The “A Better Tomorrow” team from the Department of Public Relations at the College of Mass Communication, University of Baghdad, organized an awareness seminar titled “From Noise to Calm… From Chaos to Beauty,” as part of the department’s graduation project activities. The seminar was prepared by students Fatima Adel Haider and Maryam Hamid Sakr, under the supervision of a group of College faculty members.
The seminar was attended by a number of specialists, including urban planner Kazem Mohammed, Senior Engineer Wissam George Gabriel, and Ali Jaber, Director of the Air Quality Department. They discussed noise and visual pollution, focusing on its causes and effects on the environment and society, as well as its various manifestations in public spaces.
The participants emphasized the importance of joint efforts between government institutions and community members to address the issue and improve Baghdad’s urban landscape, creating a more organized and visually appealing city.
The seminar concluded with a set of practical recommendations, including calls for the Baghdad Municipality to regulate advertisements, remove visual encroachments, control noise levels, and expand green spaces, as well as impose fines on violators. The Ministry of Environment was also encouraged to launch awareness campaigns, establish noise standards, strengthen cooperation with media outlets and educational institutions, and conduct regular field studies. At the community level, the recommendations called for reducing the use of vehicle horns, avoiding the random placement of advertisements, maintaining the city’s cleanliness, and promoting environmental awareness.
At the conclusion of the seminar, the organizers emphasized that reducing noise and visual pollution is a shared responsibility that contributes to building a healthy and sustainable urban environment, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, which seeks to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
