Face of the Truth: Khartoum Goes Green…

Ibrahim Shaglawi

The “Khartoum Goes Green” initiative represents a striking shift in the political and social mood after the war, as it redefines the role of youth and the meaning of reconstruction. It also redefines the relationship between the citizen and the state, affirming that Khartoum’s recovery begins from within, through the will of its people—not through negotiation tables—by way of tree planting and the promotion of security.

This important youth role is part of a personal experience in voluntary work. In 2016, I directly led the National Group of Civil Society Organizations, which then included 64 youth organizations. Through it, we implemented a number of humanitarian initiatives that proved youth are capable of mobilizing society and supporting state institutions, and that civic activism can be a soft yet influential force for change.

This capacity was embodied in projects to resettle nomadic communities in Darfur, in what became known as water harvesting, which enabled about 380 families to return to their homes after water, pasture, education, and healthcare were provided, in close cooperation with government bodies.

This experience proved that voluntary work is not a marginal activity, but rather a genuine political lever that rebuilds both authority and society, and confirms that youth are active partners in shaping reality and restoring life to the land of Sudan.

Today, the initiative calls on the massive bloc of nationally and internationally registered organizations—exceeding ten thousand according to the statistics of the Humanitarian Aid Commission—to engage in this national project.

Sudan includes more than 10,500 national organizations, of which about 4,800 are officially registered, in addition to 107 foreign organizations working in the fields of relief, reconstruction, health, food security, and education.

This silent “civil army” has never been outside the political equation; it has always been part of the engineering of stability and fragility alike, capable of transforming diverse expertise into an effective force to restore life to Khartoum and society after the war.

The participation of these organizations will translate diverse experiences into an effective force to bring Khartoum back to life through tree planting, restoration, environmental sanitation, and by transforming streets and parks into vibrant spaces.

Conversely, no voluntary work can succeed in isolation from the support of governmental and private entities. These young people met with officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Animal Resources and the State of Khartoum. These meetings were followed by commitments to provide seedlings, training, and coordination with localities and partners—revealing that the initiative has moved beyond theorizing to enter the heart of implementation as part of reconstruction.

This initiative came to confirm that the state, which has returned to Khartoum after the war, has become an active actor and a partner in a project that redefines authority as empowerment and care, not merely top-down administration.

This path coincides with broad governmental steps to normalize life: removing war debris, reopening hospitals, rehabilitating parks and stadiums, and maintaining electricity, water, and telecommunications networks. Yet, however important these measures may be, they remain incomplete without active youth energies that reshape the relationship between the city and its residents.

Comparative experiences in Beirut and Rwanda after war offer a reading of this transformation. In Beirut, youth preceded the state to the squares, replanted and rehabilitated them, and turned volunteering into a political practice that anticipated the state in rebuilding the city.

Likewise in Rwanda, voluntary work became part of a new social contract, redefining the citizen as a partner in construction.

Khartoum today stands between these two models: it begins from the street, yet holds the opportunity to become a comprehensive national project that integrates youth, civil society, and the private sector at the heart of reconstruction and state rebuilding after the war.

The participation of Prime Minister Dr. Kamil Idris in planting trees, and the support of the Sovereign Council and governors for rehabilitation projects, is a clear political signal that youth, civil partners, and the private sector are part of the future of the state and its renaissance.

Politically, the initiative represents a model of what can be called “the new reconstruction”: the reconstruction of trust, and the redefinition of the الوطن (homeland) as a shared space, not a battlefield. If this experience receives smart government sponsorship, and engagement from civil society organizations, the private sector, and international institutions, and is expanded to include other cities, it may turn into a national platform to reintegrate youth into the state project, as partners in shaping the future.

The initiative, which carries the slogan “In place of every shell, a tree,” may be seen as an environmental activity, but in reality it is a strategic transformation in the spirit of Sudan’s youth—from destruction to construction, from anger and barricades to hope and reconstruction, and from ruin to life. It also reflects an important political awareness that youth are not mere recipients, but active partners in shaping reality and building the future of the state.

The comparison between “youth of construction” and “youth of barricades” does not condemn a generation, but rather highlights the general transformation in the national mood: from the logic of destruction to the logic of building, from the frustration of anger to the horizon of hope, and from conflict to peacebuilding.

According to #Face_of_the_Truth, “Khartoum Goes Green” دis a new and promising beginning. If it is well embraced, expanded to include other cities, and linked to smart partnerships with civil society organizations and major companies, it will become a national platform to reintegrate youth and partners into the making of the state, turning every tree into a symbol of resilience, revival, and the restoration of life to the capital after the war.

Stay well and in good health.

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Shglawi55@gmail.com