The Department of Historical Studies at the Basra and Arabian Gulf Studies Center at the University of Basrah organized a scientific symposium entitled (The Cultural Roles of Basra through History).
The symposium dealt with the presentation of the most important achievements and historical events of Basra in the Sumerian, Abbasid and Ottoman eras and the royal and republican eras, including urban buildings, commercial movement and a global cultural impact.
The symposium called for caring and preservation of the ancient Basra heritage buildings, and for the inclusion in the curriculum of the cultural history of Basra.