Pictured above: Dr. Henry Jarecki, Vice Chairman, IIE, and Chairman, Scholar Rescue Fund (middle) with SRF scholars from Iraq
Iraqi Scholars Debate Urgent Higher Education Needs
The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund gathered nearly 200 Iraqi scholars, Iraqi public university presidents, ministers of higher education, international experts and key regional strategic partners in Jordan on January 26-28. Presentations by Iraqi professors on topics such as "Restoration of Order to Universities" and "A Leading Role for Universities on Gender" contributed to a lively and timely discussion on the future of higher education in Iraq.
SRF convened the event in collaboration with the Post-war Reconstruction Development Unit (PRDU) of the University of York. IIE Vice Chairman and SRF Chairman Dr. Henry Jarecki opened the conference, and HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal delivered the keynote address. IIE President & CEO Allan E. Goodman spoke on "Re-building the House of Wisdom" in Iraq, and HRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad provided the closing remarks for the conference.
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A Call to Action to Nations and Universities of the World
In an Op-Ed article in the Jordan Times, Dr. Henry Jarecki and HRH Princess Ghida Talal wrote:
"Unfortunately, scholar persecution – extreme, violent threats against academics who pay not only with their livelihoods but also with their lives for their devotion to knowledge and scholarship – is a global problem.
We call on the nations and universities of the world to take similar steps and take in large numbers of threatened scholars when needed, and essentially give them one of the most previous commodities in our increasingly dangerous, increasingly globalised world: safe haven."
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