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.
Tartu UNESCO Creative City of Literature announces a two-month residency program (April-May) for writers and translators. The program aims to increase international literary exchange and
The Slemani Children’s Cultural Department, affiliated with the Slemani General Directorate of Culture and Arts, organized a film screening and cultural education activities for 100
Today, Dr. Haval Abubaker, the Governor of Slemani, received representatives of the Badirkhan Academy for Journalistic and Cultural Research. The visit was to express gratitude
“The History of the Emergence and Development of Music Notation” is a new work by the artist and academic Dr. Barzan Yassin, published with the
Saturday (January 31, 2026), the Galawezh Intellectual Center organized a panel titled ‘Kurdish Cinema: Challenges of Kurdishness and Constructing Different Forms.’ The panel featured Dr.
Join coordinators from literary prizes across the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature for a dynamic virtual meeting hosted by the Melbourne City of Literature Office
