On 1-5 July, an evaluation session of the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) was held at the Universities of Palermo and Catania. As a result, 39 EQPRs were issued based on interviews with 49 refugees. 27 interviews were done online. The refugees had their qualifications assessed by credentials evaluators from the National Information Centres (ENICs) of Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. The assessment session saw the participation as observers of ENICs from Belgium (Flemish Community) and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The EQPR supports a faster integration of the refugees, and local authorities can also benefit from the EQPR. Based on the Lisbon Recognition Convention, the EQPR helps refugees to rebuild their lives in their host countries by giving them the opportunity to have their education qualifications assessed even when these cannot be fully documented. The EQPR is a document assessing and describing the highest education qualifications the refugee has obtained, work experience and language skills. Thanks to the EQPR, refugees can seek and find employment and/or gain access to further studies. Since the beginning of the project in 2017, 406 refugees have had their qualifications assessed and 337 EQPRs have been issued.

On 20 June 2019, on the occasion of World Refugee Day, the Council of Europe in co-operation with the UNHCR, organised a Facebook Live debate entitled “Education and Refugees’ Integration: the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR)”. Roland-François Weil, UNHCR Representative to the European Institutions in Strasbourg, Samir Hećo, Project Officer, European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR), Council of Europe Education Department and Nadia Badwi, an EQPR holder, participated in the debate. During the Facebook Live debate, stories and testimonies of refugees who were able to start a new phase in their lives by having their qualifications assessed and receiving a “European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR)” were shared. You can watch the debate here.