international collaboration in the humanities and social sciences. However, in the natural sciences and engineering, there is a need for new experts who would like to support the autonomy and sustainability efforts in North and East Syria by participating in the enhancement of local expertise in both teaching and research. We are looking for volunteer peer reviewers of research articles and remote supervisors of master's and doctoral theses for the Institute of Natural Sciences and Modern Technology at the University of Rojava.

Tigris Polytechnic Academy is a newly established educational institution offering study programs in electrical and mechanical engineering, programming, and telecommunications. The aim of the polytechnic is to develop local applied technical skills in close cooperation with employers in the technology sector. Both the study environment in Qamishlo and the teaching methods are designed to encourage creativity and initiative. With the help of Emmaus Jokioinen, the polytechnic aims to establish links with European pedagogy experts and engineering teachers.

The Autonomous Administration aims to promote climate-friendly agriculture and the ecological reconstruction of energy infrastructure destroyed in the Turkish bombings. This requires not only the long-term development of local know-how, but also immediate expert assistance in finding and implementing fast but sustainable practical solutions. Through the project, the administration's Economy and Agriculture Body aims to exchange ideas and information with foreign experts.

Green Tress aims to network internationally with environmental NGOS and gain support for the collection and organization of research on North and East Syria’s nature, as well as to find common ground and share ideas for environmental awareness raising in different local communities.

Emmaus Jokioinen

Emmaus Jokioinen is a non-governmental organization that has since 1977 striven to promote a diverse, free and sustainable life. In the midst of wars and environmental catastrophe, solutions that nurture the unity and diversity of life, nature and society are more important than ever. The purpose of Emmaus Jokioinen is to support groups and communities that further human equality and truly sustainable living, creating radical alternatives to the pursuit of economic growth. Our goal is to be participating persistently in building societies free from exploitation and a world that is livable for all.

Answers to how to achieve a sustainable, free and equal society are invaluable and should be sought from outside the global North: from the democratic confederalists of the Middle East, the Zapatistas of Latin America, the Adivasis of the Indian subcontinent. Emmaus Jokioinen's means of action are determined by partners of each locality. The aim is not only to support but also to learn.