Dear ,

Slowly our catalogue of online courses is expanding and we are very excited about our latest addition on entrepreneurship developed by our partners in the United Nations. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development adopted by UN member states in 2015 recognizes the need for international cooperation to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration as well as its positive contribution for inclusive growth and sustainable development. This historic inclusion is based on the acknowledgement that migrants and refugees can contribute positively to the development of communities back at home or in their new places of residence, provided that their skills, capabilities and entrepreneurial spirit are given sufficient support and recognition.

Following these developments and to respond to a growing policy need for a common approach to promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of migrants and refugees that recognizes their contribution to development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have brought together their technical expertise and practical knowledge to collaboratively developed a Policy Guide on Entrepreneurship for Migrants and Refugees, published in 2018, which can be found here: https://idiaspora.org/resources/policy-guide-entrepreneurship-migrants-and-refugees.

In order to complement this, UNCTAD, UNCHR and IOM have joined efforts with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to develop the e-learning course Entrepreneurship for Migrants and Refugees which aims at strengthening the competences required by policymakers and practitioners for overcoming some of the challenges to and understanding the benefits of promoting entrepreneurship as tool for sustainable development. At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe different benefits of promoting entrepreneurship for migrants and refugees and its impact on sustainable development.

• Identify the challenges faced by migrant and refugee entrepreneurs.

• Recognise policy objectives and policy options.

• Identify ways to support entrepreneurship among migrants and refugees in both developed and developing countries.

• Relate case studies and good practices from policies, programmes and initiatives in both developed and developing countries.

The next edition of this course starts on 2 March. Registrations are open now - register now for free here: https://idiaspora.org/learning-opportunity/entrepreneurship-migrants-and-refugees-policy-makers​.

We hope this new learning opportunity is useful and look forward to bringing you more new resources soon to facilitate the impact of diaspora activists and entrepreneurs! 

Warm regards,

The iDiaspora Team