The European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) Project Coordination Group met in Strasbourg and online on October 18 to discuss the current status of activities and the way forward. Participants from all 12 countries currently participating in the project as well as the UNHCR attended, either in Strasbourg or online. Participants warmly welcomed the participation of Serbia’s national recognition centre as the 12th centre to have joined the EQPR.

Among the recent developments, the meeting highlighted two elements: the piloting of the EQPR online platform and the design of a specialized training course for evaluators. The first training cycle for credential evaluators has now been completed, and more cycles will be organised to build the capacity of evaluators for the assessment of refugees’ qualifications. These two developments will help ensure the quality and sustainability of the project.

Among the key topics discussed were the preparations of the third project phase lasting from 2022 to 2024, the upscaling of evaluation sessions to a weekly schedule, how to facilitate exchanges of experience between credential evaluators even in the online mode, the Task Force on qualifications from Afghanistan, and how to involve employers, universities and public authorities.

Implemented by the Council of Europe since 2017, the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees enables refugees to have their qualifications assessed even in the absence of a full documentation. The EQPR helps refugees to enter further studies or to seek employment.

The national recognition centres in Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Serbia and the United Kingdom are currently actively participating in the EQPR, and other ENIC-NARICs are welcome to join. For more information, please send an email to: [email protected]