Rebuilding sustainable communities in Iraq

In 2004, the World Bank and the United Nations established the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq to help “donor nations channel their resources and coordinate their support for reconstruction and development in Iraq.” Similarly, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has expressed its commitment to support Iraqis in rebuilding their country by carrying out “programs in education, health care, food security, infrastructure reconstruction, airport and seaport management, economic growth, community development, local governance, and transition initiatives."

The central objective of this conference is to provide an intellectual forum for scholars and practitioners to explore how these tasks could be carried out in a manner that promotes social justice, economic and political sustainability, and full participation of all stakeholders. The outcomes of the conference deliberations should help policy makers to formulate and implement the most appropriate policies as well as embark upon innovative sustainable projects.

Suggested themes and topics

Theoretical issues and practical approaches to rebuilding sustainable communities after disasters		Social, economic, and infrastructural development (health, higher education, etc.)
Participation in community development: from national to the grassroots levels		Institutional support for community-based organizations
The role of women in Iraq and the Arab world in rebuilding communities after conflicts		Empowerment of community-based grassroots organizations
International perspectives on Women, Housing, Social justice and Development		Capacity building for sustainable development
The role of sustainable technology and appropriate architecture in rebuilding Iraq		Community-based development in practice: Examples from Boston, Massachusetts
The role of the media in community development		Sustainable development in rural Iraq
Social-Psychiatric management of the traumatic experience of social disaster, war, and social dislocation		The politics of State reconstruction and conflict management
Integration of education and research through systemic mentoring		The regional and global impact of rebuilding Iraq (for instance, comparing the reconstruction of Iraq with the reconstruction of Gaza)
The postmodern Islamic vision of the polity; the individual and the sense of civic belonging		The role of the humanities in the construction of the civic “self” – the impact of history and philosophy
The function of the arts in rebuilding communities – art (literature, the visual arts, theater, music) as both a mode of giving form to aspirations for the self, community, and nation and as a vehicle for recording the process of rebuilding.		The intersections of the humanities and legal structures

For further information, please contact:

Prof. Adenrele Awotona
College of Public and Community Service
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
USA