During 2025, the Culture and Free Thought Association managed 59 projects within its humanitarian and development programs, in partnership with more than 25 UN and international donors, as well as strategic partnerships with UN agencies, intergovernmental development institutions, the European Union, international NGOs, specialized humanitarian funds, and institutions supporting human rights, development, and humanitarian action.
The Association relies on a diverse funding source for its programs and projects, including institutional funding, project-based funding, and strategic partnerships with international and UN donors, including international development institutions such as JICA, GIZ, and AFD, as well as international NGOs and specialized humanitarian funds.
The Association for Culture and Free Thought believes that an effective response is not limited to providing services, but rather involves empowering communities to identify their needs and lead appropriate solutions. Therefore, during 2025, the association implemented a range of community, children’s, youth, health, and awareness initiatives that strengthened community participation, raised awareness, and contributed to addressing urgent humanitarian gaps within displacement camps and sites, as well as in affected communities.
As part of its childhood program, the association implemented 13 child-led initiatives using a child-to-child approach. These initiatives aimed to enhance children’s participation in identifying issues that matter to them, encourage peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, and develop leadership, communication, and self-confidence skills.
These initiatives focused on issues chosen by the children themselves, including:
These initiatives are part of the association’s approach to promoting children’s ownership of the activities they participate in, enabling them to express their needs and priorities, and transforming them from recipients of services to active participants and initiators within their educational and community environment.
The Culture and Free Thought Association adopted the Community-Led Survivor Response (SCLR) approach as a core model for strengthening the resilience of affected communities. This approach empowers communities to identify needs and lead initiatives, while the association provides facilitation, technical support, and necessary resources.
During 2025, the association supported the formation and activation of 31 Community Resilience Committees in displacement camps and sites. These committees serve as community-based structures representing displaced communities and assist in prioritizing and leading local initiatives.
Through these committees, 12 community-based initiatives were implemented, addressing priority humanitarian needs, including:
The capacities of at least 429 community leaders from resilience committees, institutions, and various community networks were also built on the concepts and approaches of community-led response, needs analysis, and the design and implementation of community initiatives.
As part of its Youth and Community program, the association provided safe, interactive spaces for young men and women, creating an environment for learning, dialogue, and creative expression amidst war, displacement, and famine.
These spaces contributed to the development of youth and community initiatives and ideas rooted in local realities, through:
These interventions culminated in the organization of a public youth exhibition showcasing the youth’s productions, in addition to the production of a literary booklet entitled “Hunger in the Country’s Mouth,” which expressed the experiences and voices of the youth in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions.
The association led and implemented a range of community initiatives and campaigns aimed at raising awareness, strengthening protection, and amplifying the voices of women, girls, and the most vulnerable groups.
These initiatives included:
As part of its efforts to promote health awareness and community prevention, the association implemented a number of health initiatives and campaigns, most notably:
The association implemented the Pink October campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer, which included awareness lectures in camps and displacement sites about the importance of early detection, in addition to launching the Pink Bus to reach women in different areas.
The association organized psychological and social support meetings and a special celebration for breast cancer patients and survivors, in appreciation of their resilience and in support of their recovery journey.
The association, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and partners, participated in supporting the polio vaccination campaign for children through community awareness and field support.
The association contributed to the implementation of a blood donation campaign in support of the health sector, and to promote the values of solidarity and social responsibility.
In addition to implementing community initiatives, the Resilience Committees contributed to improved access to the most vulnerable areas during the distribution of humanitarian aid in 2025. This enhanced the organization’s ability to reach the most vulnerable groups quickly and systematically, ensuring that the response was more closely aligned with the actual needs of the community.
These initiatives collectively reflect the Culture and Free Thought Association’s approach of transforming affected communities from recipients of aid into partners in analysis, planning, implementation, and evaluation, thereby strengthening resilience, dignity, and community ownership.
