The wider objective of the project Diploma Public Policy and Child Rights (DPPCR) is to promote a culture in Jordan and Egypt where children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled through improved policies and practices. The first specific objective is to build a cadre of practitioners working with and for children that are effectively using their skills and knowledge to influence adequately funded, evidence-based and child rights oriented public policies, programs and practices.

The second specific objective is to ensure that by the end of the project four universities in Jordan and Egypt will offer a diploma in child rights and public policy that bridges academic teaching and research to inform evidence-based policies and practice.

To reach these objectives, the consortium of European and Arab universities *1 will engage in the development of course contents for face to face and blended learning during the first year of DPPCR's implementation. In order to generate evidence and create learning material reflecting the situation in each one of the partner countries, the project partners will engage in participatory development of learning materials, small research workshops and international student programs.

The implementation of the diploma will start in October 2010 and will be accompanied by instructors' exchanges allowing students from partner universities to profit from international expertise and intercultural learning settings. The diploma program will be institutionalized in the four partner universities from the start. This ensures ongoing teaching of the course beyond the project's lifetime. In the second year of DPPCR international student seminars and research workshops will take place. These will be continued through 2012. In the last year of implementation the process of setting up the diploma and its first results will be assessed.

The result of the assessment will be published online and in printed materials and will be available to the interested public. The idea of this activity is to promote good practice in higher education reform and show strengths and weaknesses of the project proposal. Throughout the project's lifetime, the consortium will liaise and network with different stakeholders in the field of children's rights, health, development cooperation and other important sectors for the project.

The aim is to set up strong cooperation that will continue as working relationships beyond 2012. Through these networks, a website, and by other means, the consortium will disseminate knowledge about the diploma course, research results and the project in general. Accompanying the diploma development, instructor's trainings on blended learning and the transfer of evidence into practice will be offered for lecturers from partner country universities.

*1Jordan: Jordan University; Egypt: Cairo University, Assiut University; European Union: Freie University of Berlin; Bristol University in UK; Maastricht University, and  Erasmus Rotterdam in Netherlands; a number of civil organizations in European Union and with cooperation of offices of UNICEF in Cairo and Jordan