Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace

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Dore Canyon in Kurdistan from an aerial view. A bush with yellow leaves frames the massive landscape in the foreground.

Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace

Advancing understanding of Kurdish people, history, and culture through dialogue and scholarship

Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace is a research initiative at the School of International Service at ��ý.

Contact Us

kurdishsis@american.edu

4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 United States

A vibrant history; a challenging future

A people both ancient and indigenous to lands of the Middle East, the Kurds today represent the fourth largest ethnic group in the region. But the Kurds have never had a permanent, independent state. Who are the Kurds, and how has their culture come to signify so much about the beauty—and the challenges—of a most beautiful and challenging area of the world?

The Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace will use our platform to grow recognition of the long and rich history and cultural traditions of the Kurdish people. We’ll also work toward understanding of the onerous challenges faced by the Kurdish communities in the Middle East, including oppression and genocide. And we’ll draw attention to the positive contributions of the Kurdish diaspora worldwide.

This initiative is focused on four pillars:

Education
Empathy
Community
Advocacy

Our team will use publications, media commentary, public events, and social media to advance these pillars and a positive understanding of the Kurdish people.

Explore each pillar

The Kurds are one of the world's largest ethnic groups without their own independent state. Their historical homeland, Kurdistan, stretches across parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.