On 29 September 2021, a webinar moderated by Katia Dolgova-Dreyer, the Council of Europe co-Secretary of the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee and the ENIC Network, took place and gathered over 70 credential evaluators from the ENIC and NARIC centres. On the basis of presentations by the Danish, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish ENICs/NARICs, the workshop addressed the practical implementation of the Recommendation on Recognition of Qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation. Presentations included past and ongoing projects such as the Toolkit, REACT and ARENA which have also developed recognition procedures in cases when applicants fully or partly lack the educational documents usually required in order to process an application, due to circumstances beyond one’s control. The Council of Europe developed the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR), which provides a tested methodology for assessing refugees’ qualifications even when these cannot be fully documented as well as a format for describing the assessment in a format that makes it possible to avoid repeating it if the EQPR holder moves to a new host country. The EQPR is being implemented in cooperation with UNHCR and 12 member states of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

On 10 September 2021, more than 90 participants from almost all national recognition centres (ENIC-NARIC offices) in Europe, as well as from Australia, the United States and New Zealand participated in an online training course on evaluating qualifications from Afghan refugees. The training targeted credentials evaluators currently engaged in the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees but given the urgent need for updated information, the course was made available to all credentials evaluators in the ENIC and NARIC networks. The training was facilitated by an experienced Dari/Farsi speaking evaluator from the Norwegian ENIC-NARIC (NOKUT) and included information about the education system in Afghanistan, the EQPR and its interview-based methodology, examples of good practices and of challenging cases, as well as a Q&A session. The presentation and recording of the training session are both available. This training session constituted a first step in building capacity among recognition professionals to facilitate efficient, professional and fair treatment of Afghani qualifications in the coming period. As a next step, the EQPR will soon launch a Task Force of credentials evaluators professionals among credentials evaluators involved in the EQPR and ENIC-NARIC networks. This Task Force will aim to encourage a mutual learning and exchange of experience and best practices in the evaluation of qualifications from Afghanistan, to gather relevant available information and to develop a responsible plan of action to meet the challenges related to assessment of Afghani qualifications. In coordination with competent authorities, weekly online evaluation sessions of refugees’ qualifications under the EQPR will also start up again as of the last week of September. 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: refugees.qualifications@coe.int