Field update from Program Officer, Maria Jessop.
I'm currently in Baghdad as a follow-up to a workshop that was conducted with Iraqi education officials last month, entitled "Building Bridges of Cooperation in Addressing Common Challenges in the Iraqi Education System." That workshop, sponsored by USIP, was held in Turkey with 17 senior Iraqi education officials as well as Zainba Shakir, the Deputy Chief of Party for USIP's Baghdad office, and Rusty Barber, Director of Iraq Programs at USIP.
I'm working on-the-ground in Iraq now, meeting with Iraqi professors, and helping to share projects around peace and human rights education. Professors at the University of Baghad are now producing their own documentaries on human rights themes and utilizing the training from USIP to plan courses and curricula on human rights. USIP is teaching teachers at the College of Law as well. We seem to be progressing in peacebuilding from Iraq.
From Baghdad, I travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina to attend a conference on the pivotal role of education for lasting peace.