Meet The Team
Renas Babakir
Renas Babakir works as a researcher and consultant from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq who has committed a significant amount of her time to humanitarian and development work, particularly in peacebuilding initiatives with conflict-affected communities in Iraq. Her MA in Cultural History, Memory, and Identity has fuelled her passion for documenting and preserving endangered cultural heritage. With a grant from the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme hosted by the British Museum, Babakir conducts ethnographic research, collaborating with local communities to document and celebrate the region’s cultural heritage.
Yad Deen
Yad Deen is a British-Kurdish award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in London. He was born in Kurdistan, Iraq, and grew up in London, having fled Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime with his parents as an infant. Deen spent the best part of seven years working as a documentary filmmaker and photographer across Iraq between 2013 and 2020 for clients including British Council, UNOPS, and Minority Rights Group. Throughout these years, he captured the stories of those affected by conflict and adversity, namely the Yazidi community and survivors. Deen has developed a close relationship with members of the Yazidi community after having conducted a three-month media production training course for survivors of the genocide for Sinjar Academy. His multi-award-winning debut short fiction film, CARGA, was produced in Kurdistan and subsequently acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment for distribution. He currently works on a wide array of projects, with a variety of clients and colleagues, on the development of film and television content with a primary focus on social issues in the U.K. and globally.
Murad Ismael
Murad Ismael is a Yazidi from Sinjar. He finished school in Iraqi Kurdistan and holds two Master's in Environmental Engineering and Geophysics from Norwich University and the University of Houston, respectively. Murad was part of a Yazidi delegation group to hold high-level meetings with representatives at the White House when the so-called ‘Islamic State’ carried out the genocidal attack against the Yazidis in 2014. He co-founded the Sinjar Crisis Management Team, which resulted in the U.S. intervention to authorise airstrikes targeting ‘ISIS’ locations, as well as conducting humanitarian airdrops to the thousands of Yazidis that were trapped on Mount Sinjar. Murad has been travelling around the world to raise awareness for the plight of the Yazidis. He co-founded the Yazda organisation and served as its executive director for four years. Murad also co-founded Nadia’s Initiative with his friends at Yazda in December of 2015 and managed Nadia Murad’s campaign for two years, which laid the foundation for her receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Partner Organisations
Sinjar Academy
Sinjar Academy is based in the Sinjar region of Northern Iraq providing educational and capacity-building services to a population of 800,000 people in north-western Nineveh, where large populations of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities, including the Yazidis, reside. Sinjar Academy is a public charity registered in the United States and is working closely with Yad Deen and Renas Babakir to ensure that the implementation of these efforts is carried out efficiently and effectively on the ground.
Culture Project
Established in 2016. Culture Project is a UK-based enterprise that aims to promote Kurdish culture in Kurdistan and in the diaspora through various projects and publications.