Shafaq News/ The University of Kurdistan-Erbil (UKH) kicked off the sixth 3C Forum earlier today, Wednesday.

"The 3C Forum seeks to facilitate effective collaboration amongst participants leading to new initiatives to increase access to higher education opportunities for refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)," the University said on its official website.

The event is being held in cooperation with the Opening Universities for Refugees (OUR) initiative, Empower Organisation and in collaboration with the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies (CAPRS) at the University of Auckland, and the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNHCR).

In a keynote speech during the meeting, the UNHCR representative commended the role of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), along with the institutions working with refugees in Iraq and the region, for offering the refugees and internally displaced persons the chance to engage elementary and higher education in the Kurdistan region.

The UNHCR praised the Kurdistan region as a "model" for combating terrorism and adequate management of the refugees' situation by offering them a chance to work and learn, reiterating its support for the region's efforts to sustain such initiatives.