Ghassan Hitto, CEO of Syrian Forum, participated in the first conference for humanitarian response in Syria hosted by the Sham Islamic Organization on October 25th, 2014 in Istanbul. The conference discussed one of the most important issues in the current Syrian scene: the development sector in liberated areas.

Some of the topics covered were:

  • International experiences in financing development work.
  • The third sector concept – how it can contribute in development operations.
  • Development challenges in aid programs.
  • Economic empowerment and early recovery in crisis areas.
  • Microfinancing for development projects.

A number of organizations and individuals from the humanitarian aid field attended the conference to expand their expertise within the development field. The Syrian Forum, an apolitical nonprofit with development-renaissance aspirations, provides development services and programs inside Syria via its offices on the ground and abroad, coordinating with the local administration councils unit (LACU).

The Syrian Forum works to achieve sustainable development in Syria in four tracks, through four institutes:

  1. Omran for Strategic Studies (strategic studies track)
  2. Bousla for Training and Development (training and development track)
  3. Al-Souria for Media (media track)
  4. Ihsan for Relief and Development (relief and development track)