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Pre-departure Processing and

Cultural Orientation Seminar

Conference & Study visit Report Istanbul, Turkey

May 3-6, 2018

A cultural orientation session at ICMC's Resettlement Support Center in Istanbul, Turkey

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Introduction ICMC Europe held, in partnership with the Centralised Agency for Reception (COA) in The Netherlands and supported by the project ‘European Union Action on Facilitating Resettlement and Refugee Admission through New Knowledge’ (EU FRANK), an on-site visit and seminar on Pre-Departure Processing and Cultural Orientation (CO). Hosted at ICMC’s Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Istanbul, Turkey, the two-day seminar was organized within the frame of the SHARE Integration project, which is building a network of small-size cities, towns and local actors committed to offering protection and welcome for resettled refugees in Europe (co-financed by the European Commission). The seminar was followed by a two-day study visit – organised by the EU FRANK project - to observe pre-departure CO Training on site for refugees to be resettled from Turkey to The Netherlands.

Refugee resettlement is playing an increasingly important role in Europe: the number of refugees resettled to Europe has grown steadily over the last few years and more EU countries than ever before are engaged in resettlement. European Member States have pledged to welcome 50,000 people in need of international protection by 31 October, 2019, and the expected adoption of the EU Resettlement Framework would further boost resettlement as a permanent protection mechanism across Europe. The seminar was held in Turkey, home to many of the refugees who will be resettled to Europe under the EU-Turkey Statement as well as a number of national resettlement programmes. It explored in detail pre-departure cultural orientation – which will be a critical element to all who are developing, implementing and benefiting from, these upcoming resettlement initiatives.

Indeed, while resettlement in Europe is growing, the ultimate success for both refugees and their hosting communities will depend on how smoothly refugees are able to rebuild their lives in their new homes. Pre-departure cultural orientation (which EU Member States, under the proposed Resettlement Framework, would be required to deliver in most cases) can be a helpful tool for facilitating early integration and promoting refugees’ independence. The Istanbul seminar engaged participants in discussions around objectives and methodologies for cultural orientation, as well as the range of stakeholders that can be involved in its delivery.

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Key Issues and Questions Objectives and rationale of cultural orientation

o Can cultural orientation promote early integration for resettled refugees?

o Is it possible to link pre-departure and post-arrival cultural orientation?

o How can cultural orientation engage hosting communities?

Cultural orientation in practice

o What are the most effective methodologies and tools for cultural orientation?

o Can providers adapt cultural orientation curricula for children and youth?

Addressing difficult questions o How should cultural orientation address secondary/onward migration?

o How should cultural orientation address differences in hosting communities (i.e.

large cities, small municipalities, urban, rural)?

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Seminar Panels and Discussions Below is a brief summary of topics discussed during each presentation. Please see p. 9-12 for a more

detailed overview of issues, points of interest and relevant best practices discussed during the seminar.

Introduction to ICMC’s Resettlement Support Centre (RSC) and Facility Tour

In order to gain a clear picture of the full

process within which cultural orientation (CO)

fits, the seminar opened with a presentation on

case processing and a tour of ICMC’s

Resettlement Support Centre. ICMC’s Linda

Samardzic, Peter Vogelaar, Ceren Elitez and

Damir Thaqi led participants through the

building and noted in particular the

importance of security (i.e. building security,

fraud prevention and

data protection) and

accessibility (i.e. high

quality interpretation,

accountability and

feedback mechanisms, a

daily phone-based

hotline).

Panel 1

Seminar participants

heard next about the objectives of CO from

Daphne van Honschoten, of the Centralised Agency for Reception (COA) of The

Netherlands, Jamal Alfakhouri of the

International Organization for Migration in

Geneva, as well as Jason Crislip, of the Cultural

Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE,

supporting the US Refugee Admissions

Program) at International Rescue Committee.

The panelists discussed common approaches –

such as a focus on attitudes rather than

delivering specific knowledge – as well as

differences – such as working with local

trainers as opposed to trainers from the

country to which refugees will be resettled.

Panel 2

Peter Vogelaar, of ICMC, Daniele Albanese,

representing Italian NGO, Consorzio

Comunitas, and Mary Coulter, of the Canadian

Mission to the EU, presented on practical

methodologies and approaches for delivering

CO. The panellists discussed the value of

delivering CO in an interactive style, as well as

making use of videos from local communities

and online tools, particularly for youth.

Panel 3

Participants also looked

into preparing host

communities for

resettlement. Paloma Pino

Cordón, of the General

Direction for Immigrant

Integration in Spain spoke

on the value of gathering

accurate information

about both hosting cities

and refugees in order to

place refugees in appropriate communities.

Madalena Vasconcelos, representing Jesuit

Refugee Service (JRS) in Portugal, as well as

Elisabeth Lindholm from the Stromsund

municipality of Sweden (population:

approximately 12,000), spoke about the

unique challenges and advantages to

resettlement in small cities and towns. Finally,

participants were joined virtually by Ben

Muhirwa, a student and cultural mentor, who

resettled to the Netherlands in 2014, and

shared his reflections on key elements to

include in CO.

Cultural Orientation (CO) is more about attitude than specific information. CO

trainers preparing refugees for

resettlement to the US ask participants,

“Who is your #1 resource?” The

answer: “Me.” Likewise, COA’s trainers

preparing refugees for the Netherlands,

emphasize, “You are your resource.”

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A Sample Cultural Orientation

Activity

To close the first day of the seminar,

ICMC’s Peter Vogelaar led participants

in a sample CO activity. Participants

were asked to stand in a large circle and

each participant was given a photo

representing people in a resettlement

country – including images of daily life

(i.e. a family eating together), as well as

images that could be more

controversial, depending on the

audience (i.e. a gay marriage, a protest).

Participants were instructed to move to

a corner of the

room

according to

whether the

photo in their hands was ‘acceptable according to my culture,’

‘unacceptable,’ ‘neutral,’ and so on. Mr. Vogelaar then invited participants to

share their photo and engaged them in a discussion about why a certain

photo might be acceptable or unacceptable in their culture.

This mock CO classroom activity provided an example of the type of

discussions in which refugees engage during CO, and the types of questions

which can arise. Rather than simply presenting information on the

destination country, CO provides an opportunity to think critically about

cultural differences – in terms of both daily life, and ‘big-picture’ issues of

norms and values – and for refugees to think ahead about how they will react

to their new environment.

Question and Answer Session with DGMM

Towards the close of the seminar, Erdinc Uzunsoy, Bertug Uygunkara and Sahe CHEBOUKI from the

Turkish Directorate General for Migration Management (DGMM) spoke about their work and

addressed participants’ questions regarding Turkish government social services and registration

procedures for refugees in Turkey. Understanding the Turkish systems is helpful for European

practitioners who work with those refugees that spent time in Turkey, in order to better understand

the perspectives and experiences of the refugees they serve.

Whom will I ask if I cannot find the right

ingredients to cook food

from my culture?

How will I react if

someone of the opposite

sex wants to kiss me on

the cheek?

How will I teach my

children to read in our

language, as well as in the

language where we are

going?

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Break-Out Group Rotation Seminar participants engaged in brief small-group discussions about four key issues surrounding

cultural orientation, rotating between topics and then coming back together for a summary and full-

group discussion on each topic.

While you wait: making the most of the

pre-departure period

After refugees are selected for resettlement to

a specific country, they wait for a few months

up to a couple of years before departing.

Participants engaged in discussion, moderated

by ICMC’s Maya Perlmann, around how

practitioners can help facilitate early

integration during this waiting period.

Participants discussed tools which link pre-

departure and post-arrival actors, such as the

skills profile tool being piloted through the

Link-It! project and the matching tool piloted

by EASO for relocation applicants in Greece, as

well as language learning initiatives, which can

potentially facilitate early integration.

Addressing the special needs of children

and youth

Participants also explored objectives and

methodologies for a child-focused CO.

Moderated by Mary Coulter of the Canadian

Mission to the EU, the discussion centred on

appropriate messaging and tools for children

of different ages, as well as preparation for

parents about education and after-school

activities. Participants discussed the issue that

children often adjust to the new culture faster

than parents – especially when it comes to

language learning – and it can be helpful to

engage refugee parents and children in

conversations during CO about how their

family will adapt to the new environment.

Resettlement to countries that encounter

secondary migration

In several EU countries, resettled refugees

have chosen to leave for an alternative

destination in Europe. Onward movements of

refugees can put pressure on host countries,

which, in turn, may reduce public support for

refugee protection, as well as posing

protection risks for the refugees who find

themselves in an irregular situation. Daniele

Albanese, of Italy’s Consorzio Communitas,

moderated a discussion around how countries

can use CO to provide a balanced view of the

destination country, while also creating the

space for honest dialogue about the risks of

onward migration.

Preparing for life in smaller communities

vs. larger cities

Prior to resettlement, refugees often express a

preference to live in a large city. However, with

countries increasingly relying on ‘distribution

keys,’ (policies which make hosting refugees

mandatory, and require that refugees be

settled across the national territory, rather

than in municipalities which volunteer to host

refugees), many refugees are resettled to

smaller municipalities. ICMC’s Magdalena

Boehm moderated a discussion on CO

preparation which could highlight the

potential opportunities of smaller

municipalities, including specific messaging

countries use to promote smaller cities and

towns as places of welcome.

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Breakout group outcomes

What should be included in a child-focused CO?

The main elements of a child-focused CO curriculum include

the following (adjusted to the ages of participants):

How will my family and I deal with this adjustment?

Changing family dynamics, Emotional awareness,

confidence, adaptation, culture shock

What is the culture like in my new home? Expectations

of cultural differences, norms, values

What will my daily life be like? School & after-school activities; working age & minimum wage

What are my rights and what can I do if I feel unsafe? Depending on age, consider including laws in the host

country related to child abuse and neglect

What do I do in an emergency?

What will my new city/town look like? Public

transportation & local information

Can CO help promote early integration?

A variety of initiatives aim to help refugees during the pre-

departure period to develop and document skills which will

help them integrate into their future homes. Key

considerations for such initiatives include:

A focus on desires and goals – rather than just existing

skills and background – is important.

A ‘perfect match’ may not exist, because employment and education are often secondary to housing and medical

needs in placement decisions.

The lack of funding for pre-departure support is a

common constraint; countries should invest in pre-

departure training.

Basic language training during CO, paired with materials and/or online tools, are affordable for providers,

and valuable for refugees.

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How can CO promote smaller municipalities as places

of welcome?

Tips for messaging:

Lower cost of living (i.e. ‘What can you buy for €1 in

Paris vs. in a small town in France?’)

Easier communication with public authorities (i.e.

less crowded and shorter waiting periods)

Strong local networks – it may be easier to get to know people

All resettled refugees have the same rights & services, regardless of location

Try it out first – you can always move to a big city

later!

Tips for discussion topics and activities:

Allow some time for people to research small towns online, to see what types of services, cultural activities

and amenities are available

Arrange a virtual call with a municipality official in a

small town and or with refugees living in a small town, if

possible

Always speak in general terms about ‘small towns’ or ‘large cities’ so that you don’t create concerns about

specific places.

Should CO address secondary migration issues? How?

Focus on desires and personal development, and then discuss the steps needed to achieve those goals. This

leads to a discussion around the positive benefits of

resettlement.

Don’t focus only on the consequences of onward

migration; build trust and create space for open

discussion.

Provide clear messaging on risks (i.e. loss of

benefits, loss of right to citizenship, loss of right to work).

Provide clear messaging on legal options for

movement and migration (i.e. when relevant, family

reunification, tourism, relocation).

Share information about, and if possible connect

with, migrant & refugee communities in the resettlement

country.

Use testimonies and videos to counter myths,

including negative myths about the resettlement country

(i.e. ‘it’s impossible to find work!’) and positive myths

about other countries (i.e. ‘social assistance is unlimited!’).

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EU FRANK Study Visit

Thematic areas that were addressed in four separate

sessions during the CO training:

Introduction, Reception in The Netherlands and the

resettlement procedure (including housing and family

reunification)

Geography and introduction to the Dutch language

Rules, regulations, cohabitation forms (constitution,

discrimination, equality)

Rules, regulations, cohabitation forms (part II) & travel

and arrival in the Netherlands

EU-FRANK Study Visit, 5-6 May 2018

EU-FRANK facilitated a two-day study visit at the ICMC RSC

to observe pre-departure CO delivered by the Centralised

Agency for Reception (COA) of The Netherlands for refugees

who are resettling from Turkey to The Netherlands. A

delegation of 15 representatives, from government

institutions and civil society of ten different countries attended a CO session of the two-day programme that was

split into four parts covering different thematic areas.

Daphne van Honschoten, (COA) who also spoke at the

SHARE seminar’s opening panel about objectives and

approaches for CO facilitated the two day training. During

her panel presentation, Daphne emphasized that the

main objective of the Dutch CO is to support refugees

toward independence and self-sufficiency. By observing

the CO sessions, the delegation had the chance to observe

how this works in practice.

Participants were struck by the interactive format of the

Dutch CO training that involved the constant active

participation of its attendees. Difficult topics such as rights,

obligations, equality and discrimination were addressed in

an engaging manner. The training methodology succeeded

in conveying important information in an accessible way

while also leaving room for attendees to ask questions and

engage in thoughtful dialogue.

Participants found it helpful to observe the Dutch CO, and

hope to apply what they saw in their own contexts. One

participant noted that study visit was “very inspiring,” while

another reflected: “We will try to adapt some of the methods

of the Dutch CO in our post arrival CO.”

About EU-FRANK

The EU-FRANK project (European Union Action on

Facilitating Resettlement and Refugee Admission through

New Knowledge) is funded by the European Asylum,

Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and led by Sweden

with partners in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and

Switzerland, as well as EASO, UNHCR, IOM, ICMC and MPI. The initiative aims to facilitate increased operational

capacity for resettlement among EU Member States. The

EU-FRANK project started in January 2016 and will run until June 2020.

The initiative aims to develop new approaches and provide

operational support to increase the capacity of EU member

States to resettle persons in need of international

protection.

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Points of discussion Trainers

There are pros and cons of relying on local

trainers (as in the US or IOM-implemented

COs) or trainers from the resettlement

country (as in the Dutch CO). Local trainers

can deliver CO in the local language, rather

than through interpretation, and it’s often less

expensive to hire locally. On the other hand,

when CO is delivered by trainers from the

resettlement country, the same people can be

involved in pre-departure CO and post-arrival

reception, providing for consistent messaging

as well as ensuring the link between the two

phases.

Expectations and

Attitudes

CO is often referenced

as a tool to ‘manage

expectations’ of

refugees, however

participants discussed

whether it is truly

possible to ‘manage’

someone else’s

expectations.

“Managing expectations

is often related to

lowering expectations –

which is not what we want to do,” ICMC’s Peter

Vogelaar argued. Instead, CO should be

focused on providing opportunities for

refugees to make informed choices and have

agency over the adjustment to their new

home. Indeed, many participants pointed out

that CO from their country emphasizes the

importance of refugees ‘taking ownership of

their settlement experience’ (Canada),

‘participating actively’ (Spain) and ‘being their

best resource’ (The Netherlands).

Matching and placement

Countries also have different placement

policies, i.e. processes for determining which

municipality will host resettled refugees. For

some countries, CO is an opportunity to

gather information about refugees’ needs and

desires in order to inform placement

decisions (i.e. refugees with specific medical

conditions need to be placed near a hospital).

For other countries, placement decisions are

decided prior to CO, which means that CO can

delve into specifics of where refugees will be

living (i.e. geography, public transportation).

In either case, participants agreed it is crucial

for CO to be linked to the post-arrival phase,

and for stakeholders on both ends of the

continuum to coordinate. ICMC

Europe, in collaboration with the

Dutch Centralized Agency for

Reception, will be hosting a

follow-up meeting in fall 2018 to

delve further into this issue, and

to explore how placement policies

can best facilitate labour market

integration.

Preparing host communities

Participants also discussed if and

how to prepare communities for

the arrival of resettled refugees –

not only at the national level, but

also at the local level. Many

participants agreed that local communities

need CO just as much, if not more, as refugees.

Daniele Albanese, of Consorzio Communitas in

Italy, emphasized that both refugees and local

communities have their own opportunities

and vulnerabilities. For example, not every

local community is able to host refugees with

specific vulnerabilities. Madalena

Vasconcelos, of Jesuit Refugee Service in

Portugal, likewise pointed out that providing

sufficient information to local communities is

critical to ensure that communities will

continue hosting refugees in the long term, in

spite of challenges they may encounter.

“Both refugees and local

communities have their own

opportunities and vulnerabilities,

so we need a strong matching system. For us, cultural orientation

is mostly for the local communities.

For example they need to

understand not to provide

everything, but to push for self-

sufficiency.”

-Daniele Albanese, Consorzio

Communitas

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Best practices Throughout the seminar, participants highlighted best practices from their contexts, including:

Use an interactive pedagogical approach.

Incorporate language training into CO – even 1-2 hours on basic greetings in the language of the resettlement country is helpful.

Consider a ‘cohort model,’ as in the Dutch resettlement programme, where participants get to

know each other during CO, and continue to support each other and to stay in touch (often via

Whatsapp or Facebook) during the post-arrival period.

Gather feedback from CO participants and other relevant stakeholders regularly, and review the CO curriculum at least annually to incorporate this feedback.

Refugee

participants in CO

may feel nervous at

first - especially

given that many of

their previous

interactions with

UNHCR, IOM and

government

representatives

involved selection

interviews – so

make sure that the

CO atmosphere is

friendly and

welcoming.

Focus on attitudes and dialogue more

than on content.

Remember that preparing host communities in the resettlement country is just as important as preparing

refugees!

During CO and throughout the pre-departure waiting period, provide access to information

on case status. ICMC’s RSC website, for example, allows refugees to log in to see relevant

updates about their individual case.

If possible, create opportunities for refugees to speak with mentors – previously resettled

refugees from their country – who can provide valuable information and perspective from

personal experience.

A volunteer orients a newly-arrived refugee to her new home, Haarlem, The Netherlands. Photo credit: Dutch Council for Refugees

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Recommendations More and more actors are looking into pre-departure cultural orientation: a higher number of

European countries are involved in resettlement than ever before; and arrivals of resettled refugees

are increasing in the coming months and years, with 50,000 resettled refugees arriving to the EU by

October 2019. The SHARE seminar in Turkey – a country from which many resettled refugees to the

EU will arrive, due to the EU-Turkey agreement as well as the high number of Syrian refugees hosted

there – explored best practices and approaches for delivering CO. The following are the key

recommendations which came out of the seminar:

1. Link pre-departure CO and post-arrival reception: linking service providers, CO trainers,

and other stakeholders in order to ensure that all actors are familiar with the messaging on

either end of the continuum is critical.

2. Prepare host communities: it is just as important (if not more) to prepare host communities

as it is to prepare refugees.

3. Use interactive approaches: a range of interactive and innovative tools can and should be

used for CO, including approaches targeting children and youth, videos, language learning

tools, online live-chat and youth mentorship and skype calls with cultural mediators.

4. Discuss onward migration: counseling refugees on the protection risks and legal

frameworks of onward migration is important and should not be avoided.

5. Tailor CO according to placement policies: CO should be tailored depending on whether or

not refugees have already been placed in a specific municipality; create space for discussion

about the pros and cons of small towns as opposed to larger cities.

A post-arrival orientation session, Hillegom, The Netherlands.

Photo credit: Dutch Council for Refugees

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SHARE Integration

For more information on the SHARE Integration

project, please visit: resettlement.eu/page/welcome-

share-network

or contact:

ICMC Europe Programme Manager,

Magdalena Boehm, boehm@icmc.net

EU-FRANK

For more information on the EU-FRANK project, please

contact:

EU-FRANK@migrationsverket.se.