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Projects
Following are brief summaries of the
ongoing and completed projects implemented by IOM Oslo. For further
information about these projects, please click on the appropriate links
provided below.
Ongoing projects
Empowering Polish Construction Workers
This project aims to improve
the Polish construction workers’ situation by providing them with
accurate information about their rights and duties as employees in
Norway, and of relevant laws and regulations of the Norwegian society.
The project will be carried out by the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) in partnership with Tømrer og Byggfagforeningen in Oslo.
The main activities of the project include dissemination of information
via a project website and carrying out a training programme for a core
group of 30 Polish construction workers. This group will after a while
function as resource persons and further disseminate the acquired
information through their private networks to other Polish construction
workers. The resource persons will also be given some Norwegian language
training.
Visit the
project website for further details.
Assisted Voluntary Return from Norway
Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) is one of the many migration management
services IOM offers to migrants and governments. It aims at orderly,
humane and cost effective return of rejected seekers and irregular
migrants residing or stranded in host countries, who are willing to return
voluntarily to their countries of origin. The return assistance provided
is based on existing and well-tried IOM return programmes in Europe and
elsewhere. The services offered in the framework of the Norwegian
Voluntary Assisted Return Programme (VARP) include: information and
counselling to potential returnees, assistance in getting travel
documents, travel arrangements, post-arrival reception, onward travel to
the home location, and a limited follow-up.
Cultural Orientation Program for Norway
Bound Refugees
The Cultural Orientation Programme
for Norway-bound Refugees provides integrated pre-arrival cultural
orientation classes for refugees accepted for resettlement to Norway. IOM
Oslo in close coordination with IOM offices in countries where refugees
are residing, gives training for selected target groups of refugees aged
8 years and above on the practicalities of living in their new host
country. The primary objective of the programme is to promote the
integration of the refugees to Norwegian society by preparing them for the
initial period in Norway, limiting the culture shock and ensuring that
their expectations are as realistic as possible. The cultural orientation
programme also provides relevant and updated information about the
refugees and their situation to Norwegian recipient municipalities.
Completed projects
Return assistance to refugees from Burundi
(AVRFSB)
AVRFSB is IOM return with
reintegration support for Burundi nationals who are either asylum
seekers or with refugee status / permanent resident permit, but wish to
return voluntarily to Burundi. The project provides a return option,
which is organized, humane, safe and dignified.
Under the framework of IOM Oslo’s
voluntary assisted return programme (VARP) for unsuccessful asylum
seekers in Norway, beneficiaries are not offered any reintegration
assistance on arrival in their countries of origin, but Burundi
nationals (asylum seekers and those with either refugee status or
permanent residence permit) returning from Norway from 15 June 2009 to
15 March 2010, will be assisted with a cash grant which, will ease their
reinsertion into their original society. Travel Assistance to Families of Tsunami
Victims
This project complements the overall Tsunami disaster relief efforts of
the Norwegian government. The assistance provided through this project
enables up to 135 immigrants living in Norway, who lost close family
members as a result of the Tsunami, to return temporarily to their country
of origin and participate in memorial ceremonies for deceased family
members and to fulfil other ‘closure’ obligations. IOM Oslo implements the
project in close co-ordination and co-operation with the Norwegian
authorities, relevant immigrant NGOs and other organizations in Norway, as
well as the IOM offices operating in the Tsunami affected areas.
Survey and Skills Bank Project on Iraqis
in Norway
During the period December 2003 -
May 2004 IOM Oslo carried out a survey and established a computerized
skills bank with individual profiles on skilled and qualified Iraqis
residing in Norway. The objective of the project was to map the human
resource potential among skilled and qualified Iraqis living in Norway. As
well, it assessed their readiness to consider return to Iraq temporarily
or permanently in order to establish whether at a later point of time
there would be interest and need among the target group for establishing a
Return of Qualified Iraqis type of project from Norway.
The project concept was developed in
conjunction with IOM project activities in Iraq, where IOM in cooperation
with Iraqi authorities was seeking to identify requirements for
professionals in the public sector. Thus matching gaps and needs with
profiles of qualified Iraqis in exile.
The respondents to the survey were persons
who were well established in Norway, well educated (six persons with
PhDs), and their average age was 42 years. The response was relatively low
(23 returned questionnaires) in view of the extensive information
activities about the project and the apparent interest in and approval of
the project. However, the low response rate is understandable when taking
into account the events and security situation in Iraq during the project
period.
The project was financed by UDI and
implemented by IOM in collaboration with NRC’s INCOR Project (Information
and Counselling on Repatriation), Business Innovation Programme (BIP) and
Centre for Conflict Management (CCM).
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