CPHS Activities

The Kurdistan Foundation recently launched a Model United Nations (MUN) training in Duhok, highlighting the vital role of youth in diplomacy and peacebuilding. Participants explored global conflicts, examining their implications for Kurdistan and the broader region.

As part of its Monthly Lecture and Seminar Series, the American University of Kurdistan’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) hosted a webinar featuring key representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The distinguished speakers, Mr. Steve Lutes, Vice President of the Chamber’s Middle East Affairs Division, and Ms. Jenna Artuso, Manager of the Chamber’s Middle East Affairs Division, shared their insights on fostering connections between U.S. companies and the Kurdistan Region, with a focus on encouraging investment and strengthening the capacity of the local private sector.

Dr. Jiyar Aghapouri, Director of the Center for Peace & Human Security (CPHS) and Assistant Professor of International Studies at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK), co-authored a significant report with the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) titled “Gender, Justice and Security: Structural Challenges, Feminist Innovations, and Radical Futures.”

The American University of Kurdistan’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) hosted its April Lecture Series, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, featuring Dr. Fereydoon Rahmani, an associate professor at Toronto’s York University and a visiting adjunct professor of international studies at AUK. The lecture series provides a valuable space for scholars, experts, and students to explore critical issues and contribute to the pursuit of knowledge across the discipline.

Duhok, Kurdistan Region – February 25, 2023 – The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) hosted the Japanese Ambassador to Iraq, Futoshi Matsumoto, on February 19 as part of a lecture series sponsored by the University’s Center For Peace and Security (CPHS). The lecture was titled “Japan’s Modernization and its Lessons for the Future of Iraq.”

The American University of Kurdistan’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) continued its series of guest lectures on various political, economic, and environmental topics, with a presentation by Prof. David Romano, Missouri State University on January 30. The lecture was titled “Kurdistan Region’s Relations with Neighboring Countries”.

The American University of Kurdistan successfully collaborated with partners to host the fourth Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum from November 19 to 21 in Duhok, titled “Renewal, Revision, and Resiliency: The Future of the Middle East.”

Duhok, Kurdistan Region – October 29, 2023 – The American University of Kurdistan’s (AUK) Mustafa Barzani Building hosted an art exhibit and cultural programming titled “Halabja in the Golden Days,” which was organized by the UK-based Gulan Charity in partnership with AUK’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS).

On April 3, the Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) hosted a seminar featuring the Austrian political scientist and author Dr. Thomas Schmidinger. His talk, “The Complexity of Conflicts in Shingal after the Islamic State,” culminated in interaction with an audience largely composed of AUK International Studies students, and these same students would discuss his points during their next classes. So, the session would involve sufficient student engagement to count as a “seminar,” going beyond an ordinary “lecture.”

On May 7, the Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) held its second seminar of the semester. This event featured Anna Hess Sargasyan, a Swiss-Armenian expert on conflict resolution who regularly works with the Austrian Center for Peace. Ms. Hess Sargasyan’s talk, “The Ongoing Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh]: Prospects for Peace and Security,” was relatively informal in format, with questions addressed throughout rather than saved for the end.

Dr. Jiyar Aghapouri is the head of AUK’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS). Like most of the students and many of the other workers at AUK, he is Kurdish, but his origins lie in Iranian Kurdistan instead of the Iraqi part. He lived and worked in New Zealand and has citizenship of that country. He is quite an expert on international relations generally speaking, but the Middle East tends to be the focus of his research and teaching at AUK. Content Writer Michael Collins interviewed him to learn more from one of AUK’s distinguished instructors.

Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – November 22, 2022 – The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) and its partners successfully organized the third Middle East Peace and Security Forum (MEPS), which took place from November 15 to 17 on the campus of AUK, and was headlined “The Middle East in an Emerging International Order: Old Threats, New Realities?”

Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – October 10th, 2020 – The American University of Kurdistan’s Center for Peace and Human Security (CPHS) has published a study (After Genocide: How the Yazidi Perceive the Responsibility to Protect and the Actions of the International Community) funded by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).

Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – April 29th, 2020 – The American University of Kurdistan’s Center for Peace and Human Security has published a policy paper about (The Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Covid-19 in Cross-National Perspective), conducted by Dr. Paul-Philippe Pare and Dr. Kerstin Tomiak.