E-Learning on Fostering the Social and Professional Reintegration of Return Migrants

The course explores the linkages between return migration and development while explaining why some return migrants succeed in reintegrating back home whereas others do not. OBJECTIVES The course addresses the social and professional reintegration of return migrants by strengthening the capacity of policy level stakeholders design and facilitate evidence based return migration policies. Specifically, at the end of the course, participants were able to: • Access innovative and comparative data on returnees’ conditions back home • Combine a top down and a bottom-up approach to return migration and reintegration • Benefit from increased awareness of the need to develop adequate mechanisms sustaining the reintegration of returnees while redefining current policy priorities as applied to return • Understand the factors, public policies, as well as the pre- and post-return conditions shaping migrants’ patterns of reintegration in their country of origin • Explaining why return may or may not have a positive impact on the development of migrants’ country of origin • Acquire analytical tools and instruments (e.g. indicators) allowing adequate policies to be adopted with a view to supporting migrants’ reintegration • Promote the integration of return migration issues in national and regional development strategies CONTENT The course tackles the following topics: • Measuring return flows and stocks; • Heterogeneity of returnees’ profiles and patterns of reintegration; • Factors shaping returnees’ patterns of reintegration back home. • Why do some returnees contribute to development whereas others do not? • Returnees’ investment and skills portability in the labour; • Social protection mechanisms to cover returnees and their families; • Empowering returnees and access to services at local level; • The link between integration in host countries and reintegration in home countries; • Impact of vocational training on the returnees’ propensity to reintegrate professionally back home; • Entrepreneurship of returnees and impact on development; • Coordination and coherence among public institutions (local and national) in the development of a reintegration policy. ACHIEVEMENT • Complete the 6 weekly assignments • Analyse in group specific case studies • Individual essay