In December 2021, I was an Academic Communications Manager for the Early Modern Greek Culture Programme of the Medici Archive Project. I was invited to participate in a Public Diplomacy project in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as a scientific collaborator and coordinator. The initiative was organized by the International Summer Academy on Media of Thessaloniki (THISAM), under the leadership of Professor Nikolaos Panagiotou (School of Journalism and Mass Media Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), and the Greek Consulate General in Erbil. It took place in the context of initiatives for international communication and development set up by THISAM and the CGE and involved diplomatic missions in the KRI, bringing together journalists, academics, and liaison managers with expertise in Media and Communications, International Relations, Public Diplomacy, Political Theory and History. The The aim was to establish connections between influential academics of Greece and the KRI. The project was developed between December 2021 and December 2022.
In light of this, a visit at the KRI took place in May and June 2022. The list of the participants includes the following individuals (except me, as one of the main organisers): Ms Maria Zacharaki (journalist in the network OPEN TV and correspondend in Türkiye), Fanis Papathanasiou (journalists in Hellenic Broadcasting Corporations ERT), Nikos Kifonidis (liaison manager in migration), Ms Antigoni Mara (teacher specialised in learning disabilities). The the team delivered lectures on war and democracy, alongside other participants. Together with the Greek Consul General, it joined roundtable discussions with students, academics, politicians and leaders of persecuted religious and ethnic minorities – such as Christian groups and the Yazidi community. These discussions took place at prominent venues including the Goethe Institute of Erbil, the Regional Parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan and the Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) of the Kurdish Government.I played a key role in coordinating the participation of academics and journalists, co-designing the programme’s structure and content, including selecting the specific types of lectures for each institution our delegation was invited. I also leveraged my role as a coordinator for the organisation Study in Greece to facilitate such initiatives.
Cultural and Educational Impact
My invitation to participate brought Greek intellectual traditions into dialogue with Kurdish and minority cultures. This exchange elevated the visibility of persecuted groups like the Yazidis in the Greek press, informing broader audiences about their plights and hardships. My lectures, delivered at the Goethe Institute, introduced new ideas about war and governance to KRI students and scholars. This promoted interest in comparative political studies. Furthermore, My participation reinforced Greece’s diplomatic engagement with local bodies and universities, strengthening academic coordination between Athens and the KRI. Following this, a stage of expanded collaboration emerged; the Summer Course in Ancient Perspectives − Modern Challenges welcomed students from the region for three consecutive years. This paved the way for the creation of more partnerships between Kurdish and Greek universities. In this context, a triple Master’s program on Leadership and Ethics, run by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH) and the University of Sulaimani, was created. Currently, I participate in this MSc programme as a teaching member. Moreover, in the light of such collaborations, I solidified my influence in bridging academic communities and advancing interdisciplinary education while pursuing cross-cultural research in the field of politics and philosophy through his role as a Post-Doctoral researcher at the NKUA.
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