UNESCO CHAIR For Inter-Religious Dialogue Studies in The Islamic World
Dr. Alaa Shatnan, Director of the UNESCO Chair, received the distinguished French Orientalist Dr. Alix Philippon — a specialist in Islamic Studies at the Institute of Aix-en-Provence, France — during her visit to the holy city of Najaf. The visit was made at the gracious invitation of the Holy Alawi Shrine, in conjunction with her participation in a series of scholarly events held on Wednesday, the 25th of March, 2026.
In the course of this meeting, the two parties surveyed the horizons of prospective academic collaboration between the UNESCO Chair and Dr. Philippon. Dr. Shatnan further extended to her a cordial invitation to participate in the forthcoming UNESCO Chairs Conference, which is set to convene in the capital, Baghdad, at a later juncture in the present year.
For her part, Dr. Philippon expressed her profound delight at visiting Iraq and the venerable city of Najaf, affirming her wholehearted readiness to engage with the UNESCO Chair in its future endeavours and initiatives. She likewise conveyed her heartfelt gratitude for the invitation extended to her to partake in the UNESCO Chairs Conference in Iraq, and paid generous tribute to the role of Iraqi academic institutions in fostering international scholarly dialogue.
