The coordination of collective NGO action in Iraq is one of the core tasks of the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI). A part of these coordination efforts are the monthly coordination meetings that NCCI organizes in its offices in Baghdad and Erbil. On 30 March NCCI organized a general coordination meeting in its office in Erbil. The meeting was attended by representatives of 16 NGOs, Radio Al-Salam and the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC). The meeting started with the JCC briefly introducing its work, after which attendants inquired about the possible role of the JCC as a bridge between the Kurdish authorities and the humanitarian sector. The next subject on the agenda was a follow up on the…

One of the strategic objectives of the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) is providing capacity building to NGOs operating in Iraq. An important part of this objective is realized by organizing workshops for local NGOs to improve both their effectiveness in the field and increase their participation in the humanitarian aid structure in Iraq. Between 22 and 24 March, NCCI conducted a workshop in cooperation with UNHCR to improve the effectiveness of local NGOs operating in the governorate of Baghdad. Representatives from ten local NGOs took part in this three-day training, which was supported by staff from both NCCI and UNHCR. The workshop focused on three main themes: protection, field tasks and program tasks. Among the subjects of the…

The facilitation of coordination and information sharing among humanitarian actors operating in Iraq is one of the key objectives of the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI). Under this objective, NCCI facilitates different Cluster meetings. In Baghdad, it is difficult for NGOs, and especially for Iraqi organizations, to gain access to the UN offices, which are located in the heavily protected International Zone. In Erbil, entering the UN compound can be very time-consuming. In order to guarantee maximum participation of NGOs in the Cluster system, NCCI therefore regularly hosts Cluster meetings at its offices in both Baghdad and Erbil. Every two weeks the Logistics Cluster for example holds its meetings in the NCCI office in Erbil. On 18 March, NCCI…

The Advocacy Working Group (AWG), one of NCCI’s thematic working groups, conducted a meeting on 12th march at NCCI’s Erbil office. One of the subjects discussed was the Kuwait III humanitarian pledging conference for Syria that will be held on the 31st March in Kuwait City. Hosted by the Kuwaiti government, this conference aims to meet the funding needs set forward by the 2015 Syria Response Plan and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2015-2016. NCCI was asked to nominate two international and two national NGOs operating in Iraq to attend the conference. Over the past weeks, the AWG has been preparing common points and concerns to be raised in Kuwait. The AWG also discussed other issues at its…

On 9 March the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) held its annual General Assembly meeting at the Classy hotel in Erbil. The General Assembly, which is comprised of all of NCCI’s members, is the governing body of NCCI and is responsible for formulating and reviewing policies and programs. The meeting provided a crucial opportunity for members to provide feedback on NCCI’s activities during the past year (2014), while also allowing them to participate in the planning for the current year. The General Assembly was attended by 25 international and national NCCI member NGOs. The meeting started with a review of last year’s General Assembly, where members decided to review NCCI’s strategic approach. When discussing NCCI’s activities in 2014, the…

The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) continuously aims to improve its services and communication strategy. Sharing information between stakeholders is one of NCCI’s key strategic objectives, and the NCCI website (which receives an average of 550 visitors per day) is a crucial resource to achieve this objective. As part of a bigger website update, NCCI recently updated the vacancies and CV pool sections of its website. One of the services NCCI offers to its members is the publishing of vacancies on the website; NCCI published almost five vacancies a day during 2014. In an effort to improve the usability of this section, the old format of posting vacancies in a different subdivision for every NGO has been replaced with…