What Does 2021 Hold?

By Ashley Barlow

With 2020 behind us, it is a time for The Station to look back, reflect and move forward. Despite all of the challenges, The Station has proven its resilience and power to adapt and thrive. This is in large part to the team working behind the scenes but also the community who trust us to deliver quality opportunities and events - without your continued support we could not continue to operate.

A special mention must also be reserved for all of our strategic partners, collaborators and donors who continue to share our vision in these uncertain times, and are as committed to supporting youth as much as we are.

2021 is already shaping up to be a quite a busy one! We will be launching projects imminently, designed to support digital security for women, digital advocacy for minority groups as well as future pitch competitions for startups. We are looking at expanding support for SMEs across the country to help ensure that those who have suffered from the pandemic can continue to operate and thrive. We will be having training programmes launching very soon in Mosul, to boost the capacity of local trainers to deliver quality workshops across the universities of Nineveh. We are looking at signing new partnerships - being able to share resources can only strengthen The Station’s ability to achieve its goals and provide new and exciting opportunities, not only in Baghdad and Mosul, but across Iraq. Some of the partnerships will be announced very soon!

At The Station, we do not like to get comfortable with what we do. We want to challenge ourselves, and draw on the teams own experiences to try new and exciting things. 2021 will see the launch of new initiatives, new “spaces,” and new ideas to ensure that we can offer something for everyone. If you are a young Iraqi creative - watch this “space!” We know the power of art to influence us is everywhere: branding, advertising, street art, film and music. This year we will be committed to supporting Iraqi creatives in addition to our tech scene!

We also used this time to reflect on our own work and how we can improve what we do. The Station is committed to ensuring that we can begin implementing internal changes that will reduce our carbon footprint and stand up to our environmental responsibility. We will explore options on how we can facilitate entrepreneurship in the green sector, as well as highlight the potential that AgriTech and Green startups can have in Iraq.

As you can see, we have a lot planned for next year, and we hope that you will join us for our most successful year yet. We wish you a great start to the year and look forward to welcoming you back soon!