About the course

Based on theoretical and practical principles, the Inter-American Course on International Migration offers attendants key tools for their professional performance on migration-related areas. The Course aims at enabling officials to efficiently apply the knowledge acquired to activities involved in making and implementing public policies and migration programmes in their respective countries.
 

General Objectives

  • To train professional government staff on migration in the region.
  • To provide, with a human rights approach, theoretical and applied knowledge facilitating the search for adequate mechanisms to improve the governance and regularisation of migration processes.
  • To enable the exchange of international migration knowledge, experience and working methodologies among government representatives from various countries in the continent.
Addressees

The course is addressed to government officials from Latin America and the Caribbean who work in migration activities and have experience in this issue. It is particularly aimed at officials from Government, Interior, Foreign Affairs and/or Labour Ministries.

Methodology

The course contents are presented by experts in the subjects taught, who have extensive professional and academic expertise in the field of migration. Through conceptual presentations and a dynamic participation methodology, an interesting dialogue is fostered, including practical examples from each country, enriching the academic debate during the classes. Thus, the course generates a forum for sharing knowledge among attendants, contributing to a broader understanding of migration issues currently faced by the countries in the region. The course is organized in six modules, distributed in 10 working days and a closing day.

Duration

The course has a duration of two weeks.

History

The origin of this training instance goes back to 1979 following the initiative by the Government of Spain and the Organization of American States (OAS), as part of their technical cooperation activities implemented in Latin American and some Caribbean countries.

In 1981, IOM was invited by the OAS to collaborate with the implementation of some activities of the programme which, initially, were three months long and were developed in Madrid, Spain.

After Spain withdrew from the course organisation in 1983, the OAS and IOM proposed that the Government of the Argentine Republic became co-organiser and host country of the course every year.

Between 1985 and 1987, the city of Buenos Aires was the venue of the course, and from 1988 onwards, the activities were developed in the city of Mar del Plata, a change that facilitated the interaction among participants.

In 1999, with the OAS withdrawal, IOM became the organisation responsible for holding the course, with the support of the Argentine government. 
The course is funded by the Operational Support Income (OSI) and national resources for the airfare of attendants.

Since its first editions, it has gathered officials from all countries in Latin America, except for Surinam and Guyana. From the Caribbean countries, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba have participated.

Throughout its 43 consecutive years, it has trained more than 1.005 government officials, showing that it is an efficient means for educating, spreading knowledge and exchanging international migration information, experience and methodologies among officials of various government areas from different Latin American countries.

Contents

Module I: Global context and challenges for migration management.
Module II: Understanding of migration processes.
Module III: International protection of migrants.
Module IV: Public management tools.
Module V: International migration programmes.
Module VI: Dialogue and regional integration processes.