The Badael Foundation is a Syrian NGO committed to strengthening civil society groups and NGOs in Syria that are active, or want to become active, in the promotion of non-violence and in the implementation of activities to reduce the severity of violence, to break its cycle, to respond to conflict and to prepare for the post-conflict peacebuilding processes. It deals with divisions among societies resulting from conflicts, and which have historical roots and have not yet been dealt with. Its trainers are civil society activists from a variety of regions across Syria, who are trained in this field for a year and a half, and they undergo constant coaching by attending programmes organised by Badael which aims at enabling them to keep up with and meet the needs of civil society on the ground.

Aims

• To empower and support Syrian civil society activists in their peace building, nonviolence and human rights work inside Syria.
• To increase the capacity of civil society groups, from different conflict zones in Syria to engage in peacemaking and peace building at the community level.
• To improve the knowledge base on the assessment of conflict, civil society role, capacities for peace and windows of opportunity for the Syrian ongoing conflicts.
• To improve the awareness of international actors on the realities, needs, strategies, capacities, and dynamics of the conflict on the ground in Syria and thus to facilitate their better planning the right programmes and interventions.

Description of activities

Badael works on strengthening the capacity of civil society in Syria in the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. It runs on three programs: a capacity-building programme (divided into training, consultation, and mini-grant provisions); a research programme; and an advocacy programme. It also encourages civil society organisations to plan and implement peacebuilding projects, such as local initiatives to build trust and promote coexistence & advocacy for the protection of civilians during armed conflicts; and to create local initiatives to resolve conflicts and disputes between Syrians. Through the implementation of Badael Transitional Justice programme, it hosts discussions on future transitional justice programmes and at designing mechanisms to involve local communities in the process.