Training Education

Crochet is more than just a craft; it’s a powerful tool to reduce stress and anxiety due to its meditative and repetitive nature. IOM hosted a crochet workshop for women from displaced communities, creating a space for connection and skill-sharing. Through the art of crafting, participants not only learned new techniques but also built supportive relationships, enhancing sense of community. IOM focuses on fostering resilience and integration within communities in Mozambique through Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services. Creating safe environments that encourage connection, and creativity helps individuals on their journey towards recovery and integration.

Algeria, Algiers, 02-05-2024. Migrants undergo sewing training as part of a Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPSS) activity. Photographs taken under the COMPASS project.

In Mainé-Soroa, the arrival of internally displaced persons fleeing attacks perpetrated by non-state armed groups has affected the education sector. The primary school's reception capacity was limited, and the facility was obsolete, offering an environment to children from local communities that was not conducive to learning. In 2022, the Niger Community Cohesion Initiative (NCCI) programme renovated and equipped the primary school to improve conditions for learning and reduce the dropout rate. Ramatou, the principal of a primary school in Mainé-Soroa, a commune from the Diffa region at the heart of the Lake Chad Basin region and at the border with Nigeria, recalls what it was like before when classes were held under tents which amplified the high-temperature conditions without water and protective fencing a year before, a contrast to what it is today. Now the school boasts of six classrooms built with permanent materials, a shop, a kitchen, a borehole, four streetlights, an electricity meter, and four fire extinguishers. The school can now decently host 913 students, 475 of which are girls, many of them displaced and the refugee communities. The impact of the rehabilitation of school premises is evident on students' grades and performance, and girls' retention rate with the number of dropouts decreased.

Photos of by IOM Georgia taken during different activities in previous years.

A compilation of visibility products for IOM's 70th Anniversary. For queries, contact avteam@iom.int

Documentation of IOM programmatic works in Nigeria in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. (Please find more information in the individual photos and videos)

The Central-East region is the most affected community by irregular migration in Burkina Faso. In 2018, 56 per cent of migrants assisted to voluntary return to Burkina Faso by IOM came from this region. As part of its awareness raising activities, IOM trained 25 community actors from the Central-Eastern Region of Burkina Faso trained by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in community mobilization techniques. The goal is to empower these voices to effectively raise awareness among young people about the dangers of irregular migration. Migration of young “able-bodies” from the region is more often due to a precarious economic situation, plus social and cultural motivations. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt participatory approach to raising awareness. Community mobilization responds to this need by enabling community members to take ownership of the theme, and by building their capacities to organizing community dialogue sessions to change attitudes and behaviours.

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative in Mauritania plans to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among 1000 people. The project's target populations are migrants, community leaders and beneficiaries of the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programme.

Lost in Mauritania, a small group of unaccompanied minors returned to their home country ‘Sierra Leone’. IOM country offices in Mauritania and Sierra Leone collaborated under a family-tracing program to locate the children’s’ families whereabouts. After a long journey by plane, by boat and by bus the children were able to rejoin their families accompanied by IOM workers. Their return was possible thanks to the efforts of diplomats and consulates from the both countries.

Refugees under IOM care in Indonesia who've completed a vocational training program provide free haircuts to street children and residents of their host community.

Safe migration information campaign targets irregular migrant sending communities in Sri Lanka to educate and provide more information related to regular migration. The campaign allows the vulnerable communities and the potential migrants to take a better informed decision related to their migration efforts.

Since 1991, over a quarter million undocumented migrants have arrived in Bangladesh from the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar. Approximately 32,000 of these migrants are officially registered as Myanmar Refugees living in the two government-recognized camps in Kutupalong village of Ukhiya Upazila and Nayapara village of Teknaf Upazila in Bangladesh's south-eastern district of Cox's Bazar. Over 60,000 are undocumented, not registered as refugees, and officially known as Undocumented Myanmar Nationals (UMNs). They live in makeshift settlements around the same areas. The vast majority of UMNs live amongst the Bangladeshi population throughout Cox's Bazar and the surrounding districts. IOM and its partners have programs targeting UMNs and the poorest segments of local communities near the makeshift settlements.

Starting from March 2016 migrants and local community members in the Nigerien town of Agadez have been trained how to make bricks using only plastic and sand. OIM Niger and the Italian NGO Terre Solidali are behind this innovative and eco-friendly training project. The Italian NGO, based in Niamey, has a solid experience in this EU-Certified technique and has provided an excellent training to the participants. The produced bricks will be then used to offer a paving service in the town of Agadez. The training has been received with optimism by local authorities and stakeholders. The principal objectives are to encourage community development project, provide alternatives to irregular migration and offer professional training to the youth while helping the planet.

IOM Niger three-day “Festival on Safe and Informed Migration” in Agadez, Niger. The objective was to raise awareness and increase access to information about migration for transiting and potential migrants, the host population and migrants living in the city’s migrant ghettos.The festival opened at the IOM transit center with a video screening exploring migration in Niger and in the region. It included documentaries from Odysseus 2.0, a project which produced photos and videos of the migration route to Europe. Other activities on Day 1 included a football match in the town square between a migrant team and young people from Agadez and an evening of participatory theatre to encourage debate about informed decisions about migration and safer alternatives to irregular routes. Day 2 focused on the host community and a public discussion was organized at the Sultanate of Aïr with the active participation of Agadez Association of Women. In the evening a mobile cinema caravan showed more videos and an educational movie. On the Day 3 IOM staff took part in a radio talk show “Cercle des Migrants”, produced by IOM, to answer to listeners’ questions. The festival concluded with a video forum in an Agadez ghetto, followed by a Question and Answer session. The festival was part of an IOM project: “Supporting Informed Migration in Niger,” co-funded by the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Interior.

British photographer Ben Robinson visited Zhytomyr with IOM’s team to meet the IDPs and tell the world their story. Here are the results of this project.