Assyrian,  Research

5 Highlights from the Assyrian National Conference 2022

August 26, 2022 /

This June I attended the Assyrian National Conference put on by the Assyrian Policy Institute. It was a 3-day conference in Washington, D.C. focused on bringing together Assyrian advocates centered around the theme “A Turning Point and a New Path Forward.” The conference consisted of panels, workshops, and advocacy work with members of U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill.

It was inspiring to hear from and meet people who were performing advocacy in all types of ways, using skills that they’ve been able to develop and hone in the diaspora. This ranged from advocacy in politics, academia, business, art, journalism, and more.

Here are some highlights from my time. Follow Assyrian Policy Institute to see more.

1. Assyrians in Motion/ recording oral histories

One of my favorite panels focused on recording oral histories and featured Dr. Ruth Kambar, Annie Elias, and Kathy Sayad Zatari. They discussed the importance and process of researching and gathering artifacts and stories, and ongoing preservation work at California State University. You can watch the full panel here.

I also learned about the project “Assyrians in Motion 1937 “, which was played during the talk. The recordings capture Assyrian refugees across various U.S. cities.

Also in terms of documenting important current events, Bedri Diril spoke about his family’s fight for justice in the murders of his parents Hurmiz and Şimoni Diril in southeastern Turkey. Learn more about the case here.

2. Breakout workshops

I was able to participate in two workshops — one about recording oral histories and one centered around the future of Assyrians in Iraq. These workshops were a great opportunity to meet new people and to work directly with some of the speakers. I would love to see more of these workshops in a future conference.

Dr. Ruth Kambar led the first workshop and shared a questionnaire that we used to help collect histories from our workshop partners. It was a great way of getting to know and meet others during the conference.

The second workshop centered around the question “Do Assyrians have a future in Iraq?” and was led by Dr. Michael Youash and Dr. Mariam Georgis. We were separated into two groups, one in the affirmative (Assyrians do have a future in Iraq) and one in the negative (Assyrians do not have a future in Iraq). It was an extremely interesting task and at the end Dr. Youash pointed out that the two groups showed how we can diagnose the problem (the negative group) and propose solutions (the positive group) — leaving us with a final question: What is preventing us from moving forward on these solutions?

3. A focus on political advocacy

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the advocacy day events, but it was inspiring to see all the work that is being done on a political level to help Assyrians. Notably, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Representative Josh Harder announced their memberships in the newly formed Congressional Assyrian Caucus.

It was also very interesting to learn about the work Dr. Michael Youash has done as an activist, as he gave an overview of the NPU and where we’re at today in terms of the U.S.’s involvement in helping to protect the Assyrian community in Iraq.

4. An academic focus

In the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to learn of and attend many lectures by Assyrian academics. It’s heartening to see Assyrian studies being done by actual Assyrians. There were wonderful lectures by Dr. Sargon Donabed, Dr. Arianne Ishaya, Joseph Hermiz, and Dr. Ruth Kambar on the final day of the conference.

I highly recommend checking out Dr. Donabed’s book Reforging a Forgotten History: Iraq and the Assyrians in the Twentieth Century.

Also, Dr. Alda Benjamen spoke during a session about her new book “Assyrians in Modern Iraq.” I’ve just gotten it and am very eager to read it.

5. Assyrian art as advocacy

Along with advocacy performed in politics and academics, Assyrian artists also were represented at the conference.

The short film Grace was played, leaving many visibly emotional in the audience.

Diaspora in Bloom also set up an exhibit called “Take Two: Assyrian Film in Diaspora” highlighting different forms of video and its use in the diaspora.

Overall, the conference left me with a lot of hope. I am inspired by all the amazing people I met performing advocacy using their unique skills. A big props to the organizers of this event for bringing all these amazing presenters together. Looking forward to attending next year if possible.