Who we are

The Youth Bridge Development Organization (YBDO) was established on August 15, 2015, as a local, independent, non-governmental organization registered in Erbil and Baghdad, Iraq. We aim to achieve stability, social integration and transformative justice in the Sinjar region through empowering the youth, women and other vulnerable groups via peacebuilding and sustainable development.

The team at YBDO is composed of individuals with diverse educational backgrounds and experiences who share a common passion for peacebuilding. Through their work with YBDO, they strive to create sustainable, resilient communities, and rehabilitate the Sinjar region. The team’s diversity allows them to effectively manage and fulfill various functions within the organization to successfully forward efforts of transformative justice.

We envision a society where everyone can lead a self-determined life in dignity, where everyone
is treated equally, and where everyone is free to express their beliefs.

Our mission is to support and develop communities in Nineveh and Kurdistan, with a particular focus on children, women, and youth.

The youth are our keys to better futures

Every life counts

As the founder and the director of Youth Bridge, I am committed to creating societal infrastructures, providing the necessary training, and establishing sustainable and peaceful relationships between community members to enable more resilient and cohesive futures for Nineveh, the Kurdish region, and Iraq as a whole. We believe in making the youth and women the leaders of this future because they bring the missing perspectives to the table, and more importantly, in their liberation lies freedom for all of us.

Farhan Ibrahim Ali
Founder at Youth Bridge

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Stories from the locals

“Youth Bridge is the first organization that visited our village since the genocide and they have completely renovated and equipped our school. As a result, more than 300 families returned to the village. If it was not for this support, these families would have still been in the camps and dozens of our children would have been deprived of education. The presence and effort of this organization in our area opened doors for other organizations to work in this area and now life has stabilized in our village.”
Khudiada Hussein Bashar, Leader of the Yazidi tribe and mukhtar of the of Al-Wardiya village
“On behalf of the Sinjar Sports Club administration, we offer the Youth Bridge Development Organization all our thanks and appreciation for all their support to renovate the Sinjar Sports Club building and for supporting youth and sports in the Sinjar region. Without your support, thousands of young people would have lost their sports talents.”
Eido Khalaf Murad,
“In the past, the street was destroyed, and the rain and surface drainage water was gathering on it, and it was hindering our work. Today, after the Youth Bridge Development Organization re-paved the street and maintained the sewers, the water does not drain and the sewage smell does not come back anymore. The commercial movement has increased to more than 70%, and with this project, dozens of shops have settled in their place after they were threatened with closure as a result of the destruction of this important road.”
Ayad Alias, Berlin Restaurant Owner
“I have never participated in sessions with organizations before and we did not have the opportunity to do so, but during my participation in various training sessions and workshops with the Youth Bridge Organization, I learned more about my rights and how to build a strong personality capable of carrying out her duty as an influential individual in society. It gave me more motivation to be a strong individual and [I believe] there is no difference between a man and a woman: both of whom have the power and the opportunity to establish their existence.”
Nilofar, University student, College of Nursing
“Before my children used to walk long distances to go to school, and now the school is ready, close to our house, and we do not need to spend money for transportation or have fear for the road, fatigue and exhaustion of our children. Supporting education is very important for the return of stability and life, and we thank the Youth Bridge Development Organization for this great support for the region.”
Rasho, Citizen from Tel-banat complex
“Dozens of families did not have money to buy a water tank, and today the Youth Bridge Development Organization provided assistance to dozens of families through water tanks. Without this support, the families would not have portable water suitable for drinking and washing, and we hope this assistance continues for the returning families as well.”
Sheikh Khaled Shamsani, Citizen of Tel-Qasab
“Youth Bridge is a unique organization that provides aid without discrimination and its first and last concern is to carry out its humanitarian duty without distinction. And without their support, we would have faced big problems, especially those families who do not have any other support. And without the support of Youth Bridge, thousands of children from our village would have been deprived of education. Thanks to them, today life in our village is normal and we participate in community meetings with the rest of the community members without feeling any anxiety; it increased our trust in each other after ISIS destroyed all the social bonds among the residents of Sinjar.”
Sahran, Sunni university student
“During the sessions in which we attend and hear directly the opinions of the citizens, we have a greater responsibility. We work and give more effort, and if not this strong advocacy on the problems that the region suffers from, these problems are unresolved, but the Youth Bridge Organization’s efforts and determination contribute to moving the relevant authorities to carry out their responsibilities”.
Elias, Employee at the Directorate of Education

Our story

A few months after the onset of the genocidal ISIS attack on the Sinjar Area in August 2014, causing the displacement of 600,000 – 650,000 and affecting mainly the indigenous Yezidi community, we, as victims of this very same displacement, decided we wanted our own community to be the leading actors in the rehabilitation and rebuilding of Sinjar. As we started to work side by side with the government and other organizations towards providing a safer environment in the area, the idea of centering the youth as bridge builders towards the better future we are trying to achieve was born. We realized that once the youth is connected to governments, decision-makers, various organizations, and the international community, they are able to take charge of their own future. Through centering the youth when it comes to education, capacity building, advocacy, and social cohesion, they become the leading voice and key participants in creating a more peaceful future.