It’s no secret that the Kurds are an essential component of the Middle East, especially for western interests. However, in 2021 the Kurdish nation, divided into four regions, faced numerous challenges and uncertainty. Our distinguished panelists will review the events in Kurdistan in 2021 and what to look forward to in the new year. Our panelists will propose policy recommendations from Kurdish perspective for 2022 and beyond for each Kurdish region.
Speakers:
Arash Saleh (Iranian Kurdistan/Rojhelat)
Yerevan Saeed (Iraqi Kurdistan, Bashur)
Azad Deewanee (Syrian Kurdistan, Rojava)
Deniz Gumustekin (Turkey’s Kurdistan/ Bakur)
Yousif Ismael (Moderator)
About Speakers:
Dr. Deniz Gumustekin completed MA in Political Science at Georgia State University and earned her PhD in International Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University. Currently, Dr. Gumustekin is a part-time faculty member for both Interdisciplinary Studies Department and Political Science Department at Kennesaw State University.
Yerevan Saeed is a Ph.D. candidate at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University. His research interests focus on resource curse, political economy, the geopolitics of energy, governance, corruption, ethnic conflicts, U.S.-Kurdish relations, conflict analysis and resolution, negotiations, and Middle Eastern studies. He has served as White House correspondent for the Kurdish Rudaw TV and his work has been published in Al-Jazeera, the Washington Institute’s Fikra Forum, the Diplomatic Courier, The New York Times, the London-based Majalla magazine, Rudaw, and Kurdish newspapers.
Dr. Azad Deewanee Ph.D. in Peace Studies (Conflict Resolution), and former lawyer and advocate of human rights from Rojava (Kurdistan Region of Syria.) Dr. Deewanee is an independent scholar, previously worked as a lawyer and human rights advocate and dealt with cases related to Kurds, Iraqis, Syrians, and others. Dr. Dewanee’s researches focus on Middle Eastern conflicts, political discourse, terrorism, Jihadism, human rights, the Kurdish question, and U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Arash Saleh is the Representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I) in Washington.