Governments and local organizations will be able to receive training on migration information models with a free IOM course

The International Organization for Migration launched the online course "Information Hubs on Migration". The course is free, open to the public and 100% virtual through IOM's E-Campus platform. The main function of the hubs, located in the facilities of municipalities and other local instances, is to provide current, potential or returned migrants with access to reliable information on regular migration channels and to direct them to existing services in the community, to facilitate their protection, integration or reintegration, as the case may be.

"Access to information is of utmost importance for people who migrate to do so in a regular, orderly and safe manner. Investing in providing accurate and timely information, especially to vulnerable populations, amid so much misinformation and uncertainty is indispensable to any development plan at the national or local level. The Hub model is proposed as an alternative to achieve this, through a person-to-person communication approach, and this course is therefore available to anyone who wants to start or strengthen such a center on migration," explained Tatiana Chacón, IOM Regional Communication for Development Officer.

Installed in areas of high mobility, such as border areas or capitals, the hubs are adapted to the context of each country and locality. However, they have some common features that ensure the success of the model. In this sense, the course is aimed at local or central government staff, as well as organizations that wish to learn about the general functioning of the hubs, and/or are interested in offering this service in their locality.

It is hoped that the course will serve to provide community and institutional actors with the basic tools necessary to guide people on the mechanisms for regular, orderly and safe migration in the interest of human rights.

This year, more than 30 thousand migrants have benefited from the services of more than 30 information hubs supported by IOM in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

"It is a very good service, because it helps you to be ready with everything. Sometimes you come and you don't know what papers you have to present, but with the help of the Information Hub you find out," explains Guerda, a Haitian migrant in the Dominican Republic.

The course explains what the Hubs are, how they work and what they do. Afterwards, it provides theoretical and practical tools for opening one and guidance for attending to migrants. Additionally, it offers resources to adapt the information service to new modalities, due to the changes generated by COVID-19.

Those who are interested in taking the course, should only enter this link, and if they have not done so before, register on E-Campus, IOM’s online learning platform on migration. The course is currently available only in Spanish, and you can register here.

This initiative was posible thanks to the Western Hemisphere Program at IOM, financed by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.