The Global Compact on Refugees calls for a stronger, fairer response to large refugee movements and protracted situations. It highlights the need of a comprehensive refugee response framework, guided by the principles of international cooperation and responsibility sharing, where States and other relevant actors become partners towards the achievement of durable solutions for refugees. The different displacement phases are examined, by outlining the causes that force people to flee, the protection risks encountered throughout the displacement cycle, and the search and implementation of durable and sustainable solutions. A cross-cutting approach is adopted in analysing refugee-related issues, such as trafficking and smuggling, sexual and gender-based violence, and protection of stateless and internally displaced persons.

The International Institute of Humanitarian Law, as a reputable institution dedicated to the training of government officials on refugee issues since 1982, wishes to share the agenda and contribute to the collective outcome of the Global Compact on Refugees. Thanks to the contribution of the United States Department of State – Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Institute is launching the 2nd edition of the annual Course for Governmental Training Institutions and Academia, with a focus on the Global Compact on Refugees.

Audience of the Course

The Course will be open to government officials working for governmental training institutions, particularly those involved in the design, development and delivery of training, as well as academics, members of refugee law courses at their respective universities, or refugee law clinics at the undergraduate or post-graduate level at their universities.

Objectives of the course

• Enhance the capacity of national governmental training institutions and universities to embed the principles and areas in need of support of the Global Compact on Refugees in their training programmes and modules.
• Empower national governmental training officials and academics to:
  – Raise awareness on and advocate for the protection of refugees;
  – Enhance and develop sound and sustainable training programmes, in methodology and structure;
  – Ensure that their training programmes incorporate content conforming with the Global Compact on Refugees;
  – Harmonize the training approach and areas of focus among national governmental training institutions.
• Exchange of best practices and peer-to-peer support to enhance existing programmedevelopment and implementation mechanisms at the local level.
• Identify areas of cooperation between institutions represented at the Course.

Curriculum and methodology

The curriculum focuses on the key elements of refugee protection, ranging from the legal framework to refugee participation and solutions. It covers the principles, objectives and programme of action set by the Global Compact on Refugees and allows participants to strengthen their teaching skills and capacity to develop training modules through sessions devoted to instructional design and learning methodologies (e.g. needs assessments, and identification of approaches, objectives, methodologies, and evaluations).

The Course will consist of 4 (weekly) modules, each of which includes 2-3 live sessions of 90 minutes and/or self-paced sessions per module.

The Course is structured around two types of sessions:

• Sessions on specific areas of the Global Compact on Refugees, each of them using a different learning methodology (lecture, presentation, case study and group work, role play, e-learning and pre-recorded video etc.);
• Sessions dedicated to the analysis of the methodology and techniques used in the above sessions. In addition, participants will be able to exchange best practices and tips as to making these techniques more effective.

The Course strikes a balance between theory and practice and is delivered through a participatory and creative teaching methodology. Participants will be engaged in case studies, role plays, group discussions and simulations and will interact with practitioners and experts in the field of international protection. The selection of facilitators delivering the sessions consists of UN Officials and other experts on refugee protection from around the world.

Applications for the Online Course

The 2nd Course for Governmental Training Institutions and Academia will only accept 30 participants from all over the world. We apologize in advance if we cannot accept you for this year’s Course and encourage you to follow our calendar of courses should you wish to apply again or learn about other learning opportunities.