The IADB and IOM offer specialized virtual courses on migration governance and management

A partnership between the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), within the frameworks of the IABD's Migration Initiative and IOM’s Regional Migration Capacity-Building Program, will enable officials in Latin America and the Caribbean to complete free virtual trainings on topics related to migration governance and management and earn certificates. 

The course “Migration policy and governance in Latin America and the Caribbean” will be offered beginning in 2020, providing technical orientation about designing migration-related public policies. The course content is aligned with IOM’s Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF) and the relevant international instruments. Its central focuses are human rights, economic and social development, and gender equality.  

Additionally, a second course, “Integrated approach in migration governance in Latin American and the Caribbean”, will be offered, with the objective of providing tools for implementing migration policies in an integrated, comprehensive way at the various levels of government (local, national, and regional) and across sectors.  

Presently, the course “Coordinated Migration Management at the Border” is being offered, directed towards personnel from institutions involved in border management in Latin American countries. An English version will be offered in 2020, aimed at Caribbean countries. 

“These courses are another tool for building institutional capacities for the current challenges posed by migration management. This strategic partnership has enabled the development of these courses with up-to-date content contextualized for the Latin American region,” stated Alexandra Bonnie, Coordinator of IOM’s Regional Migration Program. 

The courses are 100% online, asynchronous, and tutored, such that each participant receives regular, personalized feedback from a tutor who is a specialist on the topic of each module. Each class has a cap of 45 participants. When the course is completed, the participant receives a digital certificate from the IADB and its Interamerican Institute for Economic and Social Development (INDES), in conjunction with IOM. The courses are designed to require 12-15 hours of study per week. 

They are aimed at personnel from public agencies and institutions which are involved in migration issues or provide services and/or assistance to migrants. People interested in taking courses should have a university education or the equivalent, preferably in the areas of finance, economics, public administration, law, or engineering, and should have at least three years of experience in public service at the central, regional, or local level as well as interest in migration issues in Latin America or the Caribbean. Those who wish to be nominated by the institution where they work should consult the person responsible for training or human resources, or contact the IOM office in their country. 

These new courses are added to those already available on E-Campus, IOM’s online migration learning platform. The platform offers over 20 courses in Spanish, English, French, Arabic, and Italian.  All the courses are developed by experts with comprehensive, up-to-date content covering diverse topics such as migration management, assistance to vulnerable migrants, LGBTI migrants, human trafficking, and labor migration, among others.