The International Labour Organisation, under the PROSPECTS Partnership and in collaboration with Iraq’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, have completed the construction of a new youth centre in Mosul's eastern Mithaq district. Now open, the centre will promote skills and entrepreneurship development, youth engagement, and sports activities, with a special focus on empowering young women and people with disabilities.
Funded by the Government of the Netherlands through the PROSPECTS programme the centre is named after Zaha Hadid, the iconic Iraqi-British architect and designer. Born in Baghdad, Hadid is celebrated as a trailblazer in architecture worldwide and a role model for Iraqi women, inspiring generations of young females.
“This is the first centre dedicated to women in the city. This is a significant milestone,” said Mrya de Vries, First Secretary Stabilization Affairs at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Iraq. “Through the PROSPECTS programme, in collaboration with the ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank, we have been working to create opportunities for Mosul’s youth. This centre will provide essential training, covering life skills, active citizenship—empowering individuals to voice their concerns and assert their rights—and focusing on job opportunities to help people secure employment and achieve self-reliance.”
The centre was built through ILO’s labour-intensive approaches that created short-term employment opportunities for vulnerable Iraqi host communities and returnees and provided a unique learning opportunity for young engineers to supervise the construction work. It prioritizes empowering young women, highlighting its commitment to gender-focused initiatives. It also plays a key role in advancing the inclusion of internally displaced persons (IDPs), providing a dedicated platform to support their integration and participation in local economic development.
“This centre stands out for the range of services it offers,” said Bashar Elsamarneh, Project Manager for ILO PROSPECTS Iraq. “It has been designed to be also inclusive of persons with disabilities and features comprehensive safety and security measures, creating a safe space for women and children to engage in sports and youth activities. This marks the first step, with upcoming projects set to focus further on youth, particularly those returning from displacement.”
The establishment of this centre was the result of extensive consultations with the Directorate of Youth and Sports in Nineveh, which also identified five additional potential locations for similar centres.
“This project empowers women across the Nineveh Governorate, providing them with greater opportunities to participate in sports, cultural, and artistic activities,” said Omar Ali, Assistant Governor of Nineveh. “This is both inspiring and uplifting, making us willing to continue supporting similar initiatives across the Nineveh Governorate.”
Warood Radhi Ibrahem is the manager of the Zaha Hadid Centre.
“We discussed plans for the centre’s activities, including health, educational, and cultural programmes in partnership with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Youth and Sports,” he said. “The centre will also host activities linked to the Entrepreneurship Initiative. Additionally, a women’s gym, offering free access to women in Mosul, will open soon.”
Sara Hatem, 24, a young woman from Mosul attended the opening event. She said she looked forward to joining the activities offered in the centre.
“This women-focused centre will offer very much needed training programmes aimed at helping women secure job opportunities,” she said.
PROSPECTS is a global partnership that brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank, with the aim of improving access to education, social protection, and decent work for host communities and forcibly displaced people.
