Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria and Iraq have returned to the centre of global public attention. Over the last decade, the region endured a tough period. The balance of power between Kurds, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and Yazidi, as well as women and men keeps shifting on a daily basis. There are also minority communities of huge cultural diversity living in northern Iraq, in the Shingal and Nineveh regions, who have been bearing a big burden due to the terrors of the Yazidi genocide and the war against the Islamic State (IS).
Some of our guests have been working in this region for over a decade. They are the ones trying to counter the deep societal disruption with the development of independent media and to establish the bedrock for democratic developments. What is special about the project showcased here is the fact that all population groups are included in their work. 

Katharina Dönhoff
Hand für Hand, Berlin

Asia Haidar
Journalist, German magazine Der Spiegel, from Syria

Siruan H. Hossein
Syrian-Kurdish Journalist, radio station ARTA FM

Hosted by
Konny Gellenbeck
Former long-standing Head of taz Cooperative and former board member of taz Panter Foundation