Fourth International Kurdish Studies Conference: 100+ scholars gather in Erbil

Shafaq News/ The Fourth International Conference on Kurdish Studies opened on Tuesday at the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH) in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, drawing over 100 scholars from 27 countries across five continents.

Held under the theme Reimagining Kurdistan: Identity, Politics, and Resistance in a Transforming Middle East, the conference is organized in partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Center for Peace and Dialogue, and supported by France’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Higher Education, along with the French Embassy in Baghdad.

Panel discussions explore a wide range of topics, including self-governance in Syria’s Rojava, constitutional challenges in the Kurdistan Region, women’s roles in political life, and the trajectory of Kurdish nationalism.

The program also highlights the integration of tools like artificial intelligence and digital humanities in advancing Kurdish scholarship, while encouraging broader academic collaboration and dialogue on Kurdistan’s place in a shifting geopolitical landscape.