Lisbon – The Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, presented Princess Rym Ali with a decoration in recognition for her efforts in the field of culture and intercultural exchange. The Order of Prince Henry the Navigator was given to Princess Rym at the closing of an international conference on “Higher Education in Emergencies”, organized by the Rapid Response Mechanism platform at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon on the 5th of April.
As founder of the Jordan Media Institute, Princess Rym talked about the challenges faced by refugees and displaced people seeking to enroll in tertiary education, as well as about the constraints and obstacles within the host countries and communities.
Globally, only one out of 100 refugee students makes it to tertiary education – despite the fact that access to higher education among non-refugee populations is on the rise across the world and stands at around 36%.
In that respect, Princess Rym said: “At a time when the world is witnessing the largest displacement ever in the story of humanity, investing in helping displaced people achieve their potential via higher education allows for an economic gain that helps their host communities so that they are an asset rather than a burden, as often wrongly perceived. It also paves the way for the reconstruction of their country once they are able to return.” She added that “equal access to higher education on the basis of merit is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, therefore it is not a luxury. It should include humanistic values, regardless of the field of specialty.”
Translating words into deeds, Princess Rym announced that the Jordan Media Institute, has decided to take in one refugee and offer him/her a scholarship, if he/she fulfills the required criteria. This is a significant contribution, since the intake of candidates for the Master’s in journalism is limited to 30 per year, in order to allow JMI to focus on providing quality media education.