During the Tufts’ winter intersession 2010-11, the Tufts New Initiative for Middle East Peace (NIMEP) of the Institute for Global Leadership went to Iraqi Kurdistan for its eighth annual fact-finding mission. In the past seven years, the group has traveled to Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel/West Bank, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Led by PJTT/IGL 2010-2011 INSPIRE FELLOW, Zach Iscol and Tufts faculty member, Rana Abdul-Aziz, each student focused on a specific subject which they had researched in-depth beforehand as preparation. The students spent two weeks in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, where they conducted interviews with business professionals, community activists, political leaders, academics, and others who could shed light on the recent developments in the region. Every student will compile their findings from these meetings and their extensive pre- and post-trip research into formal articles and papers.
The student delegation (right) meeting with senior military officials in Kurdistan (left). Photo credit: Ian Maclellan