Introduction

Worldwide more than 100 million people have been forced to leave their homes due to conflicts, violence, fear of persecution and human rights violations. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of people that have been displaced since 2012 with no sign of this trend reversing.  Among them, there are 53 million people internally displaced, 27 million refugees and almost 5 million asylum seekers. Local governments often find themselves at the forefront of the global response to human displacement and need to take measures before national governments develop and adopt response strategies and policies. 

This course explores how local authorities can develop innovative solutions to the complex challenges of displaced populations. We will discuss how different levels of government interact and specifically what role local governments and local institutions can play in dealing with forced migration. We will examine how they can provide housing and health care for migrants and refugees while maintaining the level of services for the host community. Furthermore, we will discuss social cohesion between migrants and host communities, especially in communities with a significant presence of migrants. The course will also focus on ways to secure the economic inclusion of refugees and migrants in the local context.  

Key Information

The course is aimed at professionals working on local policies for refugees and migrants. Participants work for national, regional and local government, NGOs, donor and development organisations, and research institutes. 

The scheduling of the training will be established at a later time.

The course fee is € 3,595. This includes all training related costs as well as drinks and warm lunches during the training days. Group discounts are available if you participate with three or more colleagues.

This training takes place in The Hague, Netherlands.

After this course, you will receive a professional certificate of completion from The Hague Academy for Local Governance.

Learning objectives

This course will help you:

Describe the roles and responsibilities of local authorities in managing large movements of refugees and migrants;

Discuss the linkages between local migration challenges, the national context, and global trends as well as legal and institutional frameworks;

Recognise the importance of investing in social cohesion in all aspects of the local response to migration and displacement;

Describe different approaches to support local authorities in planning for migration and displacement;

Develop approaches to strengthen service delivery in an inclusive manner.

Experience

This course will discuss practical case studies from a.o. Turkey, Lebanon and Rwanda. You will also take part in field visits to different knowledge institutions, local governments and refugee based NGOs. At the Municipality of Rotterdam, you will learn about their local integration policy. We will also visit an NGO that supports undocumented migrants in the Netherlands with legal assistance, housing and language classes. The visit to the Dutch Council for Refugees will show how municipalities cooperate with NGOs.

Practical information

Find the practical information for the course here.

  • Payment

    After submitting your completed application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. Once we have assessed your application and admitted you to the course, we will send you an invoice with payment details. The payment deadline is 4 weeks before the start of the training course.

    Payments can be made by bank transfer or by PayPal request. We offer the option of paying in one or two instalments. An advance payment of 50% secures a seat reservation in the training until the payment deadline. Your participation in the course is guaranteed only after receipt of full payment before the 4-week deadline.

    If we do not receive your payment before the deadline, we will cancel your reservation. Please note that The Hague Academy accepts registrations on a first-paid, first-served policy.

  • Visa Applications

    Some countries require a visa to enter the Netherlands. Please check with The Netherlands or the embassy for the visa requirements related to your country. Because of the time needed for the visa procedure, we advise you to start this process as soon as possible. Once we have received your payment for the course, The Hague Academy will send you an acceptance letter that will assist you in arranging your visa to the Netherlands.

  • Cancellation

    Under certain circumstances, participants may need to cancel their participation in the course. For cancellations before the payment deadline, we will reimburse the paid amounts minus an administration fee of €150.

    To prevent late cancellation, we strongly encourage you to start with your visa application procedure at least six weeks before the start of the training programme.

    We will charge a cancellation fee of 50% of the course fee for participants cancelling between four and two weeks prior to the start of the training. If you cancel your participation within the two-week period before the start of the course, then you have to pay 80% of the course fee.

    It is always possible to nominate a suitably qualified candidate to replace you without extra charge, in the event that you cannot attend the course.

    The Hague Academy for Local Governance reserves the right to cancel a course if the number of participants is insufficient or due to any other unforeseen circumstances. In this case, your payment will be 100% reimbursed. Other costs such as transportation or hotel cannot be reimbursed.

Scholarships

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers MSP scholarships for training courses in the Netherlands. The MENA Scholarship Programme (MSP) aims to enhance the skills, instincts, and abilities of professionals, empowering their organizations and communities to thrive in an ever-changing world.

For more information and eligibility criteria, please visit our Scholarships page. Note that scholarships have a separate application process.

Scholarships page

Scholarships-3 (1) copy
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