The People’s Parliament of Rojava
The People’s Parliament of Rojava is a collaboration between the autonomous government of Rojava in northern Syria and the New World Summit: an organization founded in 2012 by visual artist Jonas Staal.
Rojava became internationally known in 2011 at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, when Kurdish revolutionaries together with Arabic and Assyrian allies declared the north of Syria (Western Kurdistan) independent. Since then they developed a unique political model, known as ‘stateless democracy’, which is based on local self-government, gender equality and a communal economy. Despite threats of the Turkish and Syrian regimes and attacks of the Islamic State, Rojava has managed to build up a full-fledged new society.
The autonomous government of Rojava invited Jonas Staal’s to visit the autonomous region. During this period, Foreign Minister Amina Osse commissioned him to develop a new public parliament. In collaboration with his team members of the New World Summit, amongst which architect Paul Kuipers and designer Remco van Bladel, as well as several local cultural organizations, Staaldesigned a circular agora and a public park: a symbol of the new democratic ideals of Rojava.
Dutch Design Awards Finalist Habitat 2016