I do appreciate all the experiences I have been through… the joys, the delights and their contrast. I am grateful for these experiences as they made me who I am today..

I am a strong believer in the importance of education to empower individuals and societies.

This is why it is critical to be critical of the education system and to initiate change in what you believe we need to learn as individuals and as a society to prosper and to participate in the joyful creation of our environment.

growing up…I didn’t have much choice but be part of the system! I was critical of my surroundings at a very early age.... be it in Iraq or the United States!

I consider myself Iraqi-American in the sense I was born in the US, grew up in Baghdad and spent half of my life in Baghdad and the other half in the US.

Once I graduated from MIT and started working, I experienced the gap between academia and professional practice! It was hard to cope with what seemed like two different realities to bridge.

To survive…I had to do what it felt like an “undoing” of my own education. Back then, I was in my twenties and I was very passionate about teaching a studio where I could bridge the gap “cross the border” but I didn’t get the support needed. The only choice you had is to be part of the system - a constant cover up for the insecurities of the education system.

Today I am very excited to be starting this new educational initiative with Zayad Motlib. We are honored to be starting the first summer school in our beloved home of Baghdad. We love to see the architects and the architectural students there expanding their vision and capabilities, to give them a chance to be on a par with what is happening outside their context, for them to reach their potential in the midst of all the destruction, the constant challenges and what I call the “setbacks of the soul”

#crossover #baghdad #loveBaghdad #summerschool #rayaani #zayadmotlib

Every year, it will be held in a different city! Next year it will be either Tokyo, Sydney or New York! the same CROSSOVER approach in a different city.. crossing over disciplines, borders, zones, divisions, skills, typologies whether architectural or urban.. crossing over ethnic, racial and gender divides with the mind set of cross-pollinating across generations.

#TokyoisNext #NewYorkisNext #SydenyisNext #crossover #educationsystem#architecture #architects #crosspollinating #acrossgenerations #MIT#architecturalschools #baghdaduniversity #genderdivides #ethnicdivides#academia #pratice

Here is a link to our CROSSOVER initiative! very grateful for this amazing experience to be co-creating with zayad motlib.

http://www.d-nat.net/crossover-baghdad

If you want to be a sponsor or supporter of this initiative as an individual or as a corporate sponsor, please email us at

[email protected]

Photo by Safa Alwan Kh at Al Ahrar Bridge with Raya Asi and Ammar Karim- the site of our CROSSOVER summer school initiative in Baghdad