Canada was the first country to sign an international memorandum of agreement between one of its universities (the University of Toronto) and the University of Suleimaniah in September of 2001. This relationship has resulted in several research initiatives and in a faculty development project whereby a faculty member from Iraq is now studying at the University of Toronto. This first initiative, undertaken by the U of T team of Drs. Budd Hall, Shahrzad Mojab(OISE/UT) and Amir Hassanpour (Uof T), has now been expanded to include the University of Victoria (where Budd Hall is now Dean of Education) with support from both Education and the Centre for Global Studies (Where Gordon Smith is Executive Director). In addition, there is widespread interest and capacity in Canada through the Kurdish-Canadian (over 6000 persons) and NGO community (such as the Forum on Federalism with Bob Rae).

Our team has strong connections at both the political level within Kurdish Regional Government (office of the Prime Minister) and the Universities (Presidents of Suleimany, Dohuk and Erbil). There is strong interest by the Kurdish authorities in the Canadian model of federal governance. They would like an opportunity to learn more about the practical ways in which we work. The Kurdish-Iraqis share the Canadian preference for a strong UN role in the post-conflict era, and would like to establish direct contact with Canadian universities, NGOs and governmental agencies.

Stengthening the capacities of the Kurdish universities is an important contribution to building democracy in the region. The University of Suleimany and the other Kurdish universities are well placed to play strong roles in building the foundations of democratic and stable governance. There will be a need for training of senior civil servants, leaders in civil society and local humanitarian relief organizations to begin playing new roles. Such training would be best accepted coming from the more neutral setting of a university. A partnership between Canadian and Kurdish Northern Iraqi universities could assure planning and implementation of such a programme.

We are seeking financial support for a needs assessment and feasibility study including meetings in Ottawa, Toronto, Washington D.C. and Kurdish Northern Iraq