Washington Office Event: Cultural Restoration in Post-Conflict Northern Iraq

𝑈𝑆𝐴𝐼𝐷'𝑠 𝐿𝐴𝑆𝐸𝑅 𝑃𝑈𝐿𝑆𝐸 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛 2020 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝐼𝑟𝑎𝑞. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒ℎ 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑡 𝑁𝐷’𝑠 𝑊𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛, 𝐷.𝐶. 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 13.

Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, and several million were displaced, many due to the Islamic State's occupation and the subsequent military campaign to defeat its forces. IS particularly targeted minority communities living in northern Iraq's diverse Ninewa province, home to Christians, Yezidis, Shabaks, Turkmen, and Kaka'i. Agricultural livelihoods were devastated, and many historical, religious, and cultural heritage sites were destroyed. 
 

In 2020, the USAID-funded LASER PULSE program began fieldwork on a project to support the restoration of culturally significant agricultural practices and rebuild religious and community connections in Northern Iraq.
 

Join the Pulte Institute to hear from the U.S. and Iraqi research team about their efforts to help revive the diverse, vibrant Nineveh Plains region and ethnographic research's role in informing social cohesion and livelihood programs in the Middle East and beyond. 
 

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐒𝐄 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐦, 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐮𝐡𝐨𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞.
 

 

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SCHEDULE

12:15 - 12:50 p.m. - Registration and Lunch

1 - 3:30 p.m. - Symposium

• Intro to Iraq Context and Ethnographic Research - Design 
• Wild Plants and Herbarium 
• Agricultural Extension and Botanical Gardens
• Olive Oil Market Analysis
• Social Cohesion and Advocacy

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Panel Discussion

• The Role of Culture in Peacebuilding in Multicultural Post-Conflict Societies

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Reception
 

PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE:

Harry Bader, JD (USAID)

Kate Eddens, PhD (Indiana University)

Shivan Fazil (SIPRI)

Rund Hammoudi, PhD (University of Duhok)

Peter Hirst, PhD (Purdue University)

Nashwan Shawkat Mahmood, PhD (University of Duhok)

Juliano M. R. Marques, PhD (Purdue University)

Nabaz Ibraheem Mohammed, PhD (University of Duhok)

Sean O'Neill (University of Notre Dame)

Omran Ali Omer, PhD (University of Duhok)

Sarah R. Osterhoudt, PhD (Indiana University)

Knox Thames (Senior Fellow at Pepperdine University)