21 September 2022 — New York City — Education Above All, The Afghan Future Fund (AFF), Schmidt Futures, the Yalda Hakim Foundation, the Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD), Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and the Institute of International Education (IIE) are proud to announce the launch of the Qatar Afghan Scholarship Project (QASP). QASP is welcoming its first cohort of 250 displaced Afghan students to U.S. colleges and universities for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The students will continue their studies on full scholarships at more than 40 colleges and universities in more than 17 states, including Rutgers University, Bard College, and the University of Texas at Austin, among others. The students will be coming to the U.S. from a number of countries where they were forced to seek refuge last year, including, northern Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and Albania. They will be enrolled in degree programmes in the arts, business, sciences, humanities, and the social sciences.
Two hundred and fifty Afghan students, split equally among women and men, are being welcomed to U.S. institutions to continue their education, grow their network, and explore new opportunities. It has been a year since these and other Afghan students left their home country, and QASP’s first cohort is just the beginning of this work.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, only 5 percent of refugees have access to higher education, far below the global average of approximately 40 percent. QASP is committed to UNHCR’s “15by30” target, which aims to ensure that 15% of young refugee women and men can access higher education by 2030.
Increasing access to higher educational opportunities is critical to helping the next generation of Afghans prosper and rebuild after times of crisis.
Khalifa bin Jassem Al-Kuwari, Director General of QFFD added, “This programme is one of many programmes that we are either implementing or finish in the education sector to support the Afghan people. An educated society is key to the successful future of any country; it underpins all other areas of development.”
To learn more about QASP, the students, the partners and host institutions, visit https://qasp.info.
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About the Qatar Afghan Scholarship Project (QASP):
The Qatar Afghan Scholarship Project (QASP) gives Afghanistan refugee students the opportunity to continue their education at colleges and universities outside of Afghanistan, in partnership with multiple higher educational institutions. The initial project cohort includes 250 students attending over 40 different institutions across the United States on full scholarships. The project is supported by the Afghan Future Fund (AFF), Education Above All Foundation (EAA), the Yalda Hakim Foundation (YHF), Schmidt Futures, Institute of International Education (IIE), and Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD). Learn more at QASP.info.
About Education Above All (EAA):
Education Above All (EAA) is a global education foundation established in 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. EAA aims to transform lives through education. EAA believes education is the single most effective means of reducing poverty, generating economic growth and creating peaceful and just societies thereby bringing hope and real opportunity to the lives of children, youth and women, especially those in poverty, conflict situations, and natural disasters. For more information, visit EducationAboveAll.org.
About Afghan Future Fund:
Schmidt Futures and the Yalda Hakim Foundation created the Afghan Future Fund to ensure that talented Afghans who were most at risk from Taliban leadership in Afghanistan – in particular prominent women leaders, Afghan students, journalists, civil society activists and entrepreneurs – have the opportunity to rise to their full potential, advance democracy and preserve their culture. The Afghan Future Fund is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a 501(c)(3) US public charity.
About Yalda Hakim Foundation:
The Yalda Hakim Foundation (YHF) was established in 2018 by acclaimed international journalist Yalda Hakim to support the education, human capital development, and professional advancement of exceptionally talented young women from Afghanistan — in particular those from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds — through scholarships, internships, and mentoring. Learn more at YaldaHakimFoundation.org.
About Schmidt Futures:
Schmidt Futures bets early on exceptional people making the world better. Founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative that brings talented people together in networks to prove out their ideas and solve hard problems in science and society. To learn more about our method and the diverse types of capital and tools that we deploy, visit SchmidtFutures.com.
About Institute of International Education (IIE):
IIE has been a world leader in international education since 1919. IIE works to build more peaceful and equitable societies by advancing scholarship, building economies and promoting access to opportunity. As a not-for-profit with 18 offices and affiliates worldwide, IIE collaborates with a range of corporate, government and foundation partners across the globe to design and manage scholarship, study abroad, workforce training and leadership development programs. Learn more at IIE.org.
About Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD):
Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) is a public development institution committed, on behalf of the State of Qatar, to implement external aid projects under Law No.19 of 2002 and its amendments. It has provided aid to several countries around the world to achieve the international cooperation goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030. The Qatar Fund for Development’s main goal is to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, by addressing priority issues of education, health and economic empowerment.