Catholic University of Erbil Helps Survivors of ISIS Rebuild
USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative Celebrates First Completed Award

Just over a year ago, the Catholic University of Erbil (CUE) set out to help people from northern Iraq’s many different minority religious and ethnic groups––particularly those targeted for genocide by ISIS––reintegrate within their communities and begin the process of restoring the once-rich tapestry of millennia-old cultures that make the area unique.

With about $700,000 in funding from USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative, CUE supported displaced minority communities by providing English and Kurdish language classes and introductory training on Microsoft Office programs.  The project supported the training of 400 students at the university’s three centers in Erbil and Al Qosh/Teleskuf. 

Founded in 2012 with support from the Italian Episcopal Conference, CUE is run by Chaldean Catholics and welcomes students of all cultures, faiths, and backgrounds to pursue arts and sciences degrees. The university offers an environment of tolerance and academic excellence and promotes quality, dignity, and justice––with a particular focus on forming the next generation of leaders to serve with professional distinction in Kurdistan, Iraq, and internationally.  As a member of the worldwide community of Catholic universities, CUE introduces its students to some of the finest scholars in the world, some of whom will visit to teach on campus, and provides students the opportunity to communicate and join virtually with peers at partner universities in Australia, the United States, and Europe.

At an opening ceremony for new facilities, CUE thanked USAID for helping to offer hope for the future “beyond mere survival.”  They celebrated the completion of their USAID project, among other ways, by hosting Erbil’s first-ever virtual job fair, at which 20 graduates secured employment. In addition, CUE has made the classes available online in its Lifelong Learning Center.