My Summer With IIPES

Mahdi Murad

By Mahdi Murad  
I participated in the International Institute for Political and Economic Studies(IIPES) at Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH), in Chania, Crete, Greece this summer. Throughout the two-week course, I could successfully complete a challenging academic and leadership development program. Through the program – which included academic sessions, educational travel, and various academic and cultural activities – I learned a lot about various cultures, values and institutions.

The program included several courses, conferences, and presentations that were great experiences for its participants. I represented Iraq on the cultural presentation day and spoke about life in Kurdistan, its culture, traditions, historical places, occasions, and people. It was one of the most beautiful moments during the program and forever for me. It was a great honor for me to talk about Kurdistan and talk about its people and culture people more than twenty three countries around the world. I am so grateful toward the IIPES for giving me the opportunity to introduce Kurdistan as a new Iraq, where people face a great economical, educational, and social developments unlike the other Iraqi provinces. I was able to reach many people from various countries around the world who were completely not familiar with what I said about Kurdistan, and some of them did not even know who Kurds were and where Kurdistan was. 

"Iraq is a dangerous country, there is always car-bombing and killings, there are problems between Shiites and Sunnis and they are killing each other every day. If a foreigner wants to visit Iraq, he or she will absolutely be killed, and the U.S. invaded Iraq only for the benefits of oil," were the only words I have heard from the participants about Iraq during the program. The participants knew nothing more than what the so-called media brought to their eyes about Iraq. 

Fortunately, I had a chance to tell the participants the truth about the situation in the various provinces of Iraq, especially Kurdistan. It was so difficult for so many participants to believe that there was a secure region, Kurdistan, in Iraq where all Iraqis, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Sunnis, Shiites, Muslims, and Christians could walk around, go for picnics, and have parties together. After all, I was so happy when several of the participants who were scared not only to visit Iraq, but to mention its name promised me to visit Kurdistan whenever they got a chance.


Moreover, living with people from more than twenty three countries around the world enhanced my understanding of various parts of the world, their cultures, values, and societies. It was great when we all studied and debated issues such as, politics, history, religion, and economics that touched each and every single of us very differently. 

My life dramatically changed through IIPES. It was an experience that gave me exactly what I dreamed of and more. IIPES showed me what and how important living and working with a group was. It was an experience that gave me the inside track to improve my leadership skills and develop any career very successfully. I earned the ability to know other people, listen to them, understand them, and communicate with them. 

It is worth mentioning that the program was more special for me, as one of the AUIS students, than any other participants as I had a chance to take classes with Dr. Joshua Mitchell, the former chancellor of the AUIS.  Dr. Mitchell taught us political economy in a way that inspired all the participants by his knowledge. The words, "you are so lucky and AUIS must be a very prestigious institute for having such a wonderful professor like Mitchell," were the words I heard from the participants almost every day. As an AUIS student, I am so grateful toward all the support that Dr. Mitchell has provided for all of us, AUIS students, so far. I hope to see him at AUIS again.