A group of students from the Department of Politics and International Relations at Sulaimani University came to the University of Human Development (UHD) on 8th January for a class on Public Diplomacy. They were accompanied by their lecturer Dr Peshraw Ali.

The class was given by Asst Prof. Dr Ahmed Hamagharib Abdullah who is in charge of International Affairs and the Media Office of the University of Human Development. Dr Abdullah has extensive experience in teaching at universities and working in the field of public diplomacy.

The class focused on public diplomacy and how it should be practised in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It assessed the current situation of public diplomacy in Kurdistan and emphasised that there is a lot to be done to move forward on that front. One important point raised by Dr Abdullah was that successful government public diplomacy is tied to having a good policy in place so that people develop a positive view of the government. Another topic discussed was that public diplomacy is not exclusive to the government; it can be used and acted by private institutions and even prominent individuals for various purposes.