The department of earth sciences held the first international conference on geological heritage and tourism under the slogan “Geologists promote the national economy” sponsored by the rector of the University of Baghdad Prof. Dr. Munir Hamid al-Saadi and in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Culture and Head of Tourism Authority Prof. Zafer Mahdi and the advisor to the ministry of higher education Prof. Dr. Mohsen Al-Feriji and the Captain of Geologists as well as a great gathering of academics and researchers. The aim of the conference is to identify the importance of geological parks and tourism, biodiversity, the management of environmental systems, medical geology, water recovery, climate change, caves, sand dunes systems and adaptability in Mesopotamia.
Dr. Munir al-Saadi stated in his speech at the opening session that the university of Baghdad has achieved a qualitative shift in the field of scientific research and curriculum through a three-year plan to compete with international universities to become an academic model in Iraq after being ranked in the first position locally and in the 23rd position in the last release of QS world university rankings for Arab countries, adding that we follow our ambition in this quest to attain more educational achievements, thereby enhancing the university’s scientific reputation on the regional and international levels. Also he announced the signing of an agreement with Saudi universities to exchange Knowledge in the fields of teaching, training and research, calling for exerting all efforts so as to make the next academic year a year of excellence and success with the use of electronic platforms that meet the aspirations of students and faculty in integrated education.
It is noteworthy that this event was organized in collaboration with the Center and Museum of Natural History with the participation of (17) Iraqi universities and (9) Arab and foreign universities, as well as representative of the ministries of culture, industry, oil, health, science and technology. The participants presented research papers that called for the unification of mutual efforts to highlight the features of geological tourism in Iraq and to introduce the most important sites that can be geological parks or world heritage, resulting to stimulate sustainable development, the relationship with environment, reducing the unemployment rate by providing employment opportunities for local communities around these archaeological sites properly.
