A Time to Connect

Safina Projects Newsletter – Spring 2026

Read this Newsletter online here

A Time to Connect

The photo above was taken in May 2016, during the first year of Rashad Salim's work in search of what remained of Iraq's boatbuilding and craft traditions. It shows a workshop modelling his vision of the Ark Re-imagined: an Ark of many boats, gathered together in a pattern of unity.

We recently celebrated a decade of our Ark for Iraq programme. From reviving Guffa-making in Babylon to developing the Open Museum Initiative and launching the Heritage Boat Clubs Network and Water Scouts, the past 10 years have been an amazing journey of connection, learning, and making.

Sulaymaniyah-Dukan Heritage Boat Club launch event, 2023

Right now, the situation is more challenging. Rashad experienced a health emergency in 2025 and is now in recovery. The Ark for Iraq programme continues to grow and develop through local partners, and needs our ongoing support. Meanwhile, Iraq is part of a region plunged back into conflict.

We've been reflecting on the story of Gilgamesh – which contains the earliest written version of the Ark story. The epic journey Gilgamesh makes (after the loss of Enkidu, the man of nature) can be understood as a search for meaning that can only be advanced through the guidance of those he connects with on the way.

Late Uruk period cylinder seal depicting figures on a boat (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin)

Our project too is a search for connection in difficult times – re-weaving the web of relationship that has always extended across Mesopotamia through its waterways.

Our task now is to protect what we have achieved and sustain its continuing development. To support the ongoing revival of Iraq's ancient water cultures, please consider donating to our fundraiser here.

Read on for our latest news!

New Heritage Boat Clubs for Mosul and Kut

Following the first Iraqi Water Scouts Conference in December in Basra, attended by 55 Scout leaders and other partners from 9 Governorates across Iraq (including delegates from our 8 Heritage Boat Clubs), we continue to build connections with areas that don't yet have boat clubs.

New clubs are developing in Mosul and Kut – both hosted by Scout groups. In Mosul, a River Scouts initiative had already started independently during the past two years. We are delighted to launch this collaboration by providing each club with 6 traditional boats.

Scout leaders in Mosul inspect their new Boat Club site

Boat parade at the Water Scouts gathering in Basra, December

Celebrating the launch of Chibayish Water Scouts

Local TV report on the clean-up day at Midaina creek

Water Scouts camp in Chibayish and clean-up Midaina creek

In January, 45 Scout leaders and participants attended a Water Scouts camp at Chibayish in the Central Marshes, where they celebrated the launch of the new Chibayish Water Scouts group (connected with the area's existing boat club). The Scouts camped in the marshes for 3 days and received training in new elements of the Water Scouts curriculum such as water quality testing and biodiversity monitoring.

The nearby Midaina Water Scouts cleaned up their local creek in March, and raised awareness about pollution through a local TV report.

Adding Iraq to the map of the Museum with No Frontiers

Our Open Museum Initiative for Water Cultures is one of the very first museums in Iraq to become a partner of the Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF), an intercultural online platform with a focus on the Arab and Islamic world.

We have contributed 14 items to their new exhibition, Water in Islam: ‘And We Made from Water Every Living Thing’, launched on 25th March. Our diverse selection includes many of the traditional boats we've reconstructed with makers in Iraq – from Guffa coracles to Meshouf canoes and Ashari Balams – alongside al-Naoor waterwheels of Hit, calabash gourds, reed architecture and more.

From top: screenshots of Ashari Balam and al-Naoor waterwheel featured in the new MWNF exhibition

Touring exhibition brings water heritage to new audiences

Since its launch in 2024, the Iraqi Maritime Heritage Touring Exhibition has taken its display (featuring models and studies of 9 traditional watercraft) to 12 venues, including universities, conferences, festivals, and local museums. Recent tour stops include Hilla Contemporary Museum, Babylon University College of Humanities, and a Scout Festival at Road to the Hundred school in Babylon. It's currently at the Open College of Education, Diwaniya, from 14-18 April.

The exhibition embodies the principle of connection and cooperation that guides all our work. Built with the support of the Cultural Protection Fund, the exhibition's tour continues thanks to our current grant from the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, and is coordinated by our partners Shanashil Foundation and the Iraqi Maritime Heritage Committee. As it travels, the exhibition supports the development of local hubs for preserving Water Cultural Heritage through existing museums and archives: such initiatives are underway in Diwaniya, Babylon, Sulaymaniyah and Basra.

To learn more about the exhibition download the prospectus here (also available in Arabic), and for tour updates follow its Facebook page here.

Staff and students of Al-Qawarir Intermediate School for Girls visit the touring exhibition at Hilla Contemporary Museum

Connecting with Iraqi diaspora communities in the UK

On 8th March, we were kindly invited by Dr Ahmed Naji and SIMA UK (the Student Iraqi Medical Association) to a fundraising Iftar in support of Safina Projects, attended by 50 medical and dental students. This connection builds on a longstanding Iraqi tradition of medical professionals as supporters and scholars of arts and culture, and often as artists themselves.

After a presentation on our decade of work preserving and revitalising Iraqi maritime heritage, we contributed crafts and prints to the night's raffle and auction, alongside contributions from My Dental Supply and others. A total of £700 was raised to support our programme in Iraq.

If you are part of an Iraqi diaspora organisation or other group that would like to host a presentation about our work, we welcome new or renewed connections, whether for the purpose of fundraising or other forms of cooperation.

During 2026 we are looking to grow our board of directors and advisers, and we welcome event partners and creative collaborators as we prepare to bring the boats to the UK for our proposed Mesopotamia Upon Thames programme. Please get in touch if you'd like to know more!

Rashad's presentation at the SIMA Iftar (guests viewed slides on phone screens)

A model Guffa and signed Ark Re-imagined posters (Venice 2021) were among the auction / raffle prizes

Help us keep water cultures alive

Our major grant funded project of the last 3 years was completed in March. Between April-September 2026, we will support the core operations of our programme in Basra from our own reserves and donations, while applying for further grant funding to commence in the Autumn.

If you have enjoyed our work during the past decade, we invite you to consider donating to sustain the work of our team and partners in Iraq. You can help to keep this vital work resilient through challenging times. Supporters also access unique opportunities to participate in project events, both internationally and in Iraq.

Please visit our new fundraiser page to find out more and donate. Your gift will make a real difference to keeping the ancient water cultures of Iraq alive, and sharing the knowledge, experience and beauty of this heritage with new generations.

Donations directly support the work in Iraq, with no more than 15% spent on administration costs.

The Water Scouts (top) and Open Museum Initiative for Water Culture are among the project elements you can support

We've launched our fundraiser (click image for link)

Thanks so much for your interest, encouragement and support for this work. We're grateful to all who have contributed to its progress and continue to accompany us on this journey.

– Hannah Lewis and Rashad Salim, Founders, Safina Projects

Thanks to the kind support of our project funders during this period: