As Syria enters a new phase of political and institutional transition, international actors are gradually re-establishing their presence in Damascus. The return of international cooperation to Syria marks the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s recovery following the political transition of 2024. The new DPP thematic hub focusing on Governance, Resilience and Recovery in Syria (DPP-GRR) is the latest example of this evolution.
However, the DPP in Syria takes a clear approach: international cooperation rooted in Syrian academic institutions, combining international and local expertise, and viewing Syrian professionals not merely as “recipients” of capacity-building, but as producers of knowledge. Any success of international academic cooperation in Syria should not ultimately be measured by how much international expertise enters the country, but by how much locally grounded knowledge and institutional capacity remain and Syrian expertise becomes part of international debates.
Against this backdrop, DPP-GRR was launched in Damascus in August 2026. The programme is implemented in partnership with Damascus University, the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), in close consultation with the Syrian Diplomatic Institute, and with the support of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Damascus, the Canton of Geneva, and a Swiss private foundation. The launch also marks an important milestone for the Geneva Graduate Institute. Nearly a century after its foundation in 1927, the Institute is bringing its executive education activities to Syria for the first time, at a pivotal moment in the country’s transition.
Through its curriculum and community of practice bringing together alumnae·i from successive cohorts producing a policy paper, the programme’s ambition extends well beyond the 48 professionals who will graduate over the next four years. The strong interest in the programme is evident from the large number of applications received for 12 spots.
One of the objectives of this initiative is to create spaces where international academic knowledge, Syrian know-how, and locally generated knowledge can interact and reinforce one another. This approach also aims to generate a multiplier effect: participants are not only individual beneficiaries, but also professionals embedded in institutions and networks through which new approaches, methods, and practices can circulate. The development of a community of practice further extends this dynamic beyond the classroom, offering participants and alumnae·i a space to share their experiences, reflect together on new challenges, and gradually generate contextually grounded knowledge and policy recommendations.
More than two decades after the creation of the DPP this network is now helping to create new connections between Syrian professionals, academics and practitioners in Syria, Geneva and beyond.
This article was published in Globe #38, the Graduate Institute Review.