DAAD Higher Education Dialogue with the Muslim World

Intercultural and academic exchange between Germany, Jordan and Lebanon

The FHWS Faculty of Applied Social Sciences has carried out a project within the German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) funding programme “Higher Education Dialogue with the Muslim World”. Partners are the Lebanese University (Lebanon), the German Jordanian University (Jordan), and the Yarmouk University (Jordan). During visits, in scientific papers and by personal contact, the four project team deals with the refugee issue which poses substantial social challenges for all three countries and the role of social work in this context.

The project, initiated by Prof. Dr. Ralf Roßkopf, aims not only at cultural and professional exchange, but also at a sustainable network between the participating universities in order to establish structures for an academic dialogue between Germany, Jordan, and Lebanon in the long run.

During its first year, the project focused on the topic “Humanitarian Access: Pathways for Refugees from Transit to Safe Havens”. In 2019, the project group will work on the theme "Life of Refugees in Host Communities: Reducing inequalities and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies" and in 2020 the focus will be on "Life of Refugees in Host Communities: Health, Education & Gender Equality".

The DAAD-funded project is funded by the Federal Foreign Office (AA).

On the sustainability website of DAAD you can read a report about the project: Changing perspectives through intercultural exchange

The project experiences from the perspective of the project assistants were published in the International Journal of Social Work Education:

Lisa Mends, Aimée Ghanem & Farah Z. Al Hamouri (2022). Sustainable Development Goals and social work in the migration context – a higher education dialogue between Germany, Jordan, and Lebanon, Social Work Education, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2022.2089646 - Please read the article here.