SulaimaniForum

Hosted By

Institute of Regional & International Studies (IRIS)

CONVENED AT

American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS)

Plenary Sessions

Details subject to modification.

08:30 AM

Registration Begins

10:00 AM

University Welcome

Dr. Mac Skelton, Executive Director, Institute of Regional & International Studies

Dr. Bilal Wahab, President, American University of Iraq, Sulaimani

10:20 AM

Opening speech - TBD

10:50 AM

Plenary Speech - TBA

11:10 AM

Panel One - TBA

12:15 AM

Panel Two - TBA

1:20 PM

One-on-One Conversation - TBD

2:00 PM

Lunch

03:00 PM

Energy Center Announcement - TBD

03:15 PM

One-on-One Conversation -TBD

03:45 PM

Panel Three - TBD

04:45 PM

Closing One-on-One- or End of Day 1

05:15 PM

Thematics Roundtables (side rooms)

05:00 PM

Conclusion

07:30 PM

Gala Dinner

Plenary Sessions

Details subject to modification.

08:30 AM

Registration Begins

10:00 AM

Panel Four - TBD

11:00 AM

Panel Five - TBD

12:05 PM

Keynotes address and One-on-One Conversation

12:30 PM

Panel Six - TBD

01:30 PM

Panel Seven - TBD

Roundtables

Details subject to modification.

02:30 PM

Security and Civilians in Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon

Location: Building A – Study Center

This roundtable explores the impact of conflict on civilians across Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, focusing on both immediate and long-term consequences. From disrupted access to aid and healthcare to enduring effects on morbidity, mortality, and displacement, the session brings together experts to connect conflict dynamics with the lived realities of civilian harm, and to consider how protracted violence reshapes health and humanitarian outcomes over time.

Simona Foltyn, Journalist & Filmmaker (Moderator)

Ryan Geitner, Project Manager, Airwars
Sam Heller, Researcher and Analyst, Century International
Arwa Damon, President and Founder, International Network for Aid, Relief & Assistance
Tuqah Abdullatif, Founder, Khutwa Center for Orthotics & Prosthetics Service in Mosul
Hozan Ibrahim, Executive Director, IMPACT

02:30 PM

Youth Demographics and Change

Location: Building B – Library

Iraq stands at a demographic crossroads, with a rising generation that could either drive the country forward or deepen its existing challenges. Young people now make up the clear majority of the population, yet they face shrinking opportunities and growing exclusion. Despite multiple government strategies aimed at supporting youth, these efforts have lacked follow-through and have done little to ensure meaningful roles in public life. In the face of mounting climate pressures, selective infrastructure investments that many argue benefit only a narrow elite, and growing frustration among young citizens, Iraq risks squandering the energy and talent of an entire generation, leading to increased frustration.

Hayder Al-Shakeri, Research Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House (Moderator)

Dr. Amanj Harki, MP and Deputy Chair of the Youth and Sports committee at the Iraqi Council of Representatives
Zahraa Al-Sadr, Member of the Political Bureau, Al-Hikma National Movement (ILF Alumni)
Ahang Hawrami, Researcher, Sbey Research Center (ILF Alumni)
Ahmed Fathi, Founder and Director, Project Leap

04:00 PM

Program Closes

Featured Guests

Lahib Higel

Crisis Group

Dr. Renad Mansour

Chatham House

Abdulla Al-Qadi

Pearl Petroleum-Country Chariman, Iraq

Tom Malinowski

Former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Victoria Taylor

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

Arwa Damon

INARA

Asaad Al Eidani

Governor of Basra, Iraq

Barbara A. Leaf

Fmr Asst. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs-Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow, MEI

Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako

Chaldean Patriarch, Iraq

Dareen Khalifa

Crisis Group

Dr. Abdulaziz Sager

Chairman, Gulf Research Center

Dr. Abdulkarim Ekzayez

King's College London

Dr. Bader Alsaif

Kuwait University

Dr. Barham Salih

Founder and Chairman, AUIS

Dr. Bilal Wahab

President, AUIS

Dr. Bilgay Duman

Senior Analyst, Anadolu Agency

Dr. Comfort Ero

President & CEO, Crisis Group

Dr. Erica Gaston

Head of Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace Program, United Nations University

Dr. Joost Hiltermann

Crisis Group

Dr. Mac Skelton

Executive Director, IRIS

Dr. Maria Fantappie

Istituto Affari Internazionali

Dr. Yousuf Al Bulushi

Chairman, Muscat Policy Center

Guest

Guest

H.E. Ammar Al-Hakim

Head of Hikma National Movement

H.E. Ann Linde

Former Foreign Minister, Sweden

H.E. Bafel Talabani

President, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

H.E. Hallo Askari

Minister of Environment, Iraq

H.E. Hayyan Abdul Ghani

Minister of Oil, Iraq

H.E. Hoshyar Zebari

H.E. Masrour Barzani

Prime Minister, Kurdistan Regional Government

H.E. Mohamed Al Hassan

SRSG, UNAMI

H.E. Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani

Prime Minister, Iraq

H.E. Nechirvan Barzani

President, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

H.E. Qubad Talabani

Deputy Prime Minister, Kurdistan Region

H.E. Rebar Ahmed Khalid

Minister of Interior, Kurdistan Regional Government

H.E. Saeed Khatibzadeh

Deputy Foreign Minister, Iran

H.E. Thomas Seiller

Ambassador of the European Union, Iraq

Hayder Al Shakeri

Chatham House

Laith Kubba

Former Advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister

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