New material about the reception of quota refugees

The new material published in the Navigator 2.0 project makes it possible to organize the Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training independently. The material consists of a guide for the training organizer and a training presentation in Finnish, Swedish and English.

The Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training provides basic information about quota refugees’ journeys to Finland and the first stages of integration in a municipality. The training illustrates the importance of multisectoral support for integration and responds to the information needs of professionals working in basic services and associations as well as their volunteers. The key message in the training is that every encounter can support integration!

Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training sessions were organized across Finland for multiprofessional target groups as part of IOM and the Finnish Refugee Council’s Navigator 2.0 project in 2021 and 2022. Feedback from the participants was positive, and the training model was found to be flexible and effective.

”The best thing about the training was gaining an overview (on a timeline – how things proceed step by step). Good background information for me. When meeting a client, it is helpful to know how the preceding path to Finland and in Finland has gone.” 

”The training broadened my perspective; in addition, I received useful information about materials that are available online.”
 

The New Training Materials

With the help of the newly published material, various actors can from now on organize the Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training independently. By organizing a Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training session, you can support comprehensive integration in your municipality and region. The training materials have been published in Finnish, Swedish and English.

• Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality – Guidebook for the Training Organizer

The guidebook for the training organizer covers the informational content of the training. You can easily take the notes for you presentation from the guidebook. The guidebook also explores some key considerations for organizing a training event and gives concrete examples of exercises which can be used during training sessions. A training invitation template and a training programme template are also included. Download or print the guidebook from our Publications page or below.

• Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training presentation

An existing presentation makes organizing a training session easier. Download and save the presentation to use in your training! You can download the PowerPoint presentation* here: English/Finnish/Swedish.

• Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training recording

The training recording is a good option for independent study, for example for decision-makers, journalists and various professionals. You can distribute the recording freely within your network and for example share it with people who registered for but were unable to attend the Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training which you organized. You can find the recording in English, Finnish and Swedish here.

”The path of a person who is integrating was a good summary of everything that takes place. Some things were familiar, but it was useful to form an understanding of the full picture. The practical examples were really enlightening and very concretely showed what kind of things we easily consider self-evident.”

The Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training materials can be used freely and free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes and to support integration. We hope that especially experts working at the ELY Centres and for the wellbeing service counties as well as municipalities’ integration support specialists will find the materials and use them in their work.
 

Supporting Integration Together

During the course of the project, a total of 21 Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training sessions were organized across Finland (18 sessions in Finnish, three in Swedish). Each training session followed the same structure and contained the same overview of the quota refugees’ resettlement process, but local expertise was also incorporated into the programme every time.

Local speakers at the training events included immigration experts from ELY Centres, municipalities’ integration support specialists as well as experts of other projects. Among the topics were, for example, local integration support services, promoting good mental health, as well as health examinations.

The feedback gathered from participants showed that incorporating a local perspective into the training was highly appreciated. The sessions which included talks from health care professionals and a mental health aspect also received praise from participants.

The central goal of the Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training is to see integration support as a multisectoral task. Each employee and professional is an important actor and a builder of trust to people with a refugee background. The training is an opportunity to come together and deepen one’s own as well as the shared understanding of how a refugee background impacts on a person’s integration and what is important to take into consideration when interacting with them.
 

Thank you!

The Navigator 2.0 project ends on 30 June 2022. The entire Navigator 2.0 project team wishes to thank all of its partners and involved experts across Finland, as well as the specialists of the MAGEE, PASEK, Osallisena, Neuvova Vantaa and Joensuu Regional Centre of Integration Work projects, and all the professionals of various fields and volunteers who attended the Refugee’s Journey to the Municipality training events. We also wish to thank the project’s steering group and our donor, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union, for making the project possible!

*The Navigator 2.0 project, IOM, Finnish Refugee Council or the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union (AMIF) are not responsible for any changes made to the materials by other users, such as changes or modifications of the text or images. If you make changes to the material, remember to always take into account copyright and privacy considerations and to follow the relevant legislation.