Following the successful implementation of a pilot project implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education and scientific Research (MoHESR), UNHCR, NOKUT and UNESCO in Iraq, 21 UNESCO Qualifications Passports were officially issued for candidates during a conference jointly organised by Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and UNESCO on 27 May 2021. The certificates were given out by H.E. the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Nabil Kadhim and UNESCO Represented to Iraq, Paolo Fontani
“Higher education is a challenging sector and very critical for the social-cultural-political-economic development of the country,” said the Representative to Iraq. “It offers tremendous opportunities for partnerships and collaboration in a wide variety of areas. The UNESCO Qualifications Passport (UQP) project will certainly continue to support and strengthen the role that Higher Education institutions play in the peace-building, human capital development and post-conflict reconstruction work of the country.”
As the only UN agency with a mandate in higher education and global lead for Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education, UNESCO provides technical support to Member States to enhance national capacities for evidence based higher education policies and strategies to improve equitable access to quality higher education, and enhance mobility and accountability.
This successful pilot of the UQP illustrates the importance of such recognition mechanism for the inclusion agenda in Higher Education and shows the potential of a shared global mechanism in the field of credential recognition. Most importantly, it illustrates the importance and necessity of foundational work such as the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications relative to Higher Education.
The UQP project will help to open up future possibilities for the successful candidates, such as scholarships for instance. UNESCO and UNHCR have been working on identifying opportunities for UQP holders, and would like to thank Al – Iraqia University, DAFI scholarships (UNHCR), and the American University in Baghdad (AUIB) for coming forward with proposals to offer scholarships.
UNESCO will continue to support and strengthen the important role which higher education institutions play in establishing an adequate, sustainable, and innovative social-economic development agenda.
With the continuous financial support provided by Dubai Cares and Norway, UNESCO hopes to scale up with a possible pilot project in the Kurdistan region in Iraq, and collaborate further with other international actors in the field of higher education.