Strasbourg, 9 July 2018

This video incorporates a video message by Tomáš Boček, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees. It also features the stories of two refugees, Mahmoud Alkoko and Anwar Horani, who recount the impact the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees had on their lives.

“The successful integration of refugees who arrived in Europe in recent years is and will continue to be one of the main challenges for our societies… I am confident that this project will be instrumental in ensuring that refugees can have their skills and qualifications recognised thereby allowing them to contribute to their new host societies through further education and employment”, emphasised Tomáš Boček in the video message.

The European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) is now in its second phase. It was launched in 2017 as a pilot initiative with partners from Greece, Italy, Norway and the UK. During the pilot phase, the methodology of the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees was successfully tested. 92 refugees were interviewed by credential evaluators and 73 EQPR were issued.

The new phase will last three years and will focus on further developing the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees and promoting its use. New partners have joined the original partners in this new phase namely, the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, the Conference of University Rectors of Italy, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and recognition information centres in Armenia, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The European Qualifications Passport for Refugees is the only international instrument specifically developed with the objective to facilitate the recognition of refugees’ qualifications in cases of absence of full documentation that could be used even if refugees move to new host countries in Europe.

Two assessment sessions were held: the first one in Greece on 11-15 June and the second one in Italy on 2-6 July. In this new phase, so far 90 refugees were interviewed and 73 EQPRs were issued.

The next assessment sessions will take place in the fall in Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.