SEED President and Executive Director Sherri Kraham Talabany discussed SEED’s efforts to contribute to the development of Kurdistan in a March 26 interview with Delovan Barwari on Kurdistan in America, the podcast of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Representation to the United States. 

Kraham Talabany explained that she co-founded SEED with Kurdish activist and former Iraqi parliamentarian Tanya Gilly Khailany “to contribute to Kurdistan’s development and to make lasting change to improve people’s lives.” She pointed out that Iraq and Kurdistan have been impacted by cycles of war, violence, and/or persecution, with the ISIS conflict and genocide representing the latest round. “Everyone has been impacted by violence and trauma — it has become normalized in Iraq.” She added that this trauma extends into the home, on the streets, and in the way we resolve political conflict in Kurdistan — this is an area that’s impacting everyone’s life.

Kraham Talabany outlined that SEED is tackling these issues through influencing social and systemic change, providing and/or facilitating comprehensive services to individuals and communities impacted by violence, and SEED being engaged in training and education for government actors, other NGOs, and other individuals or entities engaging in similar services as SEED in Kurdistan.

In the 30-minute podcast, Kraham Talabany also touches on her professional career with the U.S. State Department prior to starting SEED and her experiences living and working in Kurdistan.