Food Sovereignty in Iraq and Kurdistan

The members of the “Gwez w Nakhl” network have set their sights on nothing less than this: Food Sovereignty in Iraq and Kurdistan. And so the film of the same name accompanies the group at their meetings and in their agro-ecological gardens in Dohuk, Sulaymaniya and Baghdad. The farmers, activists and scientists from central Iraq and various regions of Kurdistan came together a few years ago to share their experiences, exchange ideas and support each other. The name they gave themselves means walnut ("Gwez" in Kurdish) and date palm ("Nahkl" in Arabic), underlining the inclusive and all-Iraqi perspective of their work. The documentary short film directed by Albaqer Jafeer highlights both the effects of climate change and political and economic developments in Iraq on agriculture, society and the environment, as well as the opportunities that exist for organizing from below to counter these challenges.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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Film screening "Gwez w Nakhl. A Journey Towards Food Sovereignty in Iraq and Kurdistan", 2023, European Premiere (ca. 15 min), in Kurdish and Arabic, subtitled in English<o:p></o:p>

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Followed by a Q&A discussion in English with the following speakers:

• Ansar Jasim, Co-founder of Gwez w Nakhl network
• Dr. Shenah Abdullah, Programme Manager for Food Sovereignty for RLS Beirut office and member of the Kurdish group in Gwez w Nakhl network, online connected from Slemani, Iraqi Kurdistan<o:p></o:p>
• Facilitation: Ulrike Lauerhaß, Senior Advisor for Iraq, RLS<o:p></o:p>