The Nahrein Network's policy work

The long-term protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage, particularly in a conflict and post-conflict situation, requires renewed thinking about how policy, namely laws, rules, regulations and frameworks, can contribute to ensuring cultural continuity and sustainability of tangible and intangible cultures.

In this context, the Nahrein Network offered advice to the Government of Iraq, including the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the form of policy-oriented papers, meetings and ongoing dialogue. It also worked closely with UNESCO Iraq, British Council Iraq, and ALIPH on their approach to supporting cultural heritage in Iraq.

The European Union External Actions Service

In 2020, the Nahrein Network contributed towards the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) report on the ‘Role of the EU in the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts in the Middle East’. The policy-oriented research paper, which took Iraq as a case-study, noted that a major shift was taking place from government-to-government cultural diplomacy to increasingly assertive interventions in the field of cultural heritage in conflict contexts. The report was based on forty interviews with EU officials, the EU delegation in Iraq and other key stakeholders who are working to strengthen international policy in the field of conflict and cultural heritage. The EEAS policy paper contributed to the development of an operational policy for the EU and Member States which took effect in 2022.

• Read the report or listen to presentations given at the International conference on Youtube.

Chatham House Iraq Initiative

The Nahrein Network partnered with Chatham House to deliver a number of webinars and roundtable meetings on cultural heritage in Iraq, led by Iraqi heritage experts. A policy-oriented report based on interviews with Iraqi heritage practitioners, donors and international organisations was published in English and Arabic in 2022.

• 2 - 3 October 2019, Chatham House, Iraq in Transition Conference, Roundtable discussion: The Role of Cultural Heritage in the Reconstruction of Iraq

• 30 July 2020, Chatham House Virtual Roundtable: Statebuilding and Cultural Heritage in Iraq

• 28 March 2022, Chatham House Research Paper Launch event, Cultural heritage predation in Iraq: The sectarian appropriation of Iraq's past

• Read the report on Cultural Heritage Predation in Iraq (2022) in English or Arabic.

The Future of Cultural Heritage in Iraq Webinar Series

This webinar series ran from 5th October to 10th December 2020 as part of the Network's collaboration with Chatham House. It aimed to highlight challenges, opportunities and policy issues in relation to Iraq’s cultural heritage.

The series brought together speakers and participants from the UK, Iraq and across the world to discuss a wide-ranging set of issues concerning cultural heritage, including cultural protection, sustainability, the economy, peace-making, education, conservation and intangible cultures.

• Baghdad Historical City: A conversation (5 October 2020)

• Intangible cultural heritage in Iraq. What relevance for policy and practice? (15 October 2020)

• Cultural heritage, the environment and sustainability (22 October 2020)

• Conservation in Iraq: practices, challenges and opportunities (29 October 2020)

• The role of Academia in Preserving and Documenting Heritage (30 October 2020)

• Cultural Heritage in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Challenges and Policies (5 November 2020)

• Historic city centres and cultural continuity in Iraq (23 November 2020)

• The role of civil society and youth in Iraq’s cultural heritage (26 November 2020)

• Heritage in Basrah - learning from past activities and possibilities for the future (3rd December 2020)

• The role of higher education in enhancing learning in cultural heritage (10 December 2020)