Slemani, founded in 1784 by the Kurdish prince Ibrahim Pasha Baban, who named it after his father, Sleman Pasha, has always been the center of great historians, politicians, journalists, scholars, artists, singers, poets and writers such as Nali, Mahwi, Bekas and Piramerd. The city is the largest in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a population of 2,486,486 citizens and a total territory of 21,071 km2. Alongside
arts and culture, its primary industries are agriculture, education, healthcare,
and tourism, with developing fields of manufacturing and renewable energy.
Kashkul, with Slemani Governor, its Directorate of Culture, and major literary stakeholders in the city applied to designate Slemani as UNESCO’s Creative City of Literature. On October 31, 2019, UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network welcomed Slemani into a global network of 246 cities. The network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music. The Creative Cities are working together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
Today Dr. Haval Abubaker, the Governor of Slemani, warmly received the esteemed and legendary Kurdish artist, Master Mazhar Khaliqi, President of the Kurdish Heritage Institute, along with
Today, Dr. Haval Abubaker, the Governor of Slemani, received Mr. Sirwan Salih Mohammed, the coordinator of the New York Kurdish Film Festival in Kurdistan. During
Granada UNESCO City of Literature, part of the Arts Department of the Granada City Council, in collaboration with the University of Granada, through its Vice-Rectorates for
We are pleased to share a new UNESCO video that highlights the power and impact of the Creative Cities Network on a global scale. As
A delegation from the Kurdistan Photographers Association—including photographer Nasih Ali Khayat and Jamal Salih, Head of the Slemani Photographers Association—participated in the largest “Photo Story”
The Slemani UNESCO City of Literature office is participating in a poetry project organized by the Odesa UNESCO City of Literature office. For this literary initiative, which involves several
