ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rudaw Media Network on Thursday announced the Baldar Scholarship Program, a new initiative that will support 114 Kurdish students to pursue higher education abroad, funded by local philanthropists.
“Rudaw is proud to announce the Baldar Scholarship Program, which will award 114 Kurdish students the opportunity to pursue master’s degrees abroad,” said Rudaw CEO Ako Mohammed during a ceremony held at the University of Kurdistan Hewler (UKH).
The program is named in honor of Ibrahim Amin Baldar, a pioneering Kurdish educator who wrote the first official Kurdish-language textbook and “helped the Kurds preserve their language in a region that had long suppressed their identity,” according to Mohammed.
“Starting next month, applications will open through a specific and merit-based selection process,” he added, expressing gratitude to UKH and Vision Education for their partnership in launching the initiative.
The program is the outcome of Pashivi Rudaw, a special Ramadan series hosted by Rudaw’s Bestoon Osman, aimed at raising scholarship funds from philanthropists and influential figures across Kurdistan. In addition to the Baldar scholarships, the program facilitated the distribution of other awards in March.
Vision Education, a local education management group led by Idris Nechirvan Barzani, contributed 40 of the scholarships. Barzani is among 30 philanthropists and business leaders who helped fund the scholarship.
Zana Ibrahim, interim president of UKH, described the Baldar Scholarship as a “unique and nationalistic project,” and emphasized the potential of private sector support in advancing higher education.
“Supporting education does not necessarily have to be done by the public sector; providing education opportunities, in universities locally and abroad, can be a new initiative for the private sector,” he said.
Sardar Bibani, head of Sardar Group and Toyota’s representative in Iraq, also spoke at the ceremony. His company contributed ten scholarships.
Calling the initiative “a sacred task,” Bibani said, “We see it as a duty to make it succeed and help [students] reach a place where they can serve after us.”
Rudaw’s Osman, speaking ahead of the ceremony, said the scholarships would be evenly split between male and female students, and “efforts will also be made to give shares to Yazidi, Turkmen brothers and other components.” The application process is set to open in August.
Photos by Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw