President Barzani: We have to trust ourselves to build our future
The Second World Kurdish Congress (WKC), financed by the Kurdistan Regional Government, started on 11 Oct in the Kurdish capital Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region. Over 600 Kurdish and non-Kurdish scientists, experts, academics, policy makers, researchers and practitioners from four continents were welcomed by the Head of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa, Prof Alan Dilani and Dr Carol Prunhuber from the Organizing Committee. Foreign diplomatic representatives in Kurdistan also attended the event with high interest. The congress was officially opened with the Kurdish national anthem Ey Reqip.
The aim of the congress is to bring together Kurdish and non-Kurdish scientists, experts in different fields, academics, policy makers, researchers and practitioners from the Kurdish diasporas to Kurdistan, to exchange ideas with Kurdish local colleagues about how to develop federal Kurdistan.
At the opening of the Kurdish Congress, President Barzani said, “I am happy to see so many Kurdish scientists and experts in different fields. But it’s also a great source of wealth to see so many Kurdish friends from different parts of the world and from neighbouring countries”.
The Kurdish President said, “We achieved a free Kurdistan and so many positive developments in the last 10 to 15 years as a result of our long struggle, suffering and many who sacrificed their lives. Now the Kurdistan Region needs expertise in all fields to develop and ensure the future of Kurdistan. Kurdistan is entrusted to all of us today. We have to trust ourselves and to build our own future. We have to build a strong infrastructure. We need you, we need science and we need your critical voice. I wish the congress much success."
Regarding the suffering od Kurds from other parts of Kurdistan, President Barzani said, “Today we have also to use other methods than military struggle to gain our fundamental rights”.
Minister Mustafa underlined that the Kurdistan Regional Government is looking forward to cooperating more closely with the WKC in the near future for bigger projects. “This is just a beginning. We need your constructive criticism”, said Minister Falah.
The sessions hold today were organised into three main topics: Science and Health Care Treatment, Science of Preventive Health and its Promotion and Challenges for the Kurdish Diaspora and Migration.
The first session was animated by prominent medicine specialists and researchers: Dr Rang Noory Shawis (Kurdistan/UK), Prof Nawzad Saleh PhD (Sweden), Seddigh Zarza (Austria), PhD Kadir Hassan (UK), PhD Alan Fotoohi (Sweden), PhD Adiba Isa (Denmark).
They underlined the need to revise Kurdistan's health service and introduce planned health provision reform, which will make the health system accessible to the entire population. The collaboration between policy makers and scientists is essential for the development of high quality health institutions and the prevention of risk diseases.
In the second session on Preventive Health and its Promotion the participants were Mariwan Baker (Denmark), Deiary Fraidoon Kader (UK), Jamal Maroof (Kurdistan/UK), Rizgar Barzani (UK), Koestan Gadan (Norway), Nabi Fatahi (Sweden).
The last session was dedicated to Challenges of the Kurdish Diaspora and Migration. Among the speakers were Khalid Khayati (Sweden), Hossein Aghapouri (New Zealand), Barzoo Eliassi (Sweden), Fatima Anamaghi (Denmark), Ahmet Hamdi Akkaya (Belgium).
Over the next few days, discussions on health, but also agriculture, education, history and economy will continue.
The previous World Kurdish Congress was held last year in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The speeches and articles by the participants were published in a special volume by NOVA Science Publishers.
