During the week-long festival in Mosul (16-23 September), musicians from Iraq and Europe came together to explore different music styles and to prepare three concerts under the guidance of conductor Alaa Majeed. Visitors of the concerts gained unique insights into Iraq’s lively and multifaceted music scene. 
 
The festival was organised by the Goethe-Institut Iraq in cooperation with the Mosul-based cultural institutions Mosul Heritage, The Bookforum, and Volunteer with Us. It was funded by the Federal Foreign Office and implemented in partnership with the EU Delegation, UNESCO, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, the Mosul municipal government, as well as the Institut Francais d’Irak and the Embassy of Spain. 

In September, the Goethe-Institut Iraq welcomed around 100 seven-graders from the PASCH schools in Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaymaniyah. The program presented at Dukan Lake included activities surrounding arts and sports, and – of course – the very first German lesson! 
 
The Goethe-Institut initiative Schools: Partners for the Future (PASCH) constitutes a network connecting more than 2,000 schools worldwide where German is a priority subject.  
 
 

For the fifth time in a row, the Goethe-Institut Iraq and the Institut Francais d’Irak à Erbil are staging Jazz in/à Erbil. The concerts on 13, 14, and 17 October at 7pm will feature German, French, and Kurdish musicians, among them Annette Maye, Simin Tander, Hugo Lippi, and Vincent Frade. 

On October 7, the Goethe-Institut Iraq and the Institut Français d'Irak à Erbil celebrated the diversity of European languages together. Language games, stories for children and numerous language courses were part of the program.

Three design festivals in three different cities will bring together designers from the whole of Iraq, inviting you to discover the local design scene. 
“Mosul. Beyond Design and Art” (20-21 October) will place a focus on artificial intelligence and design; its Baghdadi incarnation (27-28 October) explores the theme “Order and Chaos”; while the third festival in Ranya the following month highlights the connection between sustainability and design. 
 
“Beyond Design and Art” is a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Goethe-Institut. 

The Chai Talks, held by Mada Foundation and the Goethe-Institut Iraq on Mutanabbi Street, will continue in October. On October 13 at 11:00 a.m., Jelena Ivanovic, a globally renowned dancer and choreographer, will speak about performance in the public space. 

During the ten-day residency, the participants in the theater residency will work together to create a performance based on a text by Nobel Prize winner Peter Handke. The performance will be performed in front of an audience in Erbil on October 15.

The Residencial Circles are part of the Ta’aziz partnerships of the Goethe-Institut, funded by the Federal Foreign Office.