On Thursday, January 23rd, 2020, the Catholic University in Erbil (CUE) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of its “Building Economic Empowerment for Minorities in IKR and Ninawa Plains (BEEM)” project in Erbil which is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
BEEM aims to support minorities from different religious backgrounds and ethnicities, particularly IDPs, to integrate witinh their present socio-economic environments in a meaningful and constructive way thereby providing the basis to build robust and sustainable minority communities in Northern Iraq.
The opening ceremony was attended by the US Consul General, Mr. Steven Fagin, His Grace Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda in his capacity as the Head of the board of trustees of the Catholic University in Erbil, the Acting Mission Director for USAID/Iraq, Mr. John Cardenas, local government officials, NGO representatives in Ankawa and academic personnel.
The ceremony began with a speech by His Grace Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda. This was followed by a speech by His Excellency, Mr. Steven Fagin. Mr. John Cardenas gave thoughtful remarks on the occasion, and the ceremony ended with a speech by Ms. Vida Hanna, the Project Manager of the BEEM project.
After that, the delegation took a tour to the premises of the university, including the classrooms, the new computer lab, and the admin offices which will serve as the implementation hub of the project.
The CUE would like to express its thanks and appreciations to USAID for its tremendous support in helping our beneficiaries to reintegrate into their communities and to further their futures beyond mere survival.
