Foundation for Global Political Exchange
Support our work: Donate to The Exchange Foundation
The Erbil-Sulaymaniyah Exchange is co-hosted by the French Association Noria (www.noria-research.com), Nicholas Noe and Monica Marks. During the six days of the conference, participants from around the world will listen and engage local politicians, civil society figures and analysts. The aim is to provide direct and intensive insight from several differing perspectives into Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Iraqi Kurdistan in general, as well as disputed areas between the Islamic State, Erbil and Baghdad. As such, the Exchange rests on two tracks:
Participants will attend a series of lectures led by prominent academics, analysts and activists from Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and the wider region. Themes will include, among others:
Participants will have the opportunity to meet, listen and engage leading social, political and economic actors from across the spectrum in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Erbil-Sulaymaniyah Exchange will open at 7pm on Sunday, October 29 in Erbil at the Classy Hotel. On Wednesday, November 1, the group will travel to Sulaymaniyah where sessions will be held until the close of the Exchange at 5pm on Saturday, November 4 (note that bus travel back to Erbil on Saturday will be provided for those participants flying out of Erbil). In order to promote small group dynamics, the number of participants will be capped at 25. Sessions themselves will be conducted on an individual rather than a panel basis for all speakers and will generally allow ample opportunity for question time (translation into English will be provided when necessary). All sessions will also be held under strict Chatham House rules, although we customarily work with our speakers to approve any quotes/references that participants may need for their own work.
NOTE: Accepted applicants will receive the full list of confirmed speakers one month prior to the opening of the Exchange, as well as readings pertinent to the sessions.
For all participants. Note that participation fee discounts are available for participants who wish to attend multiple Exchanges. For more information, please email info@thebeirutexchange.com
Apply NowAll our programs are funded on the basis of fees paid by the participants themselves: There is no government, private or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides a relatively neutral platform for dialogue and understanding.
Additional Costs:
Accommodation – $75 for a single room per night under our group booking only (breakfast and taxes are included). Shared double rooms are also available upon request and are priced at $50 per participant (we will arrange for sharing with other participants).
Airfare – $500, approximate from the European Union.
Arthur Quesnay is Assistant Researcher and PhD Research Fellow in Political Science at the ERC-funded Sociology of Civil Wars program at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1) since 2015. He was previously (2010–2014) a Junior Research Fellow in Iraq at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO). His doctoral thesis focuses on sectarian conflicts in Northern Iraq, where he conducted extensive fieldwork since 2009. He has also conducted parallel fieldwork in Libya (2011–2012) and Syria (2012–2013 and 2016) with insurgent groups. Taken together, his work highlights social and political transformation through the Middle East Civil Wars. As co-director of Noria MENA Program, Mr. Quesnay calls for social scientists to adopt new methodological and conceptual approaches to understanding these extreme situations and for combining micro and macro analyses.
Robin Beaumont is a PhD candidate in Political Studies at the Paris-based École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). A former student at École Normale Supérieure (ENS, Paris), he joined the European Research Council-funded program WAFAW in 2014, and is currently based in Amman, Jordan, as an associate to the French Institute for Near Eastern Studies (Ifpo). His research explores the reconfigurations of Shia political authority in post-2003 Iraq through a study of the structure of, and relationships between, the religious field (marja’iyya), the Iraqi State, and the various Shia militias.
Monica Marks is a Rhodes Scholar and PhD Candidate at Oxford University, and a doctoral fellow with the European Research Council’s WAFAW program. Her work, which focuses on politics, institutional reform, and Islamist movements in Tunisia and Turkey, has appeared in peer-reviewed books and journals, news outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, and The Washington Post, and for think tanks including the Carnegie Endowment, the Brookings Institute, and The Century Foundation. A former Fulbright Scholar to Turkey, Ms. Marks has taught as a Visiting Professor in the Politics and International Relations Department of Istanbul’s Bogazici University. Recently she has been a Visiting Fellow at Columbia University’s SIPA school and at the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). She speaks Arabic and Turkish.
The best immersion course on a country in transition I’ve seen.
Time-tested technique and tactful diplomacy enables The Exchange to achieve an environment conducive to attention, dialogue and reflection.
There could not exist a more thorough and intensive immersion into Lebanese history and politics than The Exchange.
A well-oiled program that brings you an impressive number and selection of speakers from across the spectrum. Worth every penny!
I learned more in my 10 days at the Beirut Exchange than in any university course! This was a wonderful experience filled with fascinating speakers.
Illuminating and life changing experience. I will recall the Exchange as one of the most authentic educational experiences of my life.
Email: info@globalpoliticalexchange.org
Co-founder Nicholas Noe: +961.81.797.943 (Beirut/WhatsApp)
