On 25 February 2025, the University of Duhok hosted a conference titled ‘Preserving Cultural Heritage in Kurdistan – Iraq’. This event, organised in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies, marked the end of the Middle East People’s Culture Conservation Collective (MEPCCC) project. Funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, MEPCCC set out with the explicit aim of safeguarding the endangered cultural heritage of religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities in Egypt, Syria and Iraq using participatory methods.
In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq there is a vital need to protect and preserve the living heritage of groups such as the Yazidis, Kakayis, Shabaks, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Armenians, Sabean-Mandeans, Syriacs and the Turkmen of Tal Afar. Marginalised on religious, ethnic, linguistic or cultural grounds, the living heritage of these nine communities is at risk of disappearance due to the political instability, protracted conflict and mass atrocities that have rocked much of Iraq’s history.
During his opening speech Mr Ben Izak, Deputy Director of British Council Iraq, emphasised the necessity of safeguarding cultural heritage. He stated:
By preserving and promoting the traditions, languages, and customs of different communities, we enrich our shared cultural fabric and promote mutual respect and understanding, and this diversity brings associated benefits. Diversity strengthens creativity and innovation. As people bring different approaches to solving problems, from unique angles, from the way different communities see problems and look to strive for solutions, and this creates stronger solutions. This means diverse communities are more adaptable, they’re more resilient, and help societies thrive in an interconnected world.
The conference
Operating in this context, the conference brought together prominent academic leaders, religious and cultural representatives and activists to discuss the importance of celebrating and protecting the vibrant tapestry of cultural heritage that characterises Kurdistan and Iraq. The conference was attended by over 160 participants, a notable turnout that underscores the widespread interest and commitment to preserving cultural heritage in the region.
The conference showcased several key achievements of the MEPCCC project including the training of five University of Duhok faculty members; the design, creation and integration of heritage courses into University of Duhok curricula; the recruitment and training of 16 heritage gatherers; and the subsequent development of an extensive digital archive.
For Dr. Dawood Sulaiman Atrushi, President of the University of Duhok, the significance of the institutionalisation of heritage studies cannot be understated:
“One of the project’s achievements is the integration of heritage documentation into academic learning. This project has not only documented heritage but has also become part of the academic process at the University of Duhok. A special heritage course has been added to the curriculum of the College of Humanities, taught in three departments: Sociology, History, and Peace and Human Rights. Since 2023, nearly 80 students have registered for this course each year, highlighting the growing academic interest in this field.”
Discussions on the role of the university in the preservation of cultural heritage underscored its importance as a cultural institution, and in Kurdistan in particular, as place-based sites of meaning making, cultural exchange and knowledge transfer. Panellists emphasised the need for freedom from ideological influence, and for universities to reflect the demographic populations of the geographies in which they are based and, thus, for returning to the communities from which they came.
For Father Emmanuel Youkhana, President of CAPNI in Duhok and representative of the Assyrians, practical steps to be taken include reflecting languages beyond Arabic, Kurdish and English to include minoritised languages such as Syriac, or mobile festivals celebrating the various holidays, food, religious shrines and clothing of the various communities, such as the Turkmen of Tal Afar, the Sabean-Mandeans or the Kakayis, for example.
The Handbook of Iraqi People’s Heritage
In addition, the publication and launch of The Handbook of Iraqi People’s Heritage marked a monumental milestone in the collaborative efforts between the Institute of Development Studies and the University of Duhok.
Dr Shivan Shlaymoon Toma, Iraq project convenor and Head of the Department of Translation, College of Languages at the University of Duhok, expressed pride in the achievement, stating:
“We are certainly proud of what we have achieved, and the fruit of this project is the book we are discussing…this book is the result of five years of hard work, and we thank the heritage gatherers who are the main contributors in this field today.’ To celebrate this achievement and ensure the book remains accessible and beneficial to the communities it represents, all attendees received a complimentary copy.”
Perhaps most salient, however, was the impact on and impact of the heritage gatherers themselves – the young people aged 19 – 35 belonging to these nine communities and trained in skills such as photography, videography, oral histories, interviews as well as digital archiving and data preservation. The sense of deep appreciation and responsibility the heritage gatherers felt for their heritage and cultures as a result of participating in the project was profound. Ari Boghos, panellist and heritage gatherer representing the Armenian experience, shared ‘it was one of the best projects we participated in, adding a lot to us, developing our capabilities significantly, contributing to protecting our heritage, and contributing to spreading our heritage.’
During focus groups and informal conversations, many heritage gatherers shared personal stories about discovering songs, dances and food previously unknown to them. Others expressed pride and belonging where they had once felt a sense of loss and alienation. Meanwhile, on a practical level, participation in the project developed the capabilities and skills of heritage gatherers that were transferable to income-generating activities.
The sentiments expressed by the heritage gatherers directly speak to the connection between heritage, wellbeing and development as eloquently addressed by Professor Mariz Tadros, Director of the MEPCCC and Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies:
In a context where communities have so many developmental needs, some consider engaging with heritage as sheer nonsense. They argue that basic needs must first be addressed and then we can talk about heritage. But heritage and development need not be at odds with each other, heritage is an aspect of development. Even when you lack basic necessities, you still need to have a sense of your being, your purpose, your rootedness, and heritage helps a great deal in addressing this. Joy is not a luxury for those who can afford it, it is a basic human need and it is achieved through singing, sharing food and many other aspects of lived heritage.
Our legacy
UNESCO defines heritage as ‘our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.’ Heritage is the narrative which sustains and shapes the present and is a source of inspiration and life. Protecting living heritage is important because the loss of immaterial manifestations of culture or intangible cultural heritage – customs, oral traditions, languages, knowledges, rituals, arts and social practices – leads to a weakening of cultural identity, a diminished sense of community, and threatens individual and collective wellbeing.
The encounters between and intergenerational transmission of knowledge from community elders, the heritage keepers, to the young people, the heritage gatherers, fulfils three purposes: the recognition and valorisation of the knowledge and embodied memories of everyday community members; the preservation of intangible cultural heritage for future generations to come; and the empowerment and strengthening of heritage gatherer’s identities and understanding of their heritage in the here and now.
Preserving heritage as mean of survival
Panellist Jalal Elias Salim, representing the Yazidi community, stated that ‘peoples without history have no heritage.’ Conversely, it can be said that peoples without heritage have no history. In this sense remembering is a political act, as is the documenting and archiving of cultural heritage practices, oral histories and knowledges of marginalised groups and communities. Archives play a crucial role in shaping our understanding of history, determining what is to be kept and what is to be destroyed and lost to time. The very acts of seeing, gathering and recording previously under-document shared histories and ways of life serves as a mean of survival, ensuring the ongoing continuity of communities under threat of erasure from conflict, violence, persecution or displacement.
Beyond this, heritage is central to one’s sense of being and identity. The MEPCCC has made significant strides in this area, as demonstrated throughout the conference. By centring the communities themselves in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, MEPCCC honours the past, enriches the present and inspires future generations to cherish and protect their cultural legacies.
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