IOM Country Office in Finland | P.O.Box 851 (Unioninkatu 13), FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358-9-684 11 50 Email: iomhelsinki@iom.int | www.iom.fi | www.iom.int | Twitter: @IOMFinland | Facebook: IOM Finland

IOM Finland

BACKGROUND IOM provides pre-departure cultural orientation training courses for refugees accepted for re-settlement to a third country. Over the past 25 years, IOM has conducted courses for over 500,000 refugees in over 70 refugee processing locations around the world. The tailored ap-proached to training takes into consideration the specific needs of migrants and of the receiving country.

IOM Finland currently provides pre-departure ori-entation for Finland-bound quota refugees. Since 2001, IOM Finland has provided Finnish Pre-Departure Orientation to more than 3000 refu-gees in order to facilitate and prepare them to successfully resettle in Finland.

The Finnish Pre-Departure Orientation project (FINCO) is implemented in cooperation with the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences and rele-vant field-based IOM offices. The project is coordi-nated by the Finnish Immigration Service and re-ceives funding from the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

In addition, IOM Finland is also providing Pre-Departure Orientation training for quota refugees selected to resettle in Iceland. The Icelandic Pre-Departure Orientation is implemented by the IOM

Finland based on the current needs of Iceland, and upon their request.

OBJECTIVES Pre-departure cultural orientation prepares refu-gees by providing practical information on coun-try of destination, and assists refugees in setting realistic goals and developing the skills and atti-tudes needed to succeed in their new environ-ment. IOM works closely with governments to identify the key priority messages and values that are crit-ical for refugees’ successful resettlement and in-tegration.Pre-departure orientation is designed to assist refugees to develop realistic expecta-tions and to become self-sufficient more quickly. Courses by IOM’s multilingual, multi-ethnic train-ers help refugees anticipate integration challeng-es and facilitate their transition into the receiving society. Topics addressed in the orientation in-clude housing, health, money management, find-ing employment, being informed about the types

Finland-bound quota refugee children attending the IOM FINCO

training in Beirut, Lebanon © IOM 2015

Cultural Orientation Training in Turkey in February 2017. © IOM

2017 © IOM

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION

IOM Country Office in Finland | P.O.Box 851 (Unioninkatu 13), FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358-9-684 11 50 Email: iomhelsinki@iom.int | www.iom.fi | www.iom.int | Twitter: @IOMFinland | Facebook: IOM Finland

of post-arrival resettlement services, education, cul-

tural adaptation, rights and responsibilities, and oth-

ers. They have an opportunity to familiarize them-

selves with the Finnish language. The pre-departure

training also provides a forum for the refugees in

which to ask questions, express their fears and con-

cerns, so as to be better equipped to deal with cul-

tural adaptation and change.

IOM believes pre-departure orientation is an integral

component of successful resettlement programmes

and is most effective when linked closely to domes-

tic settlement services.

APPROACH IOM's training methodology recognizes an interac-

tive, learner- and family-centred approach while also

taking into account different learning styles. The pri-

mary goal of any training is to encourage participa-

tion and to strive to empower participants through

creating meaningful and experiential learning oppor-

tunities.

The methodology is participatory and interactive,

and relies on a host of approaches designed to en-

gage and empower refugees. Included are role-

playing, video presentations, simulations, discus-

sions, small group activities and more.

INTEGRATION IOM strongly advocates the concept that integration

is a two-way-process. IOM Finland has focused on

projects with the objective of engaging migrant

youth.

One of the projects focused on political participation

(Active Citizenship: Enhancing Political Participation

of Migrant Youth -ACCESS) and the other on the pre-

vention of exclusion (Models for Integration and

Prevention of Exclusion: Empowering Migrant Youth

- iYouth). Another point of focus has been the coop-

eration with religious communities through the pro-

ject “Dialogue for Integration: Engaging Religious

Communities”.

IOM AND FINLAND The International Organization for Migration (IOM)

is the leading organization for migration manage-

ment and since 2016 the UN’s Migration Agency.

Finland has been a Member State of IOM since 1991.

The office in Helsinki was opened in 1993.

Since 2011 the IOM Country Office in Finland has

been in charge of activities and operations in Fin-

land, Sweden and Iceland, and provides administra-

tive and management support to the IOM offices in

Denmark and Estonia.

The ACCESS team participated in different youth events to promote

political participation of migrant youth - here at the Reaktori Youth

Fair in Helsinki in 2015. ©IOM 2015.

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION