©UNICEF/UN0209575/Herwig

Talent on the Move

Listening to children and young people on the move to unlock their potential Acknowledgements

This publication was developed jointly by UNICEF’s Programme Division, the Division of Data and Analytics, Thank you to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their contributions and support, especially Planning and Monitoring and the Division of Communication, in partnership with the Kingdom of the Tijmen Rooseboom, Ambassador for Youth, Education and Work, Marian Noppert, Romana Osman and Eddie Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Migration Youth and Children Platform of the Major Group for Krooneman. We would also like to thank our partners in the Prospects partnership, in particular ILO, UNHCR, Children and Youth UN Major Group for Children and Youth. IFC and the World Bank, for their support and contributions

Conceptualization, project management and coordination: Verena Knaus, Danzhen You Thank you: This report was made possible by the many thousands of children and young people around the world who actively engaged with UNICEF as U-Reporters and participated in the poll. You helped us better Polling: Juan Pablo Arguello Yepez, Caroline Muhwezi and U-Report offices globally understand your concerns and opinions. Thank you.

Data analysis: Jan Beise, Sebastian Palmas, Yukun Pei The poll would not have been possible without support, implementation and outreach provided by UNICEF Country Offices and National Committees, in particular: Iraq, Uganda, Kenya, Lebanon, Uganda and the Narrative development, research and writing: Laura Healy, Verena Knaus U-Report Uniendo Voces platform implemented in Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador in coordination with UNICEF, UNHCR, IOM and IFRC. Research and production support: Nour Moussa, Giulia Ardizzone This report benefited from valuable inputs and support from many colleagues. Particular thanks go to: Sanjay Reporting: Ilaria Lanzoni, Martha Mackenzie, Christopher Tidey Wijesekera, Director, Programme Division, Mark Hereward, Associate Director, Division of Data, of Data and Analytics, Planning and Monitoring; Paloma Escudero, Director, Division of Communication. Fact checking: Hirut Gebre-Egziabher Many colleagues throughout UNICEF provided valuable inputs including: Andaleeb Alam, Rachel Cooper, Priya Copy editing: Small World Stories Marwah, Bassem Nasir, Maria Jose Ravalli, Erika Isabel Yague and colleagues in Regional Offices, Country Offices and National Committees. Design and data visualizations: The Visual Agency S.r.l. Thanks also go to the following partners for their support: GenU, Yoma, Goodwall, Umuzi, GIZ (Atingi), the UN Special thanks go to Emmanuel Clifford Gyetuah and Marta Verani from the Migration Youth and Children Migration Network, GP2.0, ODI and others who shared their insights and solutions. Platform of the Major Group for Children and Youth, and the many young people who helped cocreate the poll and develop the report to make sure we remained focused on your concerns: Miriam Samira Aber, Ibrahim Adnankondeh, Alejandro Daly, Alankrita Dayal, Jessica Leigh Jones, Regeza Kamangu, Paule Kevin Nembou Kouonchie, Suyeon Lee, Faridah Luanda, Nimo Mohammed, Mohammed Hafiz Musah, Nujeen Mustafa, Temitope Obasa, Stephanie Ojee, Damilola Oyelade, Ruthra Mary Ramachandran, Manuela Ramos, Roman Sidig, Loes van der Graaf, Tania Velásquez, Maher Azdo Zalvo. Contents

Foreword 6 PART II: Listening to young people on the move 31 Talent on the Move: Engage, empower, equip! 6 Box 4. Resources and tools on working with and for young people 32 Youth as Solution Providers and Innovators 7 Do you feel heard? 32 Let’s keep Youth at Heart 8 How would you like to share your voice in your community? 33

Introduction 9 PART III: Taking action – together! 34 Box1. Definitions 10 Portrait #1: Alankrita Dayal 12 Annex I. Discover more: youth-led solutions and innovations 36 The poll: How the information was gathered 13 Solution #1: Yoma on the move 36 Box2. U-Report 13 Solution #2: U-Report on the move 36 Box3. Poll Questions 14 Solution # 3: Learning passport 37 Profile of children and young people 15 Solution #4: Innovative skills and talent partnerships 37 Portrait #2: Maher Azdo Zalvo 16 Solution #5: Remote mentoring 37 Portrait #3: Nimo Mohammed 17 Solution #6: Talent cities 38 Portrait #4: Faridah Luanda 18 Solution #7: Adolescent kit for expression and innovation 38 Annex II. Resources and tools for young people 39 PART I: Talent is universal, but opportunities are not 19 Online education, learning and scholarship platforms 39 What I really want 20 Online language courses 39 What I would like to learn 20 Web or app-based information and mentoring 39 Breaking glass barriers 22 Job-search and job-matching platforms 39 Barriers and obstacles to access learning opportunities 22 Training for remote digital livelihoods 40 Portrait #5: Nujeen Mustafa 23 Making a living 24 What I need most to make a living (find income sources) 24 The main obstacle to employment opportunities/earning an income 25 Portrait #6: Regeza Kamangu 26 Youth on the move as innovators 27 Portrait #7: Alejandro Daly 28 The African Coding Network: women in tech 29 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL Foreword

Foreword

Talent on the Move: Engage, empower, equip! Youth as Solution Providers and Innovators

When you think of a place that inspires innovation, Told through the eyes and voices of young people, Combating xenophobia in Colombia, providing peer We joined forces with UNICEF to co-design the poll you may not think of an informal urban settlement this report offers story after story about hidden support and training to fellow migrants in Kenya or questions, reach and engage young people in our or sprawling refugee camp. talents, aspirations and resilience. Each young leader using art to foster integration and healing in the US – own networks and co-create this report, because and changemaker profiled inspires us to shape a in every country and every city young people on the we want the voices of young people – their stories When you think of the next great tech developers or new narrative around children on the move — not as move are transforming the communities they live in. and solutions – to come to life. To be heard and social entrepreneurs, you probably won’t think of a victims or burdens, but as assets to any society. listened to. Not by passively asking for help, but by young refugee or undocumented migrant. As we listen to them — and learn from them — our They are spearheading innovative solutions and offering our support and genuine partnership. job is to find new ways to support their dreams and technologies and building bridges between host This report is an invitation to follow the lead of When we think about the future of countries ambitions, and unlock new opportunities for them communities and people on the move. young people to come together for change. affected by conflict or displacement, we see only to learn, earn and thrive. They are speaking out and raising issues that are problems, and rarely possibilities. But at UNICEF, bigger than themselves, such as unequal access to Marta Verani we want the world to see beyond these obstacles Let’s match their incredible resilience and hope with education, jobs, and services, official qualifications Global Focal Point to what is, in fact, a wealth of untapped talent and our own best efforts to support them and ignite the going unrecognized or discrimination because of a Migration Youth and Children Platform – potential in some of the most unexpected places on full potential of every child and young person, no person’s migratory status. Major Group for Children and Youth earth. matter who they are or where they come from. Obstacles that, if not removed, lead to wasted Powered by the voices of 8,764 young people Henrietta H. Fore talents and injustice – leaving behind a generation around the world, this report highlights the potential UNICEF Executive Director unable to fulfil its potential. Young people have of young migrants, internally displaced or refugees strong voices, clear priorities, and practical as changemakers, leaders and innovators. Young solutions, and we are calling loudly for meaningful people on the move who are featured in this partnerships and support. report — like Nujeen, Faridah and Alejandro — are transforming their communities and economies.

6 7 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL Introduction

Introduction

Let’s keep Youth at Heart

“We need to get into the habit of structurally Meaningful youth participation is a human right, While COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, They usually happen in a context of constrained life listening to what youth have to say.” – Sigrid which also improves development interventions millions of children and young people continue choices faced by young people caught between their Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development and makes them more sustainable. We do not want to be ‘on the move’ – many driven by hopes for a aspirations and hopes, a duty of care to their families Cooperation of the Netherlands to lose a generation but ensure that youth from meaningful life and aspirations to learn and earn. and communities, and pressures to leave home. both forcibly displaced and host communities have The very idea that young people should be able to (future) prospects, can build a life for themselves, There are an estimated 281 million international The journey of a young person is rarely linear and will have a say on matters that affect them is exactly and contribute to the societies in which they live. migrants.2 One in five is a young person3 and often take place in stages. It may be a move from what UNICEF has done with the U Report poll. Let me express my appreciation to UNICEF and the 36 million are children.4 Worldwide, more than 4 the village to the capital city; the young person may This report is placing the voices of young people Prospects partners for this flagship report. out of 10 forcibly displaced persons are younger be internally displaced before becoming a refugee; first and brings to light their experience in the Let me also thank the youth that have shared their than 18, with 33 million children living in forced he or she may move safely and regularly, or may be transition from ‘learning-to-earning’. This has ideas, views, needs, concerns and insights through displacement at the end of 2019 – either as forced to take great risks, falling prey to smugglers or been conducted under the Prospects partnership1 the poll. The results from this report show that internally displaced persons within their country or becoming a victim of trafficking. For some, the journey bringing together the Government of the there is enormous merit in meaningful engagement abroad as refugees or asylum seekers.5 Each day will continue abroad; for others it will involve a return Netherlands, IFC, ILO, UNHCR, UNICEF, and the with young people. Let’s keep learning from each of 2020, almost 26,900 children were displaced by to their region of birth. World Bank to provide a unique combination of other and let’s keep youth at heart. climate-induced disasters alone.6 While many are humanitarian assistance, longer-term development uprooted from their homes due to conflict, violence, Regardless of their reason for moving, their support, and private sector solutions to help Tijmen Rooseboom political persecution or disaster, for others, the journeys from learning to earning are often forcibly displaced persons rebuild their lives, with a Ambassador for Youth, Education and Work, decision to move may be influenced by personal, disrupted, leaving young people without recognized particular focus on youth and women. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands family, cultural or economic factors - including credentials, social networks, mentors, or peer gendered roles and responsibilities or family crises, support, as they move and settle in unfamiliar The findings in this report help Prospects like the sudden death of a parent or breadwinner. places. Along with their right to education remaining partners understand barriers and opportunities unfulfilled, their CVs remain blank, and their dreams youth face on their ‘learning-to-earning’ While we know surprisingly little about how and career ambitions are seldom realized. pathways and inform Prospects programming. young people come to decisions, one thing is certain: decisions to leave home are never taken in isolation.

2 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (UNDESA), 2020, International Migration 2020 Highlights, executive summary, p.1, available at https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/ files/undesa_pd_2020_international_migration_highlights.pdf; data from 2020 includes refugees and asylum seekers. 3 UNDESA, Population Division, 2020, International Migrant Stock 2020. 4 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) data website, April 2021, Child Migration, available at https://data.unicef.org/topic/child- migration-and-displacement/migration/; Data from 2020 - young person is under 25 and child is under 18. 5 UNICEF data website, April 2021, Child Displacement, available at https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-migration-and-displacement/ migration/ 1 The partnership is active in eight countries in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, 6 UNICEF UK, 2021, Futures at Risk – Protecting the rights of children on the move in a changing climate, p.5 available at https://www. Sudan and Uganda). unicef.org.uk/futures-at-risk-climate-report/

8 9 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL Introduction

BOX 1 Yet young migrants, refugees and internally displaced “I would like to learn how to become a great person This report provides an opportunity to listen – and persons (IDPs) across continents represent a unique, and how to succeed in life”, then to act with and for young people on the move. Definitions untapped pool of talent, ideas, and entrepreneurship. said a 17-year-old boy from Kenya. This means working together to cocreate Often resilient, highly motivated and with experience personalized and flexible pathways to help young Children on the move: International or internal overcoming adversity, they have the potential to help While the story we hear is often one of difference, people learn, gain necessary skills and build child migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as solve some of our greatest challenges. discrimination, and exclusion, we learned that resilience to future shocks. It means leveraging well as internally displaced children or returnees.7 young people – whether they are migrants, forcibly and tailoring digital innovations and private sector While COVID-19 has spurred a myriad of on and displaced, or have never left their homes – share the partnerships to overcome barriers. It means Young people and ‘youth’: While there is no off-line ‘skilling and employability’ initiatives for same dreams and aspirations for their futures. They identifying and fostering the talent of high-potential single definition of “youth” or “young people”, this young people, efforts to support youth on the move are united in their desire to launch their careers, earn youth. report focuses on young people, aged 14 to 24, – especially the most vulnerable – to transition into a living and live a meaningful life. We heard stories of and uses the terms ‘young people’ and ‘youth’ the world of work, often fail to identify their hidden ambition, resilience, and empowerment. Of having As the examples in this report highlight, young interchangeably. talents or to connect them with the opportunities faced the odds and succeeded. people on the move are a force for success. But available to them. only by creating incentives and opportunities for Host population ‘youth’: In this report, host ‘Everyone asks you about the past, but no one asks them to fulfil their aspirations can we turn their population youth is used to describe all young Powered by the voices of youth, this report you about the future. But I reimagine my future every passions, energy and hopes into something people, aged 14 to 24, who have not left their harnessed the technology of U-Report to ask 8,764 day’, Kotada Yonus, former Syrian refugee and youth productive and empowering. homes and are neither migrants nor displaced. young people, aged between 14 and 24, if they felt entrepreneur.11 heard and invited them to share their aspirations Migrant: A person who is moving or has moved to learn and earn. across an international border or within a home country regardless of whether the move is According to this poll, nearly 40 per cent of young voluntary or involuntary regardless of their legal people on the move identify education and status or length of stay.8 training as their biggest priorities, and 30 per cent prioritized looking for a job. When asked what was Refugee: A person who lives outside his or her holding them back from achieving their goals, country of nationality and is unable to return 70 per cent said that limited financial resources because of persecution or fear of persecution prevented them from learning, and 38 per cent based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion identified a lack of available jobs as their biggest or membership in a particular social group.9 barrier to earning an income.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): Individuals or What they told us confirmed the simple truth that groups of people who have been forced or obliged for many, while talent is universal, opportunity to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual is not. The right of every child and adolescent to residence, in particular as a result of, or in order to develop their talents to their fullest potential is avoid the effects of, armed conflict, situations of often a distant dream as quality skills-building and generalized violence, violations of human rights or employment opportunities are hard to come by. natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.10 “I want to learn everything”, said an 18-year-old woman from Egypt.

7 UNICEF, 2016, Uprooted – the growing crisis for refugee and migrant children, p. 14, available at https://data.unicef.org/resources/ uprooted-growing-crisis-refugee-migrant-children/ 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. U-Report, Guatemala

11 Youth At Heart Virtual Forum - livestreamed on You Tube Youth@Heart LIVE - YouTube

10 11 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL The poll: How the information was gathered

PORTRAIT #1: The poll: How the information Alankrita Dayal was gathered

As part of an effort to listen to the voices of The poll reached 26,375 people and 16,326 young people on the move, UNICEF worked with provided a valid response, including 8,764 young U-Report,12 a messaging programme for adolescent, people between 14 and 24 years of age. youth and community participation that amplifies Among them, 3,157 respondents, aged 14-24, the voices of 15 million U-Reporters in 81 countries. self-identified as migrants, refugees or IDPs.

The poll questions were co-created in partnership with young people and the Migration Youth and BOX 2 Children Platform of the Major Group for Children Alankrita Dayal is a young migrant who, at age Alankrita has supported over 20,000 youth by and Youth. Partners involved in the Prospects U-Report 17, founded an organization called Program yoUr providing access to data-driven interventions that partnership funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Future (PUF) to help students – particularly young help build a more inclusive culture that appreciates Foreign Affairs joined to support the poll’s outreach U-Report is a real-time social messaging tool that women and youth from immigrant and refugee and welcomes the diversity that migrant and and dissemination; these included the International allows anyone from anywhere in the world to speak backgrounds in the US – acquire the skills needed displaced people bring to a community and helps Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency out on the issues they care about. It was developed to lead successful careers in science, technology, overcome skill and social barriers. (UNHCR), the World Bank and the International by UNICEF and partners to provide a platform engineering and mathematics (STEM). Finance Corporation. for capturing a range of voices on the critical development issues of our time. Alankrita struggled as one of the few migrant girls Launched in May 2021, the poll ran over four weeks in her community. It was difficult to find mentors on five independent U-Report platforms: at global U-Report has members called U-Reporters. or to feel welcomed. This fuelled her passion to level; regionally through the interagency Uniendo U-Reporters can join the platform by SMS or social advocate for equity and inclusion and sustainable Voces platform targeting Venezuelan migrants and media channels such as WhatsApp or Facebook prosperity for all, especially the most marginalized. refugees living in Ecuador, Brazil and Bolivia; and Messenger, allowing them to respond to polls, through national U-Report programmes in Iraq, report concerns, support child rights and work as Alankrita was accepted to the University of Kenya, Lebanon and Uganda. positive agents of change. Currently more than 6 California-Berkeley, where she studied a double million U-reporters are present in over 50 countries. major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science, The questions focused on aspirations and barriers with minors in Public Policy and South Asian to learning and earning. Most questions were To sign-up, U-Reporters must register their age, Studies, and a certificate in Entrepreneurship and multiple-choice, with only some requiring open- gender and where they live. Once signed up, Technology. ended responses. U-Report sends SMS messages and alerts about polls or updates from ongoing campaigns. Their Now through her entrepreneurial reform efforts responses are analysed in real-time, providing an at Program yoUr Future, she is actively inspiring immediate snapshot of the situation. others with the necessary tools, connections, and resources to be able to do the same.

12 U-Report website, available at https://ureport.in/

12 13 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL Profile of children and young people

The respondents are not necessarily a BOX 3 representative sample of migrant and displaced Profile of children youth based on their demographics, their country of Poll Questions origin or current geographic location. In addition, the and young people poll respondents are a select group because they – The U-Report poll asked one question on the unlike many others – have access to the internet or migratory status followed by four multiple mobile phones, and have at least basic digital skills. choice questions and one open-ended question: It is also important to note that participants in the 1. My current status is? poll signed themselves up for U-Report and were 2. What is your top priority now? responsible for providing accurate information about a. If your top priority is education, what are the their age, sex and the country they were in. main obstacles to access learning? b. If your top priority is finding a job, what do While this report captures the voices of a subset of The results presented in this report represent the About 59 per cent self-identified as male, 39 per you most need to access income sources? youth on the move, it is important to note the poll’s voices of 8,764 young people aged 14-24, of whom cent as female, and 2 per cent as non-binary. Less 3. If your top priority is to access learning, what limitations in reaching some of the most vulnerable. 3,157 self-identified as a migrant, refugee or IDP. than one in five respondents were younger than would you like to learn? (open ended) Complementary research approaches to target 18 and 83 per cent said they were aged 18–24. 4. If your top priority is accessing employment, those without connectivity, and efforts to bridge Though the poll collected information from Of the 3,157 youth on the move, 68 per cent were what are the main obstacles to accessing job the digital divide, are needed if we want to attain a respondents younger than 14 and older than 24, the forced to leave their homes, while 32 per cent left opportunities? (open endend) more comprehensive picture of the aspirations and report focuses on those aged 14–24, in line with by choice. 5. Do you feel you can contribute your opinions, challenges for youth on the move. UNICEF's mandate. skills and talents in your community? Nearly 95 per cent of the respondents participated 6. How would you like to share your voice in your from countries in the Middle East and North Africa community? (52%) and from Sub-Saharan Africa (43%) -with far Age and Sex fewer participants responding from Latin America Fig 1. Percentages of the 3,157 young people on the and the Caribbean or other parts of the world. move (aged 14-24) by gender and age. The response rates were particularly high in Iraq 2% and Uganda due to strong national U-Report Non-binary platforms and partnerships that could be leveraged to reach young people.

In Uganda, partners working in refugee-hosting districts promoted the poll amongst their youth networks, inviting interested participants to send 59% 39% Female the trigger word, ‘learning’, to join the poll and have Male their voices heard. In Iraq, the poll was shared with young people in IDP camps through established partnership networks. As noted earlier, partners of 17% the Prospects partnership – including ILO, UNHCR, Aged 14-17 the World Bank, IFC and the Netherlands – also joined the effort to promote participation of young people, particularly those living in areas hosting displaced populations.

83% U-Report, Iraq Aged 18-24

14 15 PORTRAIT #2: PORTRAIT #3: Maher Azdo Zalvo Nimo Mohammad

Maher Azdo Zalvo is a 25 year-old internally engagement activities. Today Maher works with Nimo Mohammed is a 25-year-old refugee, living in Nimo works with fellow leaders to promote peace displaced person in Iraq. CARE International. Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda. amongst refugee and host communities. As a leader, Nimo has organized meetings with the Maher used to live in Tal Uzair in Sinjar district “The courses and activities offered by VOP have When Nimo's father was killed in the war in two communities and facilitates dialogue about before being forced to leave his hometown. prepared me for this job and helped me transition Somalia, her family fled to Kenya. In 2016, because living and working together. He is now internally displaced in the Kurdistan from learning to earning’’, Maher told one of the of security risks and driven by hopes for a better region of Iraq. VOP-FAM’s Community Mobilizers. future, Nimo and her family fled to south-west Uganda. For two years Maher stayed with his family in He is also an active U-Reporter and helped to reach Mamlyan camp, unable to continue his education. young IDPs in his community, encouraging them to Nimo is an active U-Reporter and has participated In 2017, the family moved to Mam Rashan camp, share their views in the poll informing this report. in youth-led research activities with U-Report and where Maher participated in activities organized UNICEF. by Voices of People and Families (VOP-FAM), a UNICEF-supported adolescent programme providing She is currently the woman representative for community leadership and English language Base Camp One in Nakivale and a former vice courses, computer and e-journalism trainings as chairperson for the Somali community in Base well as sports activities. Camp Three.

Last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maher In these roles she focuses on promoting women’s started volunteering with VOP-FAM to help raise rights, preventing and responding to sexual and awareness among the IDP community on how to gender-based violence (SGBV) in her community prevent transmission of the virus and supported and fighting to support gender equality. a skills building programme for adolescents to serve the community through social and civic

16 17 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART I : Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

PORTRAIT #4: PART I : Faridah Luanda Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

Often resilient, highly motivated and brimming Too many children and youth on the move grow up with ideas and aspirations, young migrants and deprived of an education, learning opportunities displaced youth represent a valuable pool of and the long-term benefits they afford. Refugees talent and innovation. The experience of moving have some of the lowest education rates in equips many with the ability to adapt quickly to the world when compared to low and middle new environments.13 They often bring knowledge, income countries, with less than a third enrolled language skills and new business connections to in secondary school and only 3 per cent in higher their host communities. McKinsey calculated that education.17 migrants made up just 3.4 per cent of the world’s population in 2015, but contributed nearly 10 per Girls are impacted the hardest, with only 27 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) - cent enrolled in secondary school, compared to Faridah Luanda is a 23-year-old refugee from women and girls can learn skills, such as tailoring, equal to $6.7 trillion.14 Our own lives are touched 36 per cent of refugee boys. The learning and the Democratic Republic of Congo, now living in hairdressing, counselling, public speaking, reading every day by inventions and products developed by development loss is immense. In 2019, it was Sweden. and writing. The training centre supports vulnerable migrants or refugees. In 2017, half of all Fortune 500 estimated that refugee women could contribute girls and young women to gain independence companies were founded by American immigrants up to $1.4 trillion to global GDP annually if given “My life experience as a child mother, SGBV survivor and confidence and to bring change to their (92) or children of immigrants (124).15 the opportunity in each of the top 30 refugee- and a victim of forced marriage has inspired me to communities. hosting countries.18 In Jordan, for example, the want to make a difference and to create change in my “We are not here just to take something from the place World Bank estimated that refugee women could community, my life, and my family by transforming Faridah has been working tirelessly to help her where we live, but to give something to society, we are boost Jordan’s GDP by approximately $145 million our vulnerabilities into strengths.” community respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, young people, strong, with good ideas.” annually if employment and earning gaps between producing and distributing hundreds of homemade Daouda, UPSHIFT participant from Ivory Coast.16 refugee and Jordanian women were eliminated.19 “Engagement of refugee girls and women in decision- handwashing stations to enable households with making is the key to success in every community at all limited access to running water to wash their hands levels.” regularly. 13 University of Birmingham, 2021, International interventions and migration choices – the final report of the Migchoice project, p.13, available at https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/government/departments/international-development/research/projects/2019/ migchoice/index.aspx Faridah is a fierce advocate, a mother, a friend, 14 McKinsey Global Institute, 2016, ‘People on the Move: Global migration’s impact and opportunity’, p.1, available at founder of DaVision Group and co-creator of https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/employment-and-growth/global-migrations-impact-and-opportunity One Touch (solar-powered) Music Studio, which 15 Brookings, Almost half of Fortune 500 Companies were Founded by American Immigrants or their Children, December 4, 2017, specializes in producing songs with a social available at https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/12/04/almost-half-of-fortune-500-companies-were-founded-by-american- immigrants-or-their-children/ message. DaVision Group works to transform the 16 UNICEF, July 2019, How young people in Sicily are changing the migration narrative, available at https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/ lives of young refugees through music, dance, how-young-people-sicily-are-changing-migration-narrative drama, education and livelihood activities. 17 Save the Children, 2021, Progress under threat, p.3 (Fig 1), data from 2019, available at https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/ node/18632/pdf/progress_under_threat.pdf 18 RescueWorks, 2019, Unlocking Refugee Women’s Potential, Executive Summary, pp. 3-4, available at https://www.rescue.org/sites/ Faridah also established a training centre for default/files/document/3987/reportrescueworksunlockingrefugeewomenspotential.pdf child mothers and school dropouts where young 19 International Finance Corporation (IFC), 2021, Barriers and Opportunities for Refugee Women Engaging in the Digital Economy in Jordan and Lebanon, p.1, available at: link; citing World Bank, Mashreq Gender Facility, available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/ programs/mashreq-gender-facility

18 19 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART I :Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

Refugees, however, represent just a portion of Fig 2. What is your top priority now? Per centage of “I would like to learn leadership”, said a 24-year-old Fig 3. If your top priority is access to learning, what children and youth on the move. Many young respondents aged 14-24 by current top priority. man from Uganda. would you like to learn? The following are the most frequent answers among young respondents on migrants and asylum seekers, especially those who On the move (n=3052) the move (14-24 years) grouped in themes (relative are undocumented, are excluded from learning and “I would like to learn about business and investment”, Host population (n=3333) frequencies). earning opportunities due to their citizenship, legal said a 19-year-old man from Lebanon. or migration status. Discrimination, digital exclusion and lack of connectivity often drive an even greater 37% Another highly desired skill was languages (e.g. Everything Education/training wedge between youth on the move and their host 39% English, Arabic, French) and obtaining relevant population peers – especially in a post-COVID-19 certificates (e.g. IELTS). Language skills are critical Look for job 30% world. For example, in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan 25% to support integration and access information on only one in four migrant and displaced children and available services and opportunities. Women and Medicine youth have access to the internet.20 Starting a business 10% girls on the move mentioned their aspirations to 9% learn a language at more than twice the rate of Even those lucky enough to attend school often boys and men. Work Permit 3% struggle to transition into the world of work. A 1% Tech lack of relevant, flexible and accredited learning-to- Tech skills were the third most common theme. Legal status 2% earning pathways leaves many young people with 1% Skills such as coding, engineering, and digital tools no option to acquire the foundational, transferable, were highly sought after among respondents – digital, job-specific, and entrepreneurial skills All of the above 14% more so by boys and young men. Tech skills were 18% needed to thrive in the world of work. mentioned by 194 female respondents and 313 Language None of the above 4% male respondents. The difference may relate to 7% the digital divide, with girls and women often at a disadvantage when it comes to digital adoption due What I really want to less access to and use of digital technology than 21 boys. Professional To hear about their experiences directly, U-Report asked young people about their aspirations and “I would like to learn basic computer skills, in addition priorities for the future. What I would like to learn to learning English”, said a 20-year-old man from Egypt. Thirty-seven per cent of youth on the move This question was open ended, and answers were considered education and training to be their received in multiple languages. A simple keyword “I want to learn information technology”, said a greatest priority and 30 per cent placed greatest search was applied to the translated answers to 24-year-old woman from Kenya. importance on looking for a job. Children on the collate and analyse the results. move (aged 14–17) were more likely to prioritize Medicine and other health-related themes such education and training over jobs than young adults When asked what they would like to learn, the as nursing, dentistry and psychology were also (aged 18–24) and finding a job was more frequently answers most often related to professional skills, frequently mentioned. mentioned with increasing age. Girls and young such as law, administration, business or education. women selected education slightly more frequently There was a strong preference for courses with a “I want to be a nurse or doctor”, said a 21-year-old as a top priority than boys and young men. clear career pathway to transition from learning into woman in Kenya. the workforce. Priorities were similar for all young people who responded, whether on the move or not, illustrating “I want to become a lecturer so that I can help the a common desire to pursue opportunities to learn youth”, said a 22-year-old woman in Nigeria. and earn.

20 UNICEF, 2020, Innocenti Blog, Children on the Move in East Africa – Research insights to mitigate COVID-19, available at 21 UNICEF East Asia and Pacific, Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality: Gender tech toolkit: Building digital solutions for, with, https://www.unicef.org/eap/innovation-and-technology-gender-equality and by girls, available at https://www.unicef.org/eap/innovation-and-technology-gender-equality

20 21 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL

introducing gamified applications, and enhancing PORTRAIT #5: Breaking glass the focus on digital entrepreneurship. While the poll targeted those with access to connectivity or Nujeen Mustafa barriers at least a mobile phone, one in five youth on the move indicated that better access to internet would improve their access to education and Young migrant and displaced people experience training opportunities. multiple barriers to learning, with financial constraints and lack of information identified as Barriers and obstacles to access their most pressing challenges. For many, moving learning opportunities can also mean losing livelihoods and income, with families struggling to cover the cost of school Seventy per cent of youth on the move considered fees and classroom supplies. Seventy per cent lack of money a significant barrier – and this was of youth on the move considered money to echoed by 63 per cent of host population youth. be their biggest obstacle to learning. Children Only 3 per cent of migrant and displaced youth and youth on the move may live in camps or felt they faced no obstacles accessing learning informal settlements, they might be in immigration opportunities. Unlike the other questions in the detention, unaccompanied or separated from their poll, this one allowed for multiple answers. families, or squatting in urban slums. They are often hardest to reach with accurate information in a These findings challenge us to better understand language they understand.22 the barriers and obstacles that prevent youth on the move from accessing learning opportunities. Information may be unavailable, or it may be The findings embolden us to reimagine incentives inaccessible due to practical or cultural barriers. that could be offered to young people on the Nujeen Mustafa is a 22-year-old Syrian refugee while Nujeen set out with her sister across the Thirty-two per cent of migrant and displaced move to help them overcome barriers and offset living in Germany. Mediterranean, braving inconceivable odds for the youth polled considered lack of information the economic and social costs associated with chance to have a normal life and an education. Since about available learning opportunities and continued learning. "Make information accessible for us – it's our right! moving to Germany, Nujeen has been attending resources as a key barrier to education. Make schools accessible to people with disabilities… vocational college and aspires to go to university to Furthermore, difficulties in getting previous Fig 4. If learning is your top priority, what is the I am a girl, I am a refugee, I am Kurdish which is a study psychology. She is also a powerful advocate studies recognized was a key issue for 23 per main obstacle to access learning? Percentages minority, and I have a disability – I have so many for refugee youth, undertaking media interviews shown are of those respondents aged 14–24 who cent of young people on the move who were labels – but I don't like to be seen as a victim! No one and speaking at several high-profile conferences.23 had selected ‘access to learning’ as a priority. trying to access additional learning and training. (multiple answers possible). has the right to take away my chance as a fighter."

COVID-19 has compounded many existing barriers, Nujeen was just sixteen, when she made the On the move (n=1370) Host population (n=1622) with millions forced out of school or training and at 3,500-mile journey from Syria to Germany in a Money 70% risk of never returning. Eighteen per cent of youth 63% steel wheelchair. Nujeen was born with cerebral Information 32% on the move pointed to the role the pandemic 33% palsy and spent most of her life confined to her has played in limiting their access to learning No internet 20% apartment in Aleppo, Syria, where she taught 20% opportunities. But COVID-19 has also accelerated herself English by watching shows on TV. Recognition 23% the shift to greater use of digital technologies in of studies 21% COVID 18% youth education programmes, with education 20% As war broke out, Nujeen and her family were systems moving to distance learning and blended Not allowed 8% forced to flee, first to her native Kobane, then to enroll 7% learning models. Multiple organizations have Turkey. Nujeen’s family did not have enough money No obstacles 3% pivoted to scale-up online skilling opportunities, 8% for them all to make it to safety in Germany, where her brother lives, so her parents stayed in Turkey

22 UNICEF, 2021, Migrant and Displaced Children website, available at: https://www.unicef.org/migrant-refugee-internally-displaced- children 23 USA for UNHCR website, available at https://www.unhcr.org/nujeen-mustafa.html

22 23 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART I :Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

One of Yoma’s recent initiatives – the Digital The main obstacle to employment Fig 6. If your top priority is to find an income, what Making a living Livelihoods Challenge – seeks to equip young opportunities/earning an income is the main obstacle to accessing employment opportunities? The following are the most frequent people with the digital tools and entrepreneurial answers among young respondents on the competencies to monetize their unique passions. Youth were asked an open question about their move (aged 14–24) grouped in themes (relative Many migrant and displaced youth experience Also, key to addressing the mismatch between greatest barriers to work, and these are some of frequencies). a mismatch between skills development and jobs and aspirations is providing youth with their voices: opportunities for work. Access to labour markets information about the realities of the labour market are limited by the absence of relevant, flexible, and availability of jobs to allow them to make more “The current economic situation and even though COVID accredited, and recognized learning-to-earning informed decisions as they transition I am skilled technician, I do not have professional opportunities, technical and vocational education certificates”, said a 24-year-old man from Jordan. No information and training (TVET), and informal education What I need most to make a living certification. Further, migration status (or lack (find income sources) “There are not enough jobs available…there are No perrmit/documents of ‘legal status’) and outright discrimination and thousands of youth who are highly competitive and exclusion from national labour markets hold back Fig 5. What do you need most to access income? skilled but unfortunately cannot find employment”, 24 25 Per centage of respondents aged 14–24 who said many seeking to enter the workforce. said an 18-year-old man from Kenya. Corruption their priority is finding a source of income according to what is most needed to achieve this goal. Thirty-eight per cent of youth on the move “Racism. Not working according to the law”, said a identified the lack of available jobs as their 21-year-old woman in Ethiopia. Discrimination biggest challenge to earn an income. In fact, On the move (n=1542) Host population (n=1316) this was the greatest concern for all youth Not enough jobs available “Not having good connections and good curriculum”, respondents, with 43 per cent of host population 38% said a 21-year-old woman from Italy. 43% No money youth also pointing to lack of jobs as their biggest Support in finding a job barrier. Youth respondents also indicated lack “In Kakuma refugee camp where I live there are not 18% of support to find a job and limited access to 13% enough opportunities for jobs. I have no permits or information as significant obstacles. Migrant Information documents”, said a 21-year-old man in Kenya. Lack of skills/certificates and displaced children (aged 14–17) placed higher 15% importance on the internet as a tool for generating 16% “Limited access to available internet connections”, income compared with young adults (aged 18–24). Discrimination said a 23-year-old man from Iraq. 8% Job availability Addressing this challenge goes beyond simply 7% “I would like to learn how to manage projects with finding a decent job to earn an income – creating Lack of training youth”, said a 17-year-old woman from Bolivia. purpose and a meaningful life is also key. 7% 7%

Yoma, a digital marketplace for youth across the Internet 6% world is designed to support young people by 5% actively engaging them in social impact tasks Work permits and offering personalized learning and earning 4% opportunities. Continued learning and self- 3% development is incentivized through a reward Lack of contacts system offering digital tokens. 4% 6%

24 International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020, Protecting the rights at work of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons during the COVID-19 pandemic Recommendations for Policy-makers and Constituents, p.1, available at https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour- migration/publications/WCMS_748485/lang--en/index.html; ILO, 2020, Protecting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, available at https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/publications/WCMS_743268/lang--en/index.html 25 Legal status, discrimination and exclusion from national labour markets was cited as a major concern by the Major Group for Children and Youth reference group who reviewed and helped develop the report.

24 25 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART I :Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

PORTRAIT #6: One of the winners was the Association for Youth on the move the Integration of Women (AIW), a non-profit Regeza Kamangu organization based in Modena, Italy. Its mission as innovators is to provide resources for women to establish roots and flourish with programmes designed to give migrant women the opportunity to show their All around the world, youth are leaders of change, potential, including paid technical and nontechnical innovators and experts in their fields. The 2020 training programmes or community-building Global Forum on Migration and Development activities. (GFMD) Youth Leadership and Innovation Award shone a spotlight on youth-led initiatives that Another finalist – Refupoet – is a non-governmental empower and improve the lives of young migrant organization that provides a safe space for refugees, and displaced people.26 asylum seekers and migrants to tell their stories of trials and triumph through music, poetry, dance Winners were supported in their ongoing journey and the visual arts. Creating art can be a source through a two-month mentorship programme, of emotional support for young people who have seed funding and access to networks. The nine experienced trauma, while also raising awareness finalists included powerful examples of youth-led about refugee and migrant issues to shape positive innovations and solutions that address real-life public narratives about them. challenges from combating xenophobia facing ©UNICEF/UNI289418/Moving Minds Venezuelan migrants in Colombia to using food in Italy or poetry in Kenya to foster social cohesion and social entrepreneurship.27 Regeza Kamangu is a 30-year-old refugee graduate of the UNICEF-supported African Drone Academy. Regeza worked as a teaching assistant in the Regis Diploma programme through Jesuit Worldwide “Grab the opportunity when it comes. I was given Learning, and he tutored refugees worldwide. the opportunity once, and just grabbed it. I wanted He also worked as the Global Education Movement to help other refugees. With those skills (drone Employment Editor. technologies) I could do it.” Regeza obtained drone pilot certificates from Regeza is Congolese and he spent four years in Virginia Tech, with UNICEF support and has been Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi. He is studying working as a pilot for Swoop Aero to supply online for a BA in management from Southern New essential goods, vaccines and collect blood samples Hampshire University in the USA. He co-founded to and from hard-to-reach areas in Malawi, the Nyota, an organization that offers guidance on Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) and proposal writing and fundraising to community- Mozambique. based organizations in the Dzaleka camp in Malawi.

U-Report, Malawi

26 Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), Youth for Innovation Contest, 2021, available at https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/5b2586e41aef1d89f00c60a9/t/5f3ef256f2a2f3141e0b3024/1597960839069/YOUTH+INNOVATION+CONTEST+2021.pdf 27 MGCY, Youth4Migration website, available at https://www.unmgcy.org/youth4migration

26 27 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART I :Talent is universal, but opportunities are not

PORTRAIT #7: The African Coding Alejandro Daly Network: women in tech

The World Economic Forum estimates that 15 to 20 million increasingly well-educated young people will join the African workforce every year for the next two decades.28 Sub-Saharan Africa is already degree in Natural Resources Management at the home to 13 per cent of the world’s working age Norwegian University of Science and Technology. population, a number that is set to increase to more Soon I will graduate and hopefully my career will than 17 per cent by 2030,29 exacerbating the skills have a better chance at progressing. gap and placing even greater pressure on an already saturated job market. In a foreign country, language is a big obstacle. I was able to find a community that encouraged To address Africa's tech skills gap and growing me to learn a new language and I am proud to say inequality, the African Coding Network supports that it has helped me integrate better with the marginalized African youth to select quality learning- Norwegian population and appreciate their culture.” to-earning pathways, to train in high-demand digital skills, and to accelerate their careers in “Where is home?” Alejandro's dream is to shape Summit, where he was awarded first place in the tech. In partnership with UNICEF, Yoma and other Temitope Obasa a world where the answer to that question is Youth Leadership and Innovation Award, in the partners, the African Coding Network opened its Nigerian migrant living in the Netherlands “everywhere” category ‘Shaping Public Narratives on Migration’, programmes to high potential youth on the move, organized by the Migration, Youth and Children identified through recent youth challenges such as Alejandro is the Director of El Derecho a No Platform of the Major Group for Children and Youth, the #ReimagineYourFuture or Better Together Africa Obedecer, a platform of Corporación Otraparte with the support of IOM, UNICEF, Switzerland and programmes offered on Yoma. that proposes, develops and accompanies citizen the United Arab Emirates. advocacy processes to achieve greater impacts in Some of the young women who joined the women Colombia. Currently, he is working to promote the in tech challenge have themselves left their home integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in countries in search of better opportunities: Latin America, impacting more than 115,000 people through artistic and cultural productions, public Stephanie Ojee conversations and social media. A young migrant woman from Kenya, now living in Norway. He is co-director of the Xenophobia Barometer, Although I finished my studies some months the first platform to analyse the narratives around "Leaving my home country was a bold step in my ago, I am still walking the unemployment path Venezuelan migrants and refugees in social media search of better quality of education. I had recently and remain hopeful. I spend each day exploring with the objective to positively transform them. The completed my undergrad and was baffled by my city and nearby cities, while sending out aim is to tackle the negative language that provokes the constant requirement for advanced degrees applications and taking online courses. I think that the spread of hate speech towards migrants and for entry level jobs, so I applied for a master's maintaining a level head and keeping hope alive refugees, and to build a system to inform key stakeholders that can provide support and mitigate 28 World Economic Forum (WEF), 2019, Why the skills gap remains wider in Africa, available at risks. Alejandro’s work with the Xenophobia https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/why-the-skills-gap-remains-wider-in-africa/ Barometer was recognized in the 2021 GFMD 29 WEF, 2017, The future of jobs and skills in Africa – preparing the region for the fourth industrial revolution, p.1, available at http://www3. weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_FOJ_Africa.pdf

28 29 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART II: Listening to young people on the move

is vital to accomplishing my goals. I have faced a couple of challenges since I moved abroad but I PART II: think the biggest one has been loneliness. Being so far from home, living in a country with a very Listening to young people different culture, language and social norms can take its toll on your mental health. To combat this, I acknowledged that I was lonely and began to on the move connect with other internationals in my school and city. Soon enough I found my tribe!

To give back, I opened a YouTube channel where I share tips on studying in the Netherlands. I also and I was successfully admitted into the Pan Young migrant and displaced people know their ready to seize every opportunity they can to voice offer free one-on-one consultation services for African University in Kenya, to study for an MSc in needs better than anyone. Their hopes, priorities and their opinion. More than 80 per cent of migrant Nigerians seeking to move to the Netherlands for telecommunications. The determination to move ideas are essential for shaping better learning-to- and displaced youth expressed they could study. forward and to go further has always been my earning solutions that support their communities to contribute to their communities very well greatest motivation. Hence, I work very hard. thrive. To tap into their potential – and to both design (59 per cent) or somewhat well (29 per cent). Paule Kevin Nembou Kouonchie and scale the right solutions – we need to listen to Despite their challenges, they have confidence in 25-year-old Cameroonian refugee living in Kenya. I come from a French-speaking region in Cameroon. young people on the move, amplify their voices, and their capacity to contribute positively to the lives of Studying in English has not been easy. When provide opportunities to co-create better solutions to the people around them. I hold a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in beginning lectures here, we were given one month meet their needs. Telecommunication Engineering. One of my dreams of intensive English language classes which helped The willingness and conviction of young people has always been to continue my studies up to the me in my studies. Also, in Kenya, they speak mostly Promoting and recognizing the strengths, interests on the move to speak out and spearhead change Ph.D. level. Kiswahili and this makes communication with and abilities of youth on the move – including the in their communities is a call on governments and people difficult. most marginalized – to shape their own destiny and partners to create an enabling environment for My parents did not have enough money to contribute to their communities is critical for building their meaningful participation and engagement. support me, so I began looking for scholarships resilience, improving mental health and promoting It highlights the need to systematically include social inclusion.30 Inclusive youth participation in young people in the design of learning-to-earning policy-making spaces – including interactions with opportunities and to invest in capacity-building of governments, civil society, and other stakeholders young people themselves. – can help young people on the move influence, create alliances, and shape the future they aspire This level of confidence and the opportunities to to. Further, many young people are already experts speak out are not within reach for all – particularly and leaders in their fields, creating businesses, for the most vulnerable. For example, IDP youth designing innovative solutions and inspiring positive who were consulted by UNICEF and the Migration, change. Youth and Children Platform of the Major Group for Children and Youth in Syria, Burkina Faso, While many children and youth on the move Cameroon, Colombia and Somalia – many of whom remain voiceless without means or opportunity had limited access to the internet – felt they had no to express their views and needs, those who way to communicate their concerns. More than 90 participated in the poll told a very different story. per cent of IDP youth consulted wanted to actively With all respondents having at least limited access participate in decision-making processes but felt to connectivity and a mobile phone, those who unable to do so.31 participated in the poll feel empowered and are

30 UNICEF, Technical Note – Adolescent Empowerment, p.5, available at https://www.unicef.org/media/101901/file/Adolescent%20 Empowerment%20Technical%20Note.pdf 31 UNICEF and MGCY, 2020, Youth Consultations with Young IDPs and their Host Communities for the High Level Panel on Internal U-Report, Ghana Displacement. 360 young IDPs and host community members (between 10 and 32 years) across six countries participated.

30 31 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART II: Listening to young people on the move

Do you feel heard? How would you like to share your Fig 8. How would you like to share your voice in voice in your community? your community? Per centage of young people on the move (aged 14-24) by aspired way of sharing Eighty-eight per cent of young people on the Resources and their voice in the local community. move who participated in the poll felt they could When asked about how they would like to share tools on working contribute their opinions, talents and skills to their their voice in the community, 46 per cent of the communities somewhat well. younger respondents aged 14–17, irrespective of with and for young migratory status, said they preferred to share their I don’t know Meeting with local authorities Youth groups Social media Fig 7. Do you feel you can contribute your opinions, voices via social media, whereas the figure for people skills and talents in your community? Per centage older youth was only 36 per cent. Youth groups of young people on the move (aged 14–24) by and meetings with local authorities were the perception of degree of contribution of skills and 17% talents to the local community. communication methods preferred by young adult 22% migrant and displaced people. Social media was • With us & for us: Working with and for Young the most sought-after tool for displaced children 10% 16% People in Humanitarian and Protracted on the move to share their voices (41 per cent). Crises – these IASC guidelines are a ‘go-to’ 8% In contrast, migrants preferred youth groups guide for working with and for young people in Not at all as a medium to share their opinions, skills and 21% 31% humanitarian settings and protracted crises. 5% talents. Uncertainty on sharing their voices was Somewhat badly reported marginally more frequently by children • Engaged and Heard: Guidelines on than by young adults (22 per cent and 17 per cent, Adolescent Participation and Civic 29% respectively). Engagement is a key resource on principles, Somewhat well 46% strategies and approaches to meaningful youth 36% participation

• The Adolescent Kit For Expression and Innovation is a resource to empower Aged 14 to 17 Aged 18 to 24 (n=385) (n=1926) adolescents and young people with the skills they need and provide them with opportunities 59% to take action within their societies (available in Very well English, Spanish, Arabic and French)

• The Youth at Heart Principles developed by approximately 1200 young people from East Africa and the Horn of Africa, Middle East and North Africa and the Sahel Regions. They are a call to action for governments, civil society, private and public sector, bi- and multilaterals and knowledge institutions to invest in the prospects of young people and to work in partnership with young people (also available in in Arabic and French).

32 33 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART III: Taking action – together!

“I have a great concern about the future and I am Reimagine Education, which aims to reach every PART III: afraid that I can not complete my studies because of child and young person – including those who are the economic and legal conditions”, said a 16 year old migrants or displaced – with world class digital Taking action – together! boy in Lebanon. learning solutions require buy-in from the public and private sector, to ensure that we reach the Third, youth entrepreneurship needs to be most marginalized. Initiatives like the global school supported by alleviating legal, administrative connectivity mapping and acceleration efforts and financial obstacles and barriers to starting under Giga or the Connected Education resources In this poll, young people from around the world than ‘problems’ or ‘threats’ to help harness their a business. This includes assisting migrant and must be expanded to include areas hosting llarge describe their dreams and aspirations to learn and innovation, creativity and energy. displaced people’s start-ups to help them meet numbers of young migrants, IDPs or refugees. earn. They talk of becoming doctors, coders and regulatory requirements and expanding financial For us to ensure that local skills gaps and the needs engineers, and of learning new skills and new “Follow your passion and know that you're not a inclusion, regardless of migratory status. Promote of labour markets are filled, digital tools and digitally languages. They are eager for more information and burden, you are a problem solver.”, and ensure decent jobs for youth that provide powered learning opportunities and innovation resources to voice their opinions and foster their Rafik Amrani, Young People’s Action Team member, a minimum wage to survive, opportunities for efforts must become more accessible and inclusive. talents and skills. Algeria.32 career improvement, access to social protection, safety and health in the workplace, and the right to Now is the moment – as we reimagine Migrant and displaced youth tell of life changing Partner with youth on the move to cocreate interact and organize. education and the future of mobility – to invest experiences determined by circumstance and solutions for learning and earning. Trust young in and scale up solutions that provide portable, imperfect choices, and they are often excluded people on the move to participate and lead, Fourth, prior learning and qualifications of flexible, personalized, adaptable and inclusive from education and work due to financial barriers providing adequate resourcing and support to migrant and displaced children and youth need learning-to-earning pathways for young people as and saturated job markets. But many will persist, strengthen their capacities and the impact of their to be recognized and validation and accreditation they move, as well as meaningful opportunities for in the face of tremendous odds, to become young work. Provide opportunities to cocreate learning-to- processes must be improved. Solutions like the young people to create positive social impact in entrepreneurs, innovators and change-makers in earning solutions with and for young people on the Learning Passport or Yoma, where young people their communities, networks and homes. their communities. move. And involve children and youth on the move can build their own verified digital CV, can be – alongside host community children and youth – leveraged to achieve this. Education systems need Putting these recommendations into action We have heard how despite different cultures, in local, national and global level decision-making to be strengthened to provide high-quality learning will require the reach, resources and creativity experiences and languages, migrant and displaced processes that will affect their lives. opportunities for all young people – regardless of of partnerships between local and national youth share the same dreams to learn and earn migratory status – and supported to include migrant governments, communities, businesses and private as their host community peers – sending a strong Second, host country governments, donors, and displaced children to realize their rights and sector. message of solidarity and painting a picture of the employers and partners need to join forces to tackle cater for their specific needs. shared future they want to create. the biggest barriers to education and transitioning To harness the full potential of mobility and leverage into the world of work. This will mean removing Fifth, young people need to be provided with more innovations and technologies to find the ‘diamonds The poll exposed the gap between the rights financial barriers that prevent vulnerable children relevant and targeted information on available in the rough’, we need to better understand the and aspirations of young people – and their and youth, including youth on the move, from education and employment resources, training drivers and incentives that motivate young people potential – and shows there is more to do. accessing education. This will mean abolishing and opportunities. This should be in a language to learn, to earn, to move and to stay. And there is The voices of young people are a call to action for school fees, establishing scholarship programmes that youth on the move will understand, and no other, better way, than to start by listening to governments, policy makers, donors and partners, and paid traineeships, providing financial assistance communicated through channels they trust and young people themselves. from the public and private sector and civil society, for school supplies and leveraging technologies to that are most accessible – for example, working to do more to bridge the gap between aspirations provide incentives for continued learning and self- with diaspora communities, youth groups or social and opportunities and to unlock the wealth of growth. messaging apps. untapped talent on the move. Sixth, more is needed to close the digital divide As a first step, governments, donors and by including migrant and refugee-hosting schools businesses must acknowledge young people on and communities in national digitization efforts to the move as ‘assets’ and ‘rights-holders’ rather improve connectivity and fair access to digitally empowered education, especially for young girls and those with disabilities. Initiatives like 32 Quote from Youth At Heart Virtual Forum - livestreamed on You Tube Youth@Heart LIVE - YouTube

34 35 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART III: Taking action – together!

ANNEX I: using blockchain. By means of privacy-preserving SOLUTION # 3: training facilities and programmes in the country AI and machine learning, young people are LEARNING PASSPORT of origin. Those who choose to migrate to the Discover more: presented with personalized growth choices that destination country will integrate more quickly match their aspirations and talents and can point to Supported by UNICEF, the Learning Passport is an and will be better skilled to fill job gaps in the local youth-led solutions employment or entrepreneurial opportunities. e-learning platform developed and implemented in market. partnership with Microsoft. Currently, available in and innovations Especially valuable for youth on the move, who 10 countries through UNICEF Country Offices, it Recognizing that climate change and other forces are without credentials and social networks, Yoma is expected soon to reach a further 25 countries. will create vast pressures for greater migration in provides users the chance to build a verifiable It was initially specifically targeted to youth on the the region in future, the Australia-Pacific Training Many young people, together with national and digital CV and trust profile that is portable, thereby move, seeking to address major learning gaps and Coalition (APTC) is a network of five technical local governments, private sector, donors and enabling them to compete again and demonstrate to provide opportunities for young people to be training centers across the South Pacific, including partners, are already creating and implementing reliability and acquisition of skills. Creating positive better positioned to obtain fulfilling employment. in low-income countries such as Papua New innovative solutions to help migrant and displaced behavioral incentives and access to Zlto, a digital However, the Learning Passport is already proving Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The network was youth learn and earn. The solutions outlined below token, helps them continue their growth journey. its worth more broadly, and is for instance launched in 2007 with Australian funding support, are some examples of youth-led solutions that can increasingly being used to digitalize resources and as of mid-2019, it had trained 12,887 young be adapted, replicated and scaled to help bridge related to national curricula. The form and function people in vocational subjects such as hospitality, the gap between aspirations and opportunities. SOLUTION #2: of the Learning Passport varies widely between construction, and automobile maintenance. It grants For more information on digital solutions, please U REPORT ON THE MOVE countries; for instance, in the Middle East and qualifications recognized uniformly across the see UNICEF’s forthcoming companion report, North African region it has been used primarily region and focuses on skills that are needed in both “Unlocking the Power of Digital Technologies to U-Report is a user-friendly, cost-effective, for technical and vocational education and training origin and destination countries.36 Support “Learning to Earning” for Displaced Youth”. anonymous social messaging tool designed to (TVET), soft skills, non-formal education and work empower youth – equipping them with critical readiness. information, allowing them to speak out on issues SOLUTION #5: SOLUTION #1: that affect them and their communities, and Now three years into the deployment of the REMOTE MENTORING YOMA ON THE MOVE encouraging citizen-led development to create solution, the key priorities are to better understand positive behaviour change. the user experience and to offer a wider range of Micromentor supports young entrepreneurs across Yoma is a digital marketplace for youth across assessment options.35 the world, with global reach that includes young the world to build and transform their futures by Engaging over 15 million U-Reporters worldwide, people in low-income contexts. A Mercy Corps actively engaging in social impact tasks and learning the U-Report On The Move platform’s has been initiative, Micromentor began in 2008 offering an and earning opportunities. It is an ecosystem adapted to address the specific needs and SOLUTION #4: online ‘matching’ service between entrepreneurs solution that links young people with opportunities, aspirations of some of the most vulnerable INNOVATIVE SKILLS AND TALENT and mentors around the globe. Connections are provided by a range of partners, such as private beneficiaries - young migrant and displaced PARTNERSHIPS facilitated through the platform, but subsequently enterprises and educational institutions. Yoma aims people – either along their journey or in their host communications are managed outside the platform. to identify, nurture and connect hidden talents community or country. U-Reporters are provided The Global Skill Partnership is a promising model In 2020, the platform was facilitating over 5,500 (diamonds in the rough) using psychometric tools with a wide range of services and activities, that envisages a bilateral agreement between the connections involving 1,900 mentor volunteers. and dynamic experiential learning, allowing for including dissemination of critical information, country of origin and the country of destination, in Sixty-eight per cent of the connections were individualized growth journeys. Yoma provides participation in polls or one-on-one consulting and which young potential migrants are given training in between countries, and Sixty-eight per cent of critical opportunities for youth on the move to help case management. their home countries. Not all the trainees migrate, entrepreneurs supported are in low- and middle- foster their talents, skills and potential.33 It is a tool to support young people to voice their and those who remain then contribute to their income countries. Micromentor’s own impact data concerns about their living conditions and to be local origin community with more advanced skills, suggests that mentoring can have a huge effect As young people engage in the marketplace and empowered to become active citizens in their capacity, and teaching potential. The destination on an entrepreneur, with 92 per cent reporting in complete social impact tasks or learning activities, communities.34 country can be directly involved in shaping the a survey of alumni that they had built confidence their accomplishments are recorded on their profile. skillsets of potential migrants, while establishing and one or more business-related skills as a result This allows them to build a verifiable digital CV

35 Learning Passport website, available at https://www.learningpassport.org/ 33 Yoma foundation website, available at https://www.yoma.foundation/ 36 Center for Global Development, August 2019, A Pacific Skills Partnership – Improving the APTC to meet skills needed in the region, 34 U-Report on the Move website, available at https://onthemove.ureport.in/ available at https://www.cgdev.org/blog/pacific-skills-partnership-improving-aptc-meet-skills-needed-in-region

36 37 TALENT ON THE MOVE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE MOVE TO UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL PART III: Taking action – together!

of the mentoring relationships brokered by the SOLUTION #7: ANNEX II: Online language courses initiative. There are also huge benefits for mentors ADOLESCENT KIT FOR EXPRESSION • Akelius Foundation enables marginalized themselves.37 AND INNOVATION Resources and tools children and youth to learn English, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. The Adolescent Kit for Expression and Innovation for young people The application can be accessed online through SOLUTION #6: is an excellent tool to support young boys and girls, a web browser or on any Android device (tablet TALENT CITIES to cope with the anxieties they face, as well as Online education, learning and scholarship or mobile phone). develop skills and competencies to enable them platforms • Na Takallam pairs displaced people with “Talent Cities” engages and supports city to take action and bring about positive change in • Coursera for Refugees serves over 26,000 learners worldwide for online language learning leadership and mayors to take responsibility to their lives and communities as they transition from refugees across the globe to provide access and cultural exchange strive for equity, sustainability and inclusion in their learning to earning. to Coursera’s catalogue of online courses for • DuoLingo is a free gamified language training cities, including optimizing talent opportunities hundreds of accredited institutions, ranging app that offers 19 different languages for all youth, regardless of their citizenship, legal The Adolescent Kit, developed through a human- from full master’s degrees to short courses or migration status. The initiative works to foster centred design approach, with UNICEF experts, in topics such as data science, business, IT, Web or app-based information and mentoring the skills, talents and potential of ‘youth on the partners and young people, offers activities and social sciences, personal development, arts and move’ through helping local governments reach approaches to support adolescents in learning, and humanities, mathematics, physical sciences, • YuWaah! connects India’s youth to aspirational the most vulnerable with learning opportunities using complex competencies, such as those for and health. Financial assistance is often socio-economic opportunities, and engages and educational resources, including digital tools, problem solving, creativity and innovation. Since it available for applicants. them as active changemakers. The portal and connecting them with local job markets. By was rolled out in 2016, the Adolescent Kit has been • Open Learning Exchange’s Planet Learning currently serves over 17,060,996 young people. connecting cities along migration routes, ‘talent implemented in nearly 25 countries (and expanding operates a free and open access platform. This • Pratham’s Youth Network, digitally connects pathways’ are created between cities seeking to to 20+ more countries by the end of 2023), involves both an online cloud-based repository young people in rural areas with mentors attract untapped talent. reaching over 360,000 adolescent girls and boys in for managing learning content and a community working in various industries to support career refugee, migrant, displaced contexts as well as in server that delivers learning resources, courses, awareness and planning, English language The city of Bamenda, in Cameroon, has fully low resource settings.39 and learner management tools. capability, and digital skills. embraced the Talent Cities approach. The city aims • Kiron Campus is an online learning platform • Job Centre Plus Connectr by My Kinda Future to become an innovation hub, and to achieve this, which targets both refugees worldwide and is a pilot providing 18- to 24-year-olds with Bamenda needs skilled, entrepreneurial talent. A underserved communities in the Middle East, digital mentors to support them into work and major source of untapped talent is migrant and offering free access to accredited courses and help them succeed in employment. displaced youth. Over 15,000 people have left degrees worldwide. • Micromentor, a MercyCorps initiative, provides Bamenda to go to Calabar, Nigeria, using a well- • Learning Passport is an Online, Mobile, and support to budding young entrepreneurs across established commercial route between the two Offline tech platform enabling high quality, the globe by matching them each with a mentor cities. Turning this well-established commercial flexible learning to provide support virtually. route into a ‘talent pathway’, the City of Bamenda • Cell-Ed uses microlearning modules to provide • Migrant Media Network provides young is actively encouraging migrant and displaced a tailored industry-specific micro-lessons to Africans with reliable information and training youth to return to Bamenda to receive digital and any mobile device through text and audio only, on migration issues and social media entrepreneurial skill credentials, and to connect complemented by live coaches who provide • Goodwall is a mobile-first personal and them with them local livelihood and entrepreneurial support and encouragement. professional development platform with more opportunities. Bamenda wants to encourage young • EDX provides access to more than 3,000 free than 1 million members across over 150+ people to stay in Bamenda – building their lives online courses from more than 160 leading countries, that guides 16 to 24-year-olds through and contributing their skills and talent to the city’s institutions worldwide. the world of education and work offering them economy.38 • Marj3 is a platform that connects youth largely access to equitable and inclusive opportunities. from the Middle East and North Africa with educational opportunities around the world. It Job-search and job-matching platforms provides online information on administration • ALiGN initiative which uses psychometric 37 UNICEF, 2021, Digital Learning to Earning Solutions Background Paper (forthcoming), citing Micromentor website, 2021, available at processes for accessing university and studying assessment to match refugees (and other https://www.micromentor.org/ abroad. unemployed young people) with hard-to-fill 38 Provided directly by Talent Cities roles. 39 UNICEF, 2017, Adolescent kit for expression and innovation, available at https://adolescentkit.org/

38 39 • ECSJO is an e-counselling platform developed open source, modular content to compliment by the ILO to enable Syrian refugees and and augment formal education, and to provide vulnerable Jordanians to connect with access to learning for out-of-school youth. employers. • Workwell Refugee Tech Hub focuses on • Action Emploi Réfugiés in France provides coding, graphic design and accounting for a job board that employers can use to reach displaced Syrians and Iraqis. potential refugee employees. • Rebootkamp focuses on coding in Tunisia • Kormo Jobs by Google operates in and aims to provide services in Africa and the Bangladesh, Indonesia and India to match urban Middle East. youth seeking entry level jobs with employers • RET's Digital Work Livelihood Programme in service and informal sectors including food equips refugee youth with the ICT skills to markets, street vendors, retail, and hospitality. obtain online jobs and lead self-reliant lives. • Talent Beyond Boundaries works through • African coding network supports marginalized an online Talent Catalogue containing profiles African youth to select quality learning-to- of more than 20,000 skilled workers, who are earning pathways, train in in-demand digital also refugees based in Lebanon and Jordan. skills, and accelerate their careers in tech. Candidates are able to upload their profiles to • Umuzi provides online resources to help kick- the Talent Catalogue and potentially be matched start a career in tech. with employment opportunities in Australia, • Start-ups Without Borders connects the most Canada, the United Kingdom. ambitious refugee and migrant entrepreneurs with resources to grow their business, while Training for remote digital livelihoods providing investors with an entry-point to under- • Yoma Digital Livelihoods Programme seeks the-radar start-ups. to equip young people with the digital tools and • Refugee Force invest in skilled, motivated, entrepreneurial competencies to express and and diverse asylum seekers and refugees who monetize their unique passions. struggle to find employment that matches their • Atingi is a learning platform that provides free, interests, experience, and ambitions.

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