Democratic Confederalism, Municipalism and Global Democracy - Vision and Strategies from Kurdistan, is the title of the international conference which began on Friday in Rome.

The opening speech was by HDP co-chair Sezai Temelli, while the first panel was titled "The rise of nationalism" and saw the participation of Massimiliano Smeriglio, Italian MEP, Enrica Rigo, Associate Professor in Philosophy of Law, Department of Law at Roma Tre University, Victoria Sandino, FARC party Senator and former FARC guerrilla, Glenis Balangue- Dalkiran, Researcher of IBON Europe, Philippine, Nîlufer Koç, co-chair of Kurdish National Kongress, Kurdistan.

As the notes introducing the conference said, "eight years ago in Middle East and North Africa popular uprisings against authoritarian regimes started as the so called “Arab Spring”; but shortly after the ongoing civil war in Syria and beyond followed as well."

After all this years, the notes continued, "the balance of power has changed in the Middle East, new alliances have been created and supranational interests are hiding behind the war scenarios ready to redefine boundaries and areas of interest. A few months after the much- vaunted defeat of the terror organization “Islamic State” (ISIS), what is happening in those territories? The withdrawal of the “global coalition against terror” and the relocation of the different armies testify new transformations in progress."

Within this context the Kurds, in alliance with other people, are building up their own alternative based on principles such as democratic pluralism, direct democracy, mutual respect in the coexistence of different ethnic groups and religions, gender liberation and an ecological and communal economy directly at the ground. This concept is called Democratic Confederalism; it shows us how even within an armed conflict it is possible to realize a new project capable of giving voice and crystallizing the will of the local people, realizing a project of peaceful coexistence which bases on peoples who inhabit those territories.

An experiment of radical and direct democracy that, overcoming the "nation-state" model, brings out in concrete a new peaceful and harmonious experience in those lands, applicable to the entire Middle East. All this takes place within a constantly changing global context.

If in one hand new sovereignties and chauvinism emerge re-proposing the retreat of civilization, on the other hand we see advancing movements capable of innovating the social context, from European neo-municipalism to indigenous experiences.

The conference begins with a critique of the present, then analyzes the paradigm of the Democratic Confederalism in order to discuss a new perspective and propose an alternative. It will be a discussion able to relate to most diverse and recent alternative experiences, in order to connect and build the possible "third way".