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Writer's pictureGregory Stanton

EVENT: The Role of Storytelling in Genocide Remembrance: Centering Survivors in Iraq



On behalf of Genocide Watch and the Alliance Against Genocide, we would like to invite you to attend our upcoming panel, The Role of Storytelling in Genocide Remembrance: Centering Survivors in Iraq. The panel will take place September 14th, 10-11am EST. Register here for the event.

Stephanie Yousif from Assyrian Policy Institute, Dr. Rozhen Kamal from Sulaimani Polytechnic Institute & Nahrein Network, and Vian Darwish from Nobody’s Listening will discuss the current situation in Iraq and highlight survivor stories as an avenue for advocacy, genocide prevention, and accountability efforts. Their conversation will focus on survivor voices and dignified storytelling. Each panelist will provide recommendations on how to center survivor voices in genocide remembrance.

Meet the Panelists:

Vian Darwish is currently the coordinator of the Yazidi Survivors Network at Yazda NGO. The Network is a Global Yazidi Network that aims to support survivors of genocide and sexual enslavement committed by ISIS. Prior to this, Vian worked as a coordinator and documenter in Yazda’s documentation project, which gathers information on the Islamic State›s crimes against Yazidis in August 2014. In that role, Vian spoke to many ISIS survivors, especially female survivors. Vian has extensive knowledge about the Yazidi genocide and received training on interviewing techniques, documentation of SGBV crimes, and documentation of crime scenes by Justice Rapid Response (JRR). In her previous work, Vian worked as a volunteer with different NGOs defending women›s rights, equality, and democracy. Today, Vian wishes to build her capacity to continue supporting and empowering ISIS survivors, especially in their advocacy work.



Dr. Rozhen Kamal Mohammed-Amin is an architect and academic with an interdisciplinary background and research interest in the confluence of digital technology, architecture, and cultural heritage. She is the founding head of the Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) Research Group at the Sulaimani Polytechnic University (SPU) and a lecturer at its City Planning Engineering Department. Rozhen also serves as secretary of RASHID, an international network dedicated to safeguarding the cultural heritage of Iraq with ECOSOC/UN special consultative status, and is a member of UKRI’s International Development Peer Review College. Before the completion of her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Calgary (Canada), she worked at the State Organization of Tourism and the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. After joining SPU in 2016, she founded and directed her university’s Research Center until 2018. Her research interests include digital cultural heritage, museum experience design, and the effects of using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in public and cultural heritage spaces like museums and historic sites.


Stephanie Yousif serves on the Board of Directors of the Assyrian Policy Institute, where she is active in organizational planning and decision-making, as well as in providing innovative advice and dynamic perspectives on API initiatives and activities. She is a seasoned community organizer with a passion for international justice and minority rights. She has years of experience working with nonprofits and leading community-based initiatives. Born in Chicago, Illinois to Assyrian parents from Iraq, Stephanie has traveled to northern Iraq where she has seen firsthand the devastating impact of ISIS on the Assyrian population. Stephanie is a graduate of Iowa University. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies and is completing her Master's Degree in Business Administration.

Meet The Moderator:

Tabitha Mpamira is a mental health therapist, activist, motivational speaker, and consultant on sexual and gender-based violence with a long working history in the mental healthcare industry. In 2015, Tabitha founded EDJA to provide free medical, legal, and mental health services to survivors of sexual assault in East Africa. EDJA has sparked rapid change in Uganda by supporting hundreds of survivors and bringing perpetrators to justice.Tabitha’s work in this area has been widely recognized and vividly depicted by Now This and in the documentary Victors: Singing to the Lions, which has been screened globally, including at the United Nations Association – New York City. She won the Champion Advocate Award from Female Founders Alliance 2021, and was recognized by Global Citizen in 2018 when she won the People’s Choice Waislitz Award and was nominated for the Global Young Leaders of the World Economic Forum 2021. Tabitha has been invited to speak across the globe; including the Vatican about the urgency of working to end sexual violence, Harvard University, MasterCard Foundation and her widely viewed TEDx Talk on the transforming or transferring of trauma. Tabitha is currently pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in sexual trauma after over 10years of practice.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to tfrid@genocidewatch.org.

We look forward to your attendance at this important event!

All the best,

Twyla Frid And Kylie Henry, Genocide Watch

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