A degree programme in Special and Rehabilitation Education at the University of Dohuk, co-founded by Oldenburg university lecturer Prof. Dr Monika Ortmann, is able to continue its work, which is unique in Iraq to date. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is funding the co-operation with the University of Oldenburg for a further two years.
The DAAD is providing 100,000 euros per year; it had also provided the start-up funding. In the first year, 53 young people studied in Dohuk. The second class of students has just started. Ortmann, who researches and teaches in Oldenburg as an expert in education for people with physical and motor impairments, has developed the course content in collaboration with Iraqi academics. Iraq ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2013. Ortmann will provide academic support for the inclusion process that has now begun.
Through her work in Dohuk, she hopes, amongst other things, to help ensure that people with disabilities are no longer hidden away and regarded as inferior, but are instead integrated into society as people with full rights. This improves the quality of life for those affected and their families, whilst at the same time making Iraqi society a little more humane – a key guiding principle for the Oldenburg-based researcher.
