Press Releases

14/03/03
NORWAY - Cultural Orientation Classes for Refugees
The IOM office in Oslo is launching a cultural orientation project aimed at helping some 500 refugees accepted for resettlement in Norway.

The cultural orientation classes will provide the refugees with vital information about life in Norway, will help them become self-sufficient, and will ease their integration into Norwegian society.

The cultural orientation training will be offered to Burmese residing in Malaysia and Thailand, Iranians in Turkey, Burundians and Congolese in Tanzania, Sudanese in Uganda and Liberians in Guinea.

The first classes are scheduled to take place in Tanzania in May. Other classes will be held in IOM offices in Bangkok, Ankara, Nairobi and Conakry and will be given by bi-cultural trainers, selected from a pool of immigrants who have lived and worked in Norway for an extended period of time.

As part of the programme, IOM will provide information to the Norwegian municipalities about the refugees that will shortly settle in their areas.

In 2003, Norway will accept 1,500 refugees. In 2002, the number of refugees accepted was 1,200. In 2001, of the almost 1,300 refugees accepted, the vast majority were from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Sudan.

For more information, please contact: Tiina Miskala, IOM Oslo. Tel: 47 23 29 21 09, email: tmiskala@iomosl.org