Helsinki – A large part of the quota refugees bound for Finland in 2018 got their pre-departure orientation in Turkey in July. The pre-departure orientation is a training meant for all quota refugees chosen to come to Finland and is organized by IOM Finland in collaboration with Diakonia University of Applied Sciences. It is administered by the Migration Agency of Finland. The orientations are financed by the EU’s AMIF fund (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund).

There were all in all 322 persons participating in the cultural orientation in Ankara, also counting all the smallest children. That is a large part of the 750 quota refugees that make up the refugee quota for 2018.

As the group was so large there were two three-day trainings held. The trained were all Syrians bound for Finland. The pre-depature orientation participants are usually divided into groups to make learning more efficient. In these trainings there were three groups of the adult groups, those 12 years and older. During both orientations one of these groups was for the 12-16-year-old, so that the content could be adapted to suit their interests and need.

These groups were all given the new Moving to Finland workbook that contains information and exercises on the upcoming move and on the Finnish society. The workbook can be found on the Moving to Finland website in several languages: English, French, Arabic.

The children from 0-11 years participated in a lighter version of the pre-departure orientation, organized in combination with the childcare. In the children’s orientation they get to familiarize themselves with Finland and the Finnish language in a way that is appropriate for their age group, for instance through play or handicrafts.

The aim of the pre-departure orientations is to give the quota refugees a better understanding of the Finnish society and help them with the integration into the Finnish society. During the orientation days they are several different subjects approached from a practical point of view and with a participatory approach.

Earlier this year IOM Finland has organized a cultural orientation in Zimbabwe for Congolese quota refugees coming to Finland.

***