The Little Syria is a civic and socially engaged cultural project that develops a practical model for community organisation and collective professional work in post-conflict contexts. Implemented in the city of Jaramana (Rural Damascus), the project functions as a pilot site for building decentralised, youth-led civic structures that combine cultural practice, participatory governance, and institutional capacity-building.
The project is grounded in the conviction that rebuilding civil society does not begin with large institutions, but with the formation of small, self-governed professional units that possess real tools for decision-making, production, and accountability. The Little Syria, therefore, focuses on supporting professionals from diverse fields in transitioning from fragmented individual work to organised collective structures capable of democratic and sustainable operation.
Positioning
The Little Syria is part of coculture’s long-term commitment to developing cultural platforms and civic infrastructures that enable communities to organise themselves through democratic, participatory, and independent means. The project is not conceived as a short-term aid intervention, but as a living laboratory for rethinking how civil society can be rebuilt from within.
Lab Project
The Lab category features emerging project concepts exploring future artistic possibilities. These sketches represent coculture's exploratory spirit, highlighting innovative ideas awaiting development.
While realization isn't guaranteed, this space invites viewers to envision the potential of transformative art and cultural narratives.
Project Overview
Methodology
The project adopts an applied, practice-based methodology that integrates:
- Learning through practice rather than isolated theoretical training;
- Bottom-up governance centred on participatory decision-making;
- Professional-based collective organisation rather than identity- or ideology-driven grouping;
- Integration of cultural practice with civic infrastructure.
This approach is realised through the formation of professional collectives led by participants themselves, operating within clear governance frameworks and developing competencies in project design, resource management, and shared decision-making.
Project Components
The Little Syria includes the following core components:
- Formation and empowerment of twelve professional thematic collectives, in music, visual arts, legal, media, tech, and others, operating as self-governed professional units, with the long-term goal of becoming independent non-profit organisations.
- Establishment of a safe, multi-purpose space for workshops, rehearsals, exhibitions, and community events, serving as a participatory model for civic engagement.
- Each collective designs and delivers one pilot community project, supported by a micro-grant, to be added to its professional portfolio and publicly presented.
- Creation of a digital exchange system (Time Bank) to trade time, skills, and services instead of money, fostering trust, reciprocity, and alternative community economies.
- Networking Event that unites collectives, local authorities, artists, and civil society, showcasing achievements and reinforcing networks for future collaboration.
- A documentary film produced by the Cinema Collective documenting the project, serving as both a creative and civic testimony.
Expected Impact
The project aims to:
- Strengthen social cohesion through collective professional action;
- Equip youth with practical tools for governance and institutional organisation;
- Generate replicable civic models adaptable to other Syrian cities;
- Build durable connections between cultural practice, local communities, and broader civic ecosystems.
Current and Upcoming Events
Related Activities
