Through the media, people around the world know something of Iraq’s religious, ethnic and political fault-lines. Less well-known is that there are also examples of favourable co-operation across these lines. The Iraqi Local Government Association brings together elected provincial councillors from all parts of the country, with different political and religious backgrounds, to work on issues of common interest to all local governments in the country. This is an opportunity to hear what you don’t hear in the media.

Levels of violence vary through time and from place to place in Iraq, as in many other conflict areas. Opportunities to create common ground for local governments fluctuate too – but they do exist. What characterises these opportunities? What are ways to act upon them, and to facilitate or craft the process? To what degree can local governments walk a path that local societies or even the nation will walk later? If it works in Iraq, would it work elsewhere? Iraqis and foreigners with hands-on experience in the country, from the local level to the national policy level, will join this session and analyse this fascinating case.

 

Moderator
Ronald W. Johnson, PhD, RTI International

Speakers

Abdul Kadum Khudair Ajeel, President of the Iraqi Local Government Association

 

Nariman Abdulkadir Ibrahim, Second Vice-President of the Iraqi Local Government Association

 

Abdul Ahad Sahebi, Mayor of Kabul (Afghanistan)