The Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation EDOF has announced that it has formed a partnership with the Link Campus Foundation in order to establish the Essam & Dalal Obaid Foundation Centre for War and Peace Studies at Link Campus University in Rome. The EDOF Centre will work closely with the various interdisciplinary academic departments at the Link Campus University as well as with international governments and organizations in order to support experts, academics, researchers, diplomats, governments, and civil society activists in their attempts to help countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world. The Partnership Agreement was signed in Rome on May 8, 2017.

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"We are very excited to be partnering with the Link Campus Foundation to fund and enable important scholarship that looks to build bridges of mediation in conflict regions around the world," said EDOF's CEO, Dr. Nawaf Obaid. "We have respected the work of Link Campus for some time. The Centre hopes to play an important role in contributing to its efforts toward creating peace and good governance by strengthening the ability of researchers, media, and civil society to speak out and be informed on vital contemporary issues."

Professor Joseph Mefsud will be appointed the Founding Director of the Centre for a period of three years. Scholarships and bursaries will be allocated in the field of War and Peace studies. The Centre will also hold international seminars and conferences, produce research publications, and appoint Senior Fellows in the field of War and Peace studies. 

According to Tarek Obaid, Founder of EDOF, "The Centre will take a very pragmatic approach to helping bring smarter and more relevant thinking to the area of conflict mediation." It will achieve this by having three areas of concentration: training, mentoring, and providing platforms for professional and expert seminars; building up the capacity of institutions and civic groups; and working with independent and official partners to remove barriers to free expression, robust public debate and open citizen engagement. "Offering this research platform for experts is EDOF's way of trying to support those who are doing the heavy thinking as to how we can bring resolution to some of the more intractable conflicts in our world."

The EDOF Centre itself will have no formal teaching program; rather, its members will offer courses, seminars, and summer and winter schools on international foreign policy, national security, international politics, political economy, environmental policy, and international organizations through the Link Campus University and its academic partners. Further, the Centre will conduct a monthly EDOF Centre Diplomatic Forum in Rome focusing on topical issues. These forums will bring together national and international experts and provide the international and diplomatic community in Rome and the Mediterranean with a platform for exchanging ideas that focus on helping areas of conflict. Finally, the Centre will seek to use social media and an interactive platform to disseminate its information widely and to interact with expert think tanks, international institutions and the public in general.

As EDOF's founder, Tarek Obaid, says, "We are interested in the Centre being a place where ideas come to life and nothing is off the table. We want our researchers and academics to feel free to explore whatever they feel might lead to a stronger regimen of ideas for helping resolve conflict. Our goal is simply to support their collaborations and discoveries and help them explore ways to implement them in the real world." As a part of this ethic of experimentation, honorary fellows and embedded researchers will be given the possibility to research, investigate, publish and hold monthly seminars on areas of interest. 

Professor Vincenzo Scotti, President of Link Campus University and a former Minister with a number of portfolios in Italy, declared that "this Centre will give continuity to our international relations and our international standing and is a concrete example of a platform to be used internationally as a bridge in global dialogue, especially in areas of major humanitarian and societal challenges." Professor Joseph Mifsud who will be the Centre's inaugural director added that "it will be the major remit of this centre to ensure that the research and dialogue that it generates from Rome will find itself studied for implementation as an out of the box ideas compendium for global issues."

The Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation is a global non-profit organization founded in 2014 with a two-fold mission: medical work and social work. In terms of medical work, the organization supports medical research and care. In terms of social work, it supports the efforts of state and non-state entities in fostering peace and dialogue among people. EDOF wants to make a difference in improving the lives of people everywhere, and joins the daily effort of its fellow advocates to raise awareness, educate and build bridges. 

Link Campus University Foundation's mission is to promote research, studies, training with reference to the development and dissemination of knowledge in the fields of economy, international and political relations, organization of business, communication, legal affairs, and every other discipline of socio-economic, artistic, cultural, health and environmental affairs.

More information about EDOF: www.edof.org

More information about Link Campus University: www.linkinternational.eu

Contact:

Christelle Marquette
Tel: +41-22-818-61-20
christelle.marquette@edof.org

SOURCE EDOF