The Iraqi-British Independent Research Centre (IBIRC) was created to build a serious, long-term bridge between Iraq and the United Kingdom. We bring together researchers, academics, students and practitioners from both countries to design projects that serve communities, protect heritage, and give young people a stronger future.

Our work is deliberately interdisciplinary: we combine cultural and literary studies, law and governance, child-protection research, education and translation, and digital-humanities methods. IBIRC operates as an independent, non-profit initiative, working with universities, NGOs, cultural institutions and individual scholars inside and outside Iraq.

Iraq is often described as the cradle of civilisation. Between the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian cultures developed writing, the wheel and some of the earliest cities. Today, modern Iraq continues this deep cultural tradition through poetry, music, painting, theatre and film.

Music & song

Iraqi music blends classical maqam traditions with modern orchestration and Arabic pop. Singers such as Kadim Al-Sahir, often called “Iraq’s ambassador to the world”, and Haitham Yusuf, nicknamed “the Prince of Love”, helped bring Iraqi poetry and melodies to international audiences through their recordings and concerts.

Poetry

Poetry has always been at the heart of Iraqi cultural life, from classical Abbasid verse to contemporary free poetry. Figures such as Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri, with his powerful classical Arabic style, became symbols of literary resistance and public debate in the twentieth century, while younger poets write about war, displacement, exile and daily life.

Dance & performance

Iraqi folk dances vary from region to region: from the energetic line dances of the north to urban Baghdadi styles and contemporary choreography that appears in theatre and music-video productions. These dances are often performed at weddings and public celebrations and are accompanied by traditional percussion and rhythmic clapping.

Fashion & everyday style

Iraqi clothing reflects both regional roots and modern influences. Traditional garments such as the Hashimi dress and embroidered abayas coexist with Western-style outfits in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra. Designers in Iraq, Jordan and the wider region experiment with heritage motifs, calligraphy and rich colours to create contemporary collections that still feel unmistakably Iraqi.

IBIRC integrates this cultural background into its research: projects on literature, translation, children’s media and digital heritage all start from the richness of Iraqi cultural life.

Sample Iraq images (architecture, river landscape, traditional crafts). Replace these links with your own photographs from Mosul, Baghdad, Nineveh or IBIRC projects if you prefer.

IBIRC hosts the Iraqi Literary and Cultural Review (ILCR), a peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to Iraqi literature, culture, language and the arts. ILCR publishes research articles, review essays and critical reflections by scholars from Iraq, the UK and the international community.

The journal welcomes work on topics such as war and displacement in literature, translation of Iraqi texts, digital approaches to cultural analysis, and studies of theatre, cinema and visual arts.

Open ILCR Website