Minsk – IOM Belarus continues to build a community of inspired young people who share knowledge about safe migration and combatting human trafficking in their communities all over the country.

For the first time, the alumni of the youth summer camp “Learn.Act.Share” of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020  met each other to exchange opinions, share experience, gain new skills and knowledge, and come up with new ideas and collaborations in the field of trafficking prevention.

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“We want young people to understand that they can play a significant role in human trafficking prevention, protection of victims of human trafficking, and building partnerships to solve this pressing problem. Their voices should be heard”, said Mahym Orazmuhammedova, Chief of Mission, IOM Belarus.

The camp is an annual activity organized by IOM Belarus within the IOM X Belarus campaign and supported by USAID, UN agencies, governmental partners, donors, and local businesses. Each year for one week 18 young people learn about human trafficking and related issues from experts in the field to further share their knowledge with their peers.

Remarkably, almost every camp alumnus of 2018 and 2019 conducted preventive peer-to-peer activities in their communities. In total, they have reached more than 4,000 young people, setting the bar high for the newcomers.

After months of online events, the face-to-face meeting was especially joyful for the alumni of this year’s summer camp: After spending the whole summer week together virtually, they finally met each other offline.

“I am happy to meet my fellow alumni in person. There are so many talented people here who have already worked a lot on various projects. It’s very inspiring. We are planning our activities as well, and I am sure we will make something great very soon”, Ilya Kharytaniuk, 2020 alumnus.

Besides the meeting point, the event has become a source of new information and knowledge on effective facilitation and innovative event formats, including online events, to organize preventive activities successfully, even during COVID-19 .

IOM Belarus will continue educating and supporting the unique community of young people who are ready to make a difference and help stop human trafficking.

City of Dispatch: Minsk