On February 19, 2022, RFI entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Catholic University of Erbil (CUE) in northern Iraq. 

David Trimble, RFI’s Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Center for Religious Freedom Education, and Jeremy Barker, Director of RFI’s Middle East Action Team, attended the MOU signing ceremony. They met with Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, who is the Chancellor and Head of the Board of Trustees at CUE, as well as several CUE administrators.

Trimble and Warda signed the MOU in order to formalize and deepen the collaboration between RFI and CUE in teaching the meaning and value of religious freedom to CUE students, members of the broader university community, and beyond. The MOU states:

RFI seeks to support the education and development of CUE students and others, through provision of academic scholarships, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and programs, internships, in-person and virtual exchanges, and other activities…RFI and CUE seek to support the development of graduate students, early career researchers, faculty, administrators, and others in Iraq, the United States, and beyond including through professional development training activities, mutual collaboration on research projects and publications, and hosting exchanges or fellowships.

As part of the MOU, RFI also provided full scholarships to 10 newly enrolled CUE students to support their educational development.