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 “After the first dynamic online day, I understood that it’s exactly what I expected and only regretted choosing an uncomfortable chair”, laughs Kristina, a participant in the first IOM Belarus online anti-trafficking camp which took place this week.

The fourth annual “LEARN.ACT.SHARE” youth summer camp could not take place physically due to COVID-19 restrictions, so IOM brought together a group of young people from across Belarus online, to advance their knowledge on human trafficking, its root causes, consequences, and prevention measures.

“It’s a working space where participants meet experts from UN agencies, businesses, and NGOs to study human trafficking through different lenses and to acquire practical skills to organize their own innovative preventive events,” explains Tatiana Verigo, Senior Programme Assistant at IOM Belarus.  

It’s a great opportunity to learn new information and different views on modern-day slavery. Can’t wait to join the community of camp alumni!” says Kristina, a camp participant.

“I think that this camp is an evolutionary format in the educational field of the Eastern Europe region. When I was applying to the camp, I had a strong desire to make a difference and contribute to the cause.

The initiative’s success is built on a pyramid effect, where camp alumni organize educational events in their communities. SO far, more than 4,000 young people have been reached. 

The camp is timed to coincide with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and is led by IOM in partnership with other UN agencies, the Government of Belarus, NGOs, and private companies.

“We are happy to expand the team of young people who help us prevent human trafficking through sharing their knowledge on human trafficking prevention, thus being our voices in the regions. The camp has proved to be an effective tool to educate young people and engage them into the fight with human trafficking”, said IOM’s Tatiana Verigo.  

The camp follows a non-formal education approach and includes a wide variety of online methods and activities, from informative interactive lectures to online quests.

Besides the theoretical part, the camp’s agenda features sessions on creative ideas and effective tools for project development - indispensable for future alumni’s initiatives. As before, IOM and its partners will support these young people in refining their project ideas into proposals or draft action plans for implementation in the coming months.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn new information and different views on modern-day slavery. I can’t wait to join the community of camp alumni!” says Kristina.

The youth summer camp is the part of the IOM X Belarus campaign launched together with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Belarus with the support of USAID and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For more information please contact Olga Borzenkova at IOM Belarus, Tel: +375 17 2882742. Email oborzenkova@iom.int

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