Agenda of the 3rd CHMK National Forum for Media Reform

Official Forum Programme:

THE 3^rd CHMK NATIONAL FORUM FOR MEDIA REFORM

Venue: SOAS University of London, Student Alumni Lecture Theatre (SALT), Paul Webley Wing, Senate House Building

Date: 08 & 09 July 2026

Time: 09:00-18:00

DAY 01: WEDNESDAY, 8 JULY 2026

09:00-09:30 | Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:30-09:45 | Forum Welcome & Strategic Policy Blueprint

Speaker: Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas (Associate Professor, Sulaimani Polytechnic University & Chair of the Kurdish Media Watchdog (CHMK)

09:45-09:55 | Documentary Screening: Media Transitions in Kurdistan

Production: CHMK Media Academy’s Production Hub

10:00-11:35 | Session 01: Opening Plenary on Setting the Reform Agenda

Session Moderator: Prof. Mohammed Hussein Ahmed (Founder & CEO of VisionAID)

Core Theme Focus: Power, Transnational Law, and the Social Responsibility of Media

• 10:00-10:15 | Political Influence and the Media in Kurdistan: Decoupling Media Governance from Political Patronage
  • Speaker: Dr. Dara Salam (Teaching Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS University of London)
• 10:15-10:30 | Media and Democracy Are Not Natural Allies: Opportunities and Barriers Facing Media Reform
  • Speaker: Dr. Des Freedman (Professor of Media and Communications & Co-Director of Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, Goldsmith, University of London)
• 10:35-10:50 | From Gatekeeper to Algorithms: Can AI Democratise or Disrupt Kurdish Media?
• Speaker: Dr. Abdulrahman Salih (Assistant Professor of AI & Cybersecurity, Northumbria University Newcastle, Chair of the Kanga Educational Foundation (KEF)
• 10:50-11:05 | Advancing Independent Media Reform: A Practitioner’s Perspective on Challenges in Daily Journalistic Practice
  • Speaker: Mr. Jiyar Gol (BBC World Affairs Correspondent, Investigative Journalist & Filmmaker)
  • 11:05-11:20 | Legal Side: Reforming Media Regulation, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy Laws
  • Speaker: Judge Dr. Mohamed Hassan Mekkawi (International Federation of Neuro Legal Sciences)

• INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

11:20 – 11:35 | Plenary Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

 11:35 – 11:50 | Mid-Morning Refreshments Break

11:50-13:20 | Session 02: Transnational Policy & Comparative Regulatory Indexes

Session Moderator: Mr. Sherwan Taha Ameen (University of Duhok)

• 11:50-12:05 | Global Reform Lessons: Rethinking Media Policy for an Age of Synthetic Content  
  • Speaker: Dr. Marius Dragomir (Director of the Media and Journalism Research Center – MJRC)
• 12:05-12:20 | One Narrative, Many Platforms: Toward a Unified Kurdish Media Strategy for Cultural Diplomacy and Reputational Security
• Speaker: Mr. Soran Abdulla Hamakhan (Masters in Advanced Public and Cultural Diplomacy for International Relations)
• 12:20-12:35 | Media Power, Networks and Democratic Governance: Obstacles to and Opportunities for Media Reform
• Speaker: Dr. Tom Mills (Senior Lecturer, Aston University & Former Chair of the UK Media Reform Coalition – MRC)
•  12:35 – 12:50 | Global Media Reform: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Experiences
  • Speaker: Dr. Ali Moussa Al-Mousawi (Director of the Iraq International Center for Culture and Media)
  • 12:50-13:05 | Paper 01: Voices in Exile: Freedom of Expression and the Human Rights Implications of Return Risks for Kurdish Asylum Seekers in the UK
    • Authors: Dr. Sana Yasen Khudhur & Dr. Shelan Yasen Khudhur (Arden University & Salahaddin University-Erbil)

• INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

13:05-13:20 | Panel Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

 13:20-14:20 | Lunch Break

14:20–16:05 | Session 03:  Infrastructure, Reform Education & Media Literacy

Session Moderator: Mr. Kameel Ahmedy (Independent Social Anthropologist)

• 14:20-14:35 | Policy Review: Challenges and Opportunities of Kurdish Media Reform
  • Speaker: Dr. Haval Abubakir Hussein (Assistant Professor of Media Language, Policymaker & Governor of Sulaymani)
• 14:35-14:50 | Paper 02: Ethical Frameworks in Digital Media Discourse: An Analysis of Facebook’s Role in Iraq’s 2025 Government Formation
  • Author: Prof. Aryana Ibrahim Muhammed (Salahaddin University-Erbil)
• 14:50-15:05 | Paper 03: The Legislative Gap in the Kurdistan Region and its Impacts on the Regulation of Digital Media and Social Networks
  • Authors: Karmand Mahmood Abdallah & Dler Abdalkhaliq Haji (University College of Goizha & Sulaimani Polytechnic University)
• 15:05-15:20 | Paper 04: Models of Media Literacy and Learning from Specialised Media for Children: A Comparative Study between the Kurdistan Region and Norway
• Author: Derin Mahmood (Norway Ministry of Education and Development)
• 15:20-15:35 | Paper 05: Media and the Making of Social Policy: Agenda-Setting, Deliberation, and the Trust Deficit in the Ninth Cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government
• Authors: Dr. Muslih Irwani & Wlat Mohsin Mahmood (American University of Iraq-Baghdad & Soran University) 
• 15:35-15:50 | Media Networks Across Border Geopolitics: Steps of Media Reform in Iran and Kurdistan
• Speaker: Mr. Kameel Ahmady (Independent Social Anthropologist)

• INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

15:50-16:05 | Panel Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

 16:05-16:15 | Afternoon Coffee Break

 16:15-18:00 | Session 04: The Political Economy of Ethics & Editorial Transitions

Session Moderator: Assist. Prof. Dr. Bakhtiar Amen (City St George’s, University of London)

• 16:15-16:30 | Paper 06: Re-Engineering Media Ownership for Pluralism: Economic Strategies and the Future of Public Broadcasting Services in the Kurdistan Region
  • Authors: Dr. Kamaran Qader Yaqub & Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas (Sulaimani Polytechnic University)
• 16:30-16:45 | Paper 07: The Political Economy of Kurdish Media: Economic Pressures on Editorial Autonomy
• Authors: Dr. Hataw Hama Saleh, Dr. Banaz Hama Rashid & Dr. Radhwan Abubakr (University of Halabja, University of Sulaimani & Human Development University)
• 16:45-17:00 | Paper 08: The Impact of Social Learning and Education on Misinformation and Disinformation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Directions
  • Authors: Sherwan Taha Ameen, Jwan Hasan Hussein & Sipan Ibrahim Ahmed (University of Duhok, Charesteen Institute & Tishk International University)
  • 17:00-17:15 | Paper 09: Reforming Kurdish Media Language through Code-Mixing and Diglossia
    • Author: Jihan Yousif Ahmed
  • • 17:15-17:30 | Paper 10: The Impact of Social Media Disinformation on Societal Security: The Kurdistan Region as a Case Study
      • Authors: Prof. Hakim Othman, Dr. Arkan Rauf Aziz & Dr. Harmn Sherko (National Institute of Technology & Sulaimani Polytechnic University)
      • 17:30-17:45 | Paper 11: Media Awareness and Social Responsibility: Combatting Drug Abuse as a Pillar of Media Reform in the Kurdistan Region
      • Authors: Chya Yassen Mohammed & Dr. Yohan Othman Hama (Ministry of Culture and Youth & University of Sulaimani)

 INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

17:45-18:00 | Panel Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

 

DAY 02: THURSDAY, 9 JULY 2026

• Core Theme: Institutional Reform, Artificial Intelligence, Language, and Strategic Sustainability
• Date: Thursday, 09 July 2026
• Time: 09:00 – 18:00 BST
• Venue: DLT Lecture Theatre, Main Building, SOAS University of Londo

09:00 – 09:30 | Morning Check-In & Coffee

Delegates arrive, register, and gather for morning networking over refreshments.

09:30 – 12:00 | Session 05: High-Level Strategic Policy Roundtable

• Focus: Towards a Strategic Roadmap: Statutory Pathways, Syndicate Alignment, Media Sovereignty, Audience Indices, and Technological Deployments
• Overall Chair: Dr. Petros Iosifidis (Professor of Media & Communication Policy at City St George’s University of London,  and Principal Editor of the Journal of Digital Media & Policy—JDMP)
• Session Moderator: Dr. Abdulrahman Salih (Assistant Professor of AI & Cybersecurity, Northumbria University Newcastle; Chair of the Kanga Educational Foundation—KEF)

Keynotes & Strategic Presentations

• Professor Petros Iosifidis | Global Perspectives on Digital Media Policy and Structural Media Reform
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas | Paper 12: Three Integrity Walls from the Global South: A Strategic Policy Roadmap for the KRI
• Assist. Prof. Dr. Bakhtiar Amen | AI and the Digital Frontline: Technological Deployment of Automated Fact-Checking Networks
• Assist. Prof. Dr. Zhalla Saeed Khatat | KRG Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research: Adaptations and Technological Curricula Realignment
• Mr. Azad Hamadamin | Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate: Journalistic Protections, Union Protocols, and Legal Reform Safeguards

INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

11:15 – 11:30 | Roundtable Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

11:30 – 11:45 | Mid-Morning Refreshments Break

11:45 – 13:30 | Session 06: Newsroom Operations Management & Civic Auditing

• Session Moderator: Assist. Prof. Dr. Bakhtiar Amen (City St George’s, University of London)

Research Paper Presentations

• 11:45 – 12:00 | Paper 13: The Absence of Digital Media Law and Its Impacts on Media Chaos in the Kurdistan Region
  • Authors: Dr. Kawa Abdulridha, Dr. Harmn Sherko & Dr. Sara Qadir (Sulaimani Polytechnic University & University of Sulaimani)
• 12:00 – 12:15 | Paper 14: Navigating the Digital Shift: Strategic Approaches to Media Reform among Newsroom Managers in Sulaimani City
  • Authors: Dr. Hawre Mahmood Rasool & Dr. Karwan A. Mohammad (University of Sulaimani)
• 12:15 – 12:30 | Paper 15: Reforming Media Language: A Discursive Analysis of Hate Speech on Social Media Platforms
  • Authors: Dr. Hataw Hama Saleh, Dr. Bekhal Abubakir & Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas (University of Halabja, University of Sulaimani & Sulaimani Polytechnic University)
• 12:30 – 12:45 | Paper 16: Media Reform and the Right to Private Life: Strengthening Ethical Principles in the Kurdistan Region
  • Authors: Eman Luqman Abdulla & Dr. Ismail Othman Abdulrahman (University of Sulaimani)
• 12:45 – 13:00 | Paper 17: Digital Broadcasting Systems and Their Role in Technical Media Reform: Local Television Channels of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as an Example
• Authors: Omar Karim Sharif & Dr. Hazhar Jalal Muhemmed (Sulaimani Polytechnic University)
• 13:00 – 13:15 | Paper 18: Media Reform in a Stateless Society: Moving Beyond the Post-Conflict Stage in Post-Genocide Kurdistan
  Author: Dr. Ibrahim Omer Sadiq (Soran University)

INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

13:15 – 13:30 | Panel Discussions & Audience (Q&A)

 13:30 – 14:30 | Lunch Break

14:30 – 16:30 | Session 07: People’s Assembly on the Future of Media Reform

• Theme: Coming together in a demonstration of democratic defiance to explore the real, material changes we can make through collective action.
• Session Hosts: Kurdish Media Watchdog (CHMK), Kanga Educational Foundation (KEF), and Vision Agency for International Development (VisionAID)
• Led by: CHMK Forum Executive Leadership & Secretariat Committee
• Core Actions: Formal policy presentations, floor readings, and the official community ratification of reform frameworks.
• 16:30 – 16:45 | Afternoon Tea Break

16:45 – 18:00 | Workshop Session 08: Closing Plenary & Awards Ceremony

Strategic Briefing & Open Floor Discussions

• The Special Jurisprudential Review Briefing & The London CHMK Forum Declaration
  • Presenter: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas (Chair of CHMK & Forum General Coordinator)
• Delegates’ Open Floor Consultation: Interactive review and closing discussion on the final Forum Recommendations.

Protocol & Presentation of Certificates of Excellence

• Presenting Board:
  • Prof. Mohammed Hussein Ahmed (Chair of VisionAID)
  • Assist. Prof. Dr. Abdulrahman Salih (Chair of KEF)
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas (Chair of CHMK)
  • Dr. Dara Salam (SOAS University of London)

Action: Distribution of institutional Certificates of Excellence and Official Participation to all distinguished panellists, researchers, organisers, and keynote speakers.

18:00 | Official Forum Completion & Dismissal