September 23–24, 2023
Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne

New World Embassy: Kurdistan is a project by Nilüfer Koç of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and artist Jonas Staal, which took the form of a large-scale installation that operated for two consecutive days as an alternative embassy for the Kurdish peoples, which today find themselves under occupation of four different nation-states: Bakûr (North-Kurdistan, Turkey), Rojhilat (East-Kurdistan, Iran), Başȗr (South-Kurdistan, Iraq) and Rojava (West- Kurdistan, Syria).

The separation of historical Kurdistan can be traced back, in part, to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne that was signed in Switzerland, which granted a majority of the Kurdish homeland to modern Turkey. Erecting this “stateless embassy” in Lausanne confronted this historical injustice one hundred years later, but also represented the alternative ideas of self-determination the Kurdish peoples developed in response to their occupation and separation. Revolutionary Abdullah Öcalan’s vision of a "stateless democracy" for example, that critiques the patriarchal, nationalist and capitalist mentality of statehood, is today being practiced across different parts of Kurdistan, and can be considered an essential alternative to the crises of the interstate system.

Just as the Kurds have envisioned a “stateless democracy” so this embassy operated as a “stateless embassy.” It prioritized people’s diplomacy—cultural diplomacy—over state diplomacy, and gathered representatives from the different parts of Kurdistan, together with progressive politicians, Indigenous peoples, solidarity movements and cultural workers of all kinds. Together they discussed and imagined with the public what it means to separate the practice of democracy from the state, the meaning of stateless decoloniality, the necessity of cultures of solidarity, and the possibility and practice of stateless world democracy.

With contributions by Nilüfer Koç (Kurdistan National Congress, co-founder New World Embassy: Kurdistan), Necîbe Qeredaxî (writer, journalist and researcher, Academy of Jineology in Europe), David Adler (political economist, co-general coordinator Progressive International), Elisabeth Decrey Warner (peace activist and politician, founder Geneva Call), Varsha Gandikota (Co-General Coordinator Progressive International), Fatima Ouassak (writer, environmental activist, founder Front de Mères), Rojîn Mûkrîyan (KJAR Women’s Union of East Kurdistan), Ahmedna Abdi M’barek (Saharawi Active Youth), Marwa Arsanios (artist, filmmaker and researcher), Rohash Shexo (Spokeswoman for Kongra Star in Europe), Nazma Akter (President of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation), Margarita Tsomou  (activist, dramaturge, moderator and curator, co-chair New World Embassy: Kurdistan) and Chris Keulemans (writer and journalist, co-chair New World Embassy: Kurdistan).