UKH Dean of Research and External Engagement and the Director of Centre for Peacebuilding and Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Bayar Mustafa Sevdeen traveled to Kyoto, Japan, in December 2024 to participate in an international symposium, titled “Infrastructures of Coexistence in the Indian Ocean World” (KINDOWS).
Dr. Bayar was awarded travel grant to fund his research on post-ISIS Sinjar, titled “Unaccomplished Peace, Sinjar, and Its Neighbours: Five Years After Defeating ISIS.” Which was presented at the two-day symposium.
The KINDOWS symposium looked at the concept of coexistence in the Indian Ocean World, going beyond traditional notions of conflict between human communities. It looked at how human-nonhuman interactions, infrastructure, biological landscapes, and governance systems affect peaceful coexistence. The symposium was inspired by the work of Bruno Latour and his concept of “critical zones,” as well as Arjun Appadurai’s concept of “process geography.”
The symposium covered a number of key topics, including:
Environment and Infrastructure: This session looked at the relationship between infrastructure and the environment, as well as how they affect possible conflicts and prospects for peaceful coexistence.
Conflict and Peace: This session examined individual case studies of conflict and peace-building activities in the Indian Ocean region.
Citizenship and Infrastructure: This session looked at how infrastructure and governance influence the experiences of minorities and migrants.
The NIHU Indian Ocean World Studies Project and Kyoto University’s Centre for Indian Ocean World Studies funded this research project.



