Antonine University (UA) inaugurated the MERIC-Net project co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the ERASMUS+ program, in the presence of many academic figures including Professor Ahmad Jammal, General Director of Higher Education in Lebanon and the Rector Father Michel Jalakh, represented by Reverend Father Jean Al Alam, Vice-rector for Integral Human Development. Among those figures were also Fr. Toufic Maatouk, UA Secretary-General; Fr. Ziad Maatouk, Vice-Rector for Administrative Affairs; Fr. Francesco El Khoury, Director of the International Relations Office; Professor Aref Al Soufi, National Erasmus+ Office coordinator; and Mr. Abdallah Chebli, Program Officer at the Delegation of the European Union in Beirut.

The event lasted for three days and gathered 19 partners, including representatives of the Lebanese Ministry of Education, the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED) as well as representatives of universities from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, France, Italy, and Norway. A round table and workshops took place, with the participation of several organizations such as UNHCR, Hopes-Madad, the RESCUE Erasmus+ Project, and the Issam Fares Institute of the American University of Beirut.

Participants tackled several issues, notably the identification of mechanisms for recognizing qualifications in general, and particularly in refugees, through an exchange of experiences to strengthen the capacity of the institutions concerned and enable refugees to build their careers in host communities by meeting their educational needs. The discussions also focused on the validity of certificates and equivalences as well as improving transparency and access to information.

During the inaugural session, Fr. Jean Al Alam, Vice-rector for Integral Human Development, representing Rector Fr. Michel Jalakh, said a word during which he stressed the importance of reactivating recognition of qualifications and information centers. Referring to the transformations undergone by that higher education around the world, he focused on the actions taken by Antonine University to improve its services and make its students more independent, in particular through establishing a Vice-Rectorate for Integral Human Development and a Center for Relational Ecology. He stated, "If Antonine University evokes the prospects for the development of its students' skills for the coming years, it will aim to promote an integral human development that contributes to a balanced acquisition of knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills."

For his part, Professor Aref Al Soufi, the National Erasmus+ Office coordinator, reminded everyone that MERIC-Net is a structural project, which aims to strengthen the capacities of two Lebanese universities, Antonine University and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, in the field of recognition. In addition, it intends to guarantee, thanks to the presence of the General Directorate of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and its equivalence commission, a national impact, and dissemination of the project results to Lebanese higher education institutions. He stated, "Recognition itself is one of the important issues in the European reform agenda," before affirming that it is equally essential for Lebanon because the country receives thousands of applications for recognition and equivalence every year.

The last speaker, Professor Ahmad Jammal, General Director of Higher Education in Lebanon, encouraged participants to develop practical actions that will help solve complications in terms of recognition and equivalence of diplomas; complications that result from the difference between higher education regulations and laws.

The MERIC-Net project aims at reactivating the MERIC network to facilitate and improve the recognition of qualifications within the Mediterranean region as well as to enhance the quality of horizontal and vertical mobility within the higher education systems of the countries involved in the project. The project partners are working on improving the skills of evaluators by defining the optimal practices and developing shared tools between European and Southern Mediterranean countries, between national institutions and higher education institutions, based on the experience of European institutions and practices adopted by the ENIC-NARIC centers.