{"id":3890,"date":"2025-06-19T23:45:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T23:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2025-08-21T00:44:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:44:58","slug":"promoting-democratic-values-in-higher-education-the-czo-ned-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/?p=3890","title":{"rendered":"Promoting Democratic Values in Higher Education: The CZO\u2013NED Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"304\">Introduction<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"305\" data-end=\"804\">In 2023, Eye\u2019s University Organization, through support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), launched a two-year initiative aimed at strengthening democratic values and governance within higher education institutions across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The project, backed by a $50,000 grant, seeks to foster transparency, accountability, and participation in universities, while promoting social justice, equal opportunities, and the rule of law<button class=\"ms-1 flex h-[22px] items-center rounded-xl px-2 relative bottom-[-2px] bg-[#f4f4f4] text-token-text-secondary! hover:bg-token-bg-secondary dark:bg-token-main-surface-secondary dark:hover:bg-token-bg-secondary\"><\/button>.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"806\" data-end=\"845\">The Challenge in Higher Education<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"846\" data-end=\"1547\">Higher education institutions in Kurdistan play a central role in shaping society, influencing politics, economics, and cultural development. However, deep structural issues limit their potential.<br data-start=\"1042\" data-end=\"1045\" \/>According to data collected by CZO, nearly half (49.8%) of senior administrative positions in universities were filled illegally, often through political interference, and only 5% were held by women. Student representation also lacks gender inclusivity, with female participation remaining below 10%. In addition, outdated laws, weak institutional oversight, and bureaucratic barriers hinder reform and reduce the ability of universities to model good governance<button class=\"ms-1 flex h-[22px] items-center rounded-xl px-2 relative bottom-[-2px] bg-[#f4f4f4] text-token-text-secondary! hover:bg-token-bg-secondary dark:bg-token-main-surface-secondary dark:hover:bg-token-bg-secondary\"><\/button>.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1549\" data-end=\"1580\">Objectives of the Project<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1581\" data-end=\"1736\">The overarching goal is to <strong data-start=\"1608\" data-end=\"1694\">promote rule of law and democratic principles within higher education institutions<\/strong>. Specifically, the initiative seeks to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1739\" data-end=\"1817\">Raise public awareness about governance and the rule of law in universities.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1820\" data-end=\"1921\">Engage the Ministry of Higher Education and Parliament to revise outdated laws and propose reforms.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1924\" data-end=\"1990\">Produce a <strong data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"1956\">Roadmap for Reform<\/strong> to guide institutional changes.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1993\" data-end=\"2068\">Monitor and report on the level of compliance with higher education laws.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2070\" data-end=\"2231\">Expected outcomes include a stronger culture of accountability, more inclusive governance structures, and broader acceptance of reforms by key decision-makers.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"2233\" data-end=\"2257\">Planned Activities<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2258\" data-end=\"2377\">Over the 24-month period (July 2023 \u2013 June 2025), Eye\u2019s University Organization will implement a range of activities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"2380\" data-end=\"2570\"><strong data-start=\"2380\" data-end=\"2412\">Panel Discussions &amp; Debates:<\/strong> Eight panels across Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja to discuss student elections and democratic participation, with livestreams and media coverage.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2573\" data-end=\"2782\"><strong data-start=\"2573\" data-end=\"2600\">Monitoring &amp; Reporting:<\/strong> Field visits, surveys, and data collection from at least 32 universities to evaluate adherence to education laws, followed by the publication of a comprehensive monitoring report.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2785\" data-end=\"2920\"><strong data-start=\"2785\" data-end=\"2809\">Roadmap Development:<\/strong> Conducting focus groups and expert consultations to design a reform roadmap, printed and distributed widely.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2923\" data-end=\"3100\"><strong data-start=\"2923\" data-end=\"2947\">Advocacy &amp; Lobbying:<\/strong> Meetings with the Ministry of Higher Education, parliamentary committees, and other stakeholders to push for adoption of legal and structural reforms.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3103\" data-end=\"3271\"><strong data-start=\"3103\" data-end=\"3125\">University Forums:<\/strong> Two large-scale conferences to present findings, discuss reforms, and bring together academics, civil society, media, and government officials.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3273\" data-end=\"3298\">Funding and Support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"3299\" data-end=\"3645\">The initiative is funded by NED through Grant No. 2023-0426, totaling <strong data-start=\"3369\" data-end=\"3380\">$50,000<\/strong>. Payments are scheduled in installments tied to project milestones and reporting obligations. The project budget covers staff salaries, university debates, monitoring activities, advocacy meetings, forums, and media outreach<button class=\"ms-1 flex h-[22px] items-center rounded-xl px-2 relative bottom-[-2px] bg-[#f4f4f4] text-token-text-secondary! hover:bg-token-bg-secondary dark:bg-token-main-surface-secondary dark:hover:bg-token-bg-secondary\"><\/button>.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"3647\" data-end=\"3669\">Long-Term Vision<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3670\" data-end=\"4046\">By the end of the project in June 2025, Eye\u2019s University Organization aims to leave behind stronger institutions capable of self-governance, transparent decision-making, and inclusive participation. The initiative also aspires to inspire broader reforms across Kurdistan\u2019s higher education sector, linking academia more closely to democratic development and good governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction In 2023, Eye\u2019s University Organization, through support from the  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19,1],"tags":[27,126],"class_list":["post-3890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-debate","category-leadership","category-uncategorized","tag-event","tag-sem"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3891,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3890\/revisions\/3891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chawyzanko.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}