Highlights

Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network (HMLN) 

5 Online Sessions : May 16, May 30, May 31, June 1, June 2. 

CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

Municipalities hosting refugees face the pressing need to create smart jobs for local and refugee communities. This need is further exacerbated by the growing youth unemployment rate in the MENA region and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also brought about in a stronger way the pre-existing need to enhance digitalization in the region. Consultations held by the CMI with municipal representatives from the Host Municipalities Learning Network (HMLN) from Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon confirm that municipal staff and elected representatives lack digital literacy skills, and that for some, digital infrastructure is not well developed or not developed at all. Municipalities also laid out possible solutions, including training municipal staff and local populations (including refugees) on digital skills, in the context of many of them (82% according to CMI surveys) taking measures to develop job opportunities for vulnerable populations.

Following requests from municipalities, the CMI has set up an Online Learning Platform in collaboration with Microsoft. The platform provides a series of self-paced, online training courses available to staff and elected representatives of municipalities hosting refugees in the Middle East and Turkey. Courses focus on digital skills and learning the use of Microsoft 365 to increase the capacity of municipal staff to utilize digital tools.  

There is a need to also train populations, especially refugees, women, and youth. Given the need to work from home following COVID-19, many businesses have been set up in a home-based modality, and at the same time, new digital skills are demanded. In this context, local populations shall be trained on digital entrepreneurship, e-marketing, and other skills, to successfully manage their home-based businesses, online businesses, or handicraft workshop. In this context, digital skills are also needed among local populations to enhance their employability skills for 21st century’s jobs, such as e-entrepreneurship and freelancing.

The CMI, in collaboration with Microsoft and CARE, is scaling up its online learning offer to local populations, especially refugees, women, and youth, with a Training of Trainers approach. An online training to equip municipal and local trainers with the knowledge and tools necessary to train local populations to become freelancer and enhance their marketing and business skills is being organized. In parallel, the CMI will continue its learning offer for municipal staff on digital literacy and will extend the courses offered on the CMI Learning Platform also to local youth, in collaboration with local training centers and municipalities.

This training is organized as part of the CMI’s support to the Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network (HMLN). The HMLN provides a platform for peer-to-peer learning, training and collaboration for local governments hosting refugees in the Middle East and Turkey and contributes to improving capacities of local authority representatives for ensuring the common welfare of host communities and refugees through regular workshops, trainings, online discussions, and periodic collection of experiences implemented in local governments hosting refugees.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES  

TARGET AUDIENCE AND PARTICIPATION

The training targets local government staff and trainers from local organizations from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey. 

In order to participate in the training, participants will be selected according to (i) their previous experience in delivering training to local populations; (ii) their willingness to become a trainer; (iii) their plans for training local populations; iv) their active participation in the HMLN Network. Priority will be given to those applicants who already have in place plans for training local populations. The World Academy for Local  Government and Democracy (WALD) supports the selection process for Turkish municipalities.

TRAINING SCHEDULE AND LOGISTIC

Please note that al sessions are mandatory for trainees.
This webinar will include simultaneous interpretation in English and Arabic. Connection links will be sent upon registration.