Nahrein Network
Huge new threats to Iraq’s future have emerged in past few years, while the old ones have not gone away. The economy is still heavily dependent on oil. Post-Da’esh reconstruction has been frustratingly slow. Iraq's political system is as fragile as ever, while poverty, gender inequalities, and youth unemployment remain endemic. Meanwhile, damming, oil extraction, and global climate heating are destroying the environment. There has never been a greater need for big, bold responses to these intractable challenges.
The Nahrein Network extended its work with Iraqi academics and cultural heritage professionals to tackle these problems. Working with well-established partnerships and creating new ones, we supported research and policy on:
an integrated approach to natural and cultural heritage;
youth-focused solutions, both within and outside the state;
reparative approaches to the past, inspired by the work of UCL History’s Centre for Study of the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership.
The Nahrein Network worked with Iraqi stakeholders including cultural workers and activists, researchers, state authorities and other parts of Iraqi society to aid the country's post-conflict recovery.
Supporting Iraqi colleagues' research
Research Grants Scheme and Mini-Grants Scheme. Twice a year, we offered a range of grants to support Iraqi-led research on the ways in which heritage, history and the humanities can improve life in Iraq.
Visiting Scholarships. Once a year, we offered a visiting scholarship scheme to bring Iraqi heritage professionals and academics to the UK for two-month placements.
Graduate Studentship. In 2020–23 we offered a small number of MA+PhD studentships, covering the full costs of graduate study in a history or heritage related subject at UCL.
Research Workshops. Building on the success of our British Academy funded Iraq Publishing Workshops in 2019, we offered a multi-year programme, AcademIQ, designed to support Iraqi researchers in the arts, humanities and social sciences with academic skills development.
Research Networks. We supported the development of disciplinary research networks in Iraq, including the highly successful Kurdish Cultural Heritage Network.
Dr Rozhen Mohammed-Amin, lecturer and researcher at the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies & Scientific Research (KISSR) and co-founder and president of the Cultural Heritage Organization (CHO), continues her team's groundbreaking research on the roles of digital technologies in enhancing the emotional impact of heritage.
Dr Mehiyar Kathem, Senior Research Associate at University College London, conducts research and policy consultancy on the politics of heritage, statebuilding and peace-building in Iraq.
Professor Eleanor Robson, Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History at UCL, collaborates with The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus and UCL's Research Software Development Group to develop Arabic-language tools for online, open-access publication, research and education on the cuneiform cultures of ancient Iraq and its neighbours.
Furthering team research
Aims
To better understand the current situation
Why, and how, have local experts and audiences been excluded from the production and consumption of knowledge about the past of Iraq and its neighbours? We aimed to develop a fuller historical and political understanding of this problem.
See UN SDG 10: Reduce inequalities between and within countries
To raise the profile of local expertise
We aimed to support Iraqi humanities academics and heritage professionals to engage with regional and global academic communities, as producers of research for international consumption.
See UN SDG 17: Strengthen partnerships for sustainable development
3. To improve the job prospects of the region's youth
We aimed to improve employability and leadership potential for humanities graduates from Iraqi universities.
See UN SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
4. To help heritage organisations better serve local needs
We aimed to enable Iraqi museums, archives, cultural heritage sites, and registered NGOs to contribute to, and diversify, local tourism and knowledge economies.
See UN SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
5. To help post-conflict healing and reconciliation
We aimed to develop the role of Iraqi history and heritage in repairing past injustices, and in building inclusive communities and a fairer, more cohesive society.
See UN SDG 16: Promote peace, justice and strong institutions
6. To address Iraq's climate emergency
We aimed to foster an integrated, holistic approach to heritage and the environment, in order to mitigate against the effects of impending natural disaster.
See UN SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Over-arching goals
These aims are carefully directed at improving the economic prospects and social welfare of the five social groups who are most vulnerable to being 'left behind' in Iraq. In relation to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the Network aims to tackle:
improved employability for young humanities graduates (SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth);
improved inclusion and representation of women and minorities in education, society and the economy (SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities);
increased local tourism and knowledge economies around cultural heritage sites (SDG 14: Life Below Water; SDG 15: Life on Land);
better social cohesion in war-damaged communities (SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions);
increased resilience to the threat posed by rapid climate change in Iraq (SDG 13: Climate action)
The Nahrein Network fostered the sustainable development of history, heritage and the humanities in post-conflict Iraq and its neighbours. We have six clearly defined aims, each linked to one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals: