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Supporting Education – Interning at IOM as a Student of Education
Learning constitutes the basis for a good life. One of the sustainable development goals is to ensure everyone access to equitable quality education. However, globally especially refugees are often lacking access to adequate education. During my internship at IOM Finland I have been reflecting on questions related to refugees’ education when organizing cultural orientation for quota refugees coming to Finland. The orientation prepares refugees for their resettlement to Finland and starts the integration process.
I will gain my master’s degree in education in two months. In my own learning journey, I have had some particularly meaningful encounters. For example, a deaf Ghanaian boy who was aggressive and withdrawn became kind and cheerful after learning sign language. Another example is from a refugee camp in Greece where children, despite the daily threat of being exposed to riots and tear gas arrived every morning in a school organized for them to continue learning.
One can learn anywhere. Learning is a requisite for a good life.
The importance of learning and the right to education is recognized in the Sustainable Development Goal number four: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” To achieve this goal, every actor from different sectors needs to be involved. As a student of education science, I am particularly motivated to promote this goal.
Cultural Orientation Supporting Integration
I started a traineeship at IOM Finland’s migrant integration team in January 2020. I applied for an internship at IOM because I am interested in global phenomena, different learning styles, migration and equitable education. The cultural orientation for quota refugees, organized by IOM, constitutes an interesting context to reflect on these topics.
The cultural orientation is a course organized for quota refugees received by Finland before their departure from the country of first asylum. The goal of the training is to provide the refugees with information on Finland and motivation to face the upcoming move to a new country. Integration into a new society is about learning new things, and the orientation starts the integration process.
Participants Different Starting Points Are Considered in the Cultural Orientation
The cultural orientation is often organized in challenging contexts, or at least in completely different ones from what we are used to in Finland. Moreover, the participant groups in the cultural orientation are very heterogeneous, and they can include university lecturers, farmers, housewives and illiterate, retired and/or young people. The different starting points of each participant are taken into account in the training.
According to the statistics, only 63% of the refugee children can access basic education, whereas on the global level about 91% of children are in basic education (UNHCR 2019). The difference between people with a refugee background and others is even more remarkable in adults: only 24% of adults have access to secondary education, while globally the number is 84% (UNHCR 2019). The cultural orientation can be a first organized education experience for many of the participants.
One of my tasks has been to search different learning materials, such as videos, stories, plays and games, for children participating in the orientation. It has been interesting and challenging to think how to create a comprehensive picture of Finland using the training materials – what kind of stories to tell, from whose perspective to present Finland and how to avoid too many generalizations and simplifications. The refugee’s first impression of their new home country matters.
Internship at the International Organization for Migration
As an intern, I have experienced a learning process and discovered which factors contribute to my own learning. I have been included in different meetings and seminars. It has been great to work with topics of my interest and deepen my knowledge: I have learned more about migration, integration and the work done by an international organization. In addition, for the first time ever, I have had the chance to decide at what time I start working and what are my goals for the day. It has felt liberating. I have also been searching for my own ways of working, worked independently and used my creativity.
Interning at IOM Finland has been interesting because I have noticed how each employee brings their own skills and experiences to the multicultural working environment. The work context has also transformed during my internship: when COVID-19 arrived in Finland, we started working remotely. The working environment changed but the goals of my work stayed the same. With my team we have been in contact on a daily basis and had weekly meetings.
Equitable Quality Education for All
After the COVID-19 pandemic started, many countries have shifted education to different web platforms. I hope that in the future the learning journey of refugees would not be disrupted for many years due to fleeing from home, but technology would be used to ensure continuation of learning during crisis situations. Currently remote learning services are offered by, for example, Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium, which aims to enable refugees to obtain a higher education degree remotely.
A Nobel prize laureate peace activist and an advocate for equitable education, Malala Yousafzai, has stated: “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” Pen does not always refer to an actual pen but means to participate in teaching. A book depicts an enabling learning environment. To ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal four on education, the availability of safe, equitable and participatory learning environments and tools for everyone must be considered in the education planning phase. An internship at IOM has provided perspectives to advancing equitable education. I will use the skills and knowledge acquired in my future jobs.
The writer works in the migrant integration team of IOM Finland.
The views expressed by the authors in IOM Finland's blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the International Organization for Migration.
Sources
UNHCR. Stepping up. Refugee education in crisis, 2019. Available here.
Related Blogs
Learning constitutes the basis for a good life. One of the sustainable development goals is to ensure everyone access to equitable quality education. However, globally especially refugees are often lacking access to adequate education. During my internship at IOM Finland I have been reflecting on questions related to refugees’ education when organizing cultural orientation for quota refugees coming to Finland. The orientation prepares refugees for their resettlement to Finland and starts the integration process.
I will gain my master’s degree in education in two months. In my own learning journey, I have had some particularly meaningful encounters. For example, a deaf Ghanaian boy who was aggressive and withdrawn became kind and cheerful after learning sign language. Another example is from a refugee camp in Greece where children, despite the daily threat of being exposed to riots and tear gas arrived every morning in a school organized for them to continue learning.
One can learn anywhere. Learning is a requisite for a good life.
The importance of learning and the right to education is recognized in the Sustainable Development Goal number four: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” To achieve this goal, every actor from different sectors needs to be involved. As a student of education science, I am particularly motivated to promote this goal.
Cultural Orientation Supporting Integration
I started a traineeship at IOM Finland’s migrant integration team in January 2020. I applied for an internship at IOM because I am interested in global phenomena, different learning styles, migration and equitable education. The cultural orientation for quota refugees, organized by IOM, constitutes an interesting context to reflect on these topics.
The cultural orientation is a course organized for quota refugees received by Finland before their departure from the country of first asylum. The goal of the training is to provide the refugees with information on Finland and motivation to face the upcoming move to a new country. Integration into a new society is about learning new things, and the orientation starts the integration process.
Participants Different Starting Points Are Considered in the Cultural Orientation
The cultural orientation is often organized in challenging contexts, or at least in completely different ones from what we are used to in Finland. Moreover, the participant groups in the cultural orientation are very heterogeneous, and they can include university lecturers, farmers, housewives and illiterate, retired and/or young people. The different starting points of each participant are taken into account in the training.
According to the statistics, only 63% of the refugee children can access basic education, whereas on the global level about 91% of children are in basic education (UNHCR 2019). The difference between people with a refugee background and others is even more remarkable in adults: only 24% of adults have access to secondary education, while globally the number is 84% (UNHCR 2019). The cultural orientation can be a first organized education experience for many of the participants.
One of my tasks has been to search different learning materials, such as videos, stories, plays and games, for children participating in the orientation. It has been interesting and challenging to think how to create a comprehensive picture of Finland using the training materials – what kind of stories to tell, from whose perspective to present Finland and how to avoid too many generalizations and simplifications. The refugee’s first impression of their new home country matters.
Internship at the International Organization for Migration
As an intern, I have experienced a learning process and discovered which factors contribute to my own learning. I have been included in different meetings and seminars. It has been great to work with topics of my interest and deepen my knowledge: I have learned more about migration, integration and the work done by an international organization. In addition, for the first time ever, I have had the chance to decide at what time I start working and what are my goals for the day. It has felt liberating. I have also been searching for my own ways of working, worked independently and used my creativity.
Interning at IOM Finland has been interesting because I have noticed how each employee brings their own skills and experiences to the multicultural working environment. The work context has also transformed during my internship: when COVID-19 arrived in Finland, we started working remotely. The working environment changed but the goals of my work stayed the same. With my team we have been in contact on a daily basis and had weekly meetings.
Equitable Quality Education for All
After the COVID-19 pandemic started, many countries have shifted education to different web platforms. I hope that in the future the learning journey of refugees would not be disrupted for many years due to fleeing from home, but technology would be used to ensure continuation of learning during crisis situations. Currently remote learning services are offered by, for example, Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium, which aims to enable refugees to obtain a higher education degree remotely.
A Nobel prize laureate peace activist and an advocate for equitable education, Malala Yousafzai, has stated: “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” Pen does not always refer to an actual pen but means to participate in teaching. A book depicts an enabling learning environment. To ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal four on education, the availability of safe, equitable and participatory learning environments and tools for everyone must be considered in the education planning phase. An internship at IOM has provided perspectives to advancing equitable education. I will use the skills and knowledge acquired in my future jobs.
The writer works in the migrant integration team of IOM Finland.
The views expressed by the authors in IOM Finland's blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the International Organization for Migration.
Sources
UNHCR. Stepping up. Refugee education in crisis, 2019. Available here.