How does the Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI) help refugees?

GMI provides structured, short-term online mentorship with business professionals. The program consists of 14 one-hour sessions covering job-seeking skills like CV writing, interviewing, and networking, aiming to help refugees find their first job.

What are the key challenges faced by refugees in accessing higher education and jobs?

Globally, only about 5% of refugees have access to higher education. Many refugees in camps are 'boxed in' and disconnected from the outside world, making it difficult to access opportunities without support systems like mentorship.

How does Namal's program support refugees for remote work?

Namal trains refugees in human skills for remote work through an online course, virtual workshops, and a crucial mentoring program. This multi-faceted approach aims to prepare them for success in the competitive global marketplace.

What is the benefit of mentorship for refugees and mentors?

For mentees, mentorship provides guidance, skill development, and access to networks, helping them secure employment. For mentors, it humanizes the refugee crisis, lessens the distance, and helps change negative media narratives, creating a better world.

How can mentorship programs for refugees be scaled effectively?

Scaling requires structured programs to ensure consistent quality, with mentees encouraged to lead the relationship. Partnerships with local institutions or NGOs can help recruit more mentors and reach more individuals in need.

What are the immediate needs in the ecosystem to support refugees through mentoring?

Access to refugees, especially those in difficult situations or camps, is crucial. Collaboration between organizations with similar missions is needed to directly reach and provide support to those who have lost their previous stability and opportunities.

Why is collaboration important for refugee support organizations?

Many organizations operate in silos and compete for funding and attention. True collaboration and open conversation are essential to understand how programs complement each other, enabling a more effective approach to addressing the refugee crisis.

Key Moments

Human Connections: Mentorship and Advising

MIT OpenCourseWare

Education3 min read49 min video

May 2, 2022|72 views|1

Migration Summit MIT ReACT Higher Education Workforce Development Displacement Refugees

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Mentorship programs empower refugees and displaced individuals, fostering human connections and career growth.

Key Insights

Mentorship provides life-changing support for professionals and youth, especially refugees.

Structured online mentorship programs, like GMI, offer short-term, impactful guidance for job seekers.

Personal connections in mentoring demystify the refugee crisis and humanize the narrative.

Mentees gain essential skills, confidence, and career opportunities through dedicated programs.

Scalability of mentorship requires structured programs, trained mentors, and mentee ownership.

Collaboration between organizations is crucial to expand access and maintain quality in refugee support.

THE POWER OF MENTORSHIP IN A DISPLACED WORLD

The session highlights the profound impact of mentorship and advising relationships, emphasizing that these human connections are transformative for everyone, from high-profile professionals to young people facing uncertainty. Programs like the Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI), Na'amal, and Journeys to Belonging are actively supporting these relationships for refugee and displaced populations. The discussion underscores the importance of scaling these programs while preserving their quality and human-centered approach, acknowledging the immense scale of global displacement with over 84 million forcibly displaced people, including 26 million refugees.

GLOBAL MENTORSHIP INITIATIVE (GMI): BRIDGING THE OPPORTUNITY GAP

The Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI) was established to address the opportunity gap for underserved students, particularly refugees, by connecting them with business professionals for job-seeking guidance. In just two years, GMI has grown from 20 students in South Africa to over 2,000 students worldwide, partnering with universities and organizations across 50 countries, including refugee camps in Africa and Lebanon. The program offers structured, short-term online mentorship through 14 one-hour sessions focused on essential career skills like CV building, interviewing, and networking, with a 73% success rate in helping students find employment within six months of graduation.

MENTEE SUCCESS STORIES: FROM REFUGEE CAMPS TO GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

The experiences of Jean de Dieu Ndayikeza and Al Narjes Harba vividly illustrate the life-changing impact of mentorship. Jean, a refugee from Burundi living in Rwanda, leveraged GMI to navigate his job search amidst academic pressures, ultimately co-founding 'Act for a Better Future' to help other refugees bridge the gap between degrees and skills. Al Narjes, a Syrian refugee who fled war at age 12, benefited from SNHU's GEM program and GMI mentorship to secure a researcher position, demonstrating that refugees can compete effectively in the international job market and inspire their communities.

NA'AMAL: FOSTERING HUMAN SKILLS FOR REMOTE WORK

Na'amal focuses on training refugees in essential human skills for remote work, integrating a robust mentoring program into its broader curriculum. This approach includes online courses developed with MIT, virtual workshops, and the mentoring component, reinforcing learning through multiple touchpoints. Na'amal believes that human skills are challenging to teach and learn, hence the pedagogical emphasis on these three interventions. The program successfully paired 47 mentors with 47 mentees, emphasizing preparation for both sides and highlighting how mentoring demystifies the refugee crisis, humanizes individuals, and combats negative media narratives.

THE MENTOR'S PERSPECTIVE: BUILDING CONNECTIONS AND IMPACT

Dr. Ilene Winokur shares her experience as a mentor with Na'amal, guiding Ahmed, a refugee in New York City, through a career path change from financial analysis to statistical analysis. The mentoring process was supported by a well-organized program guide that offered tips and structured sessions. Dr. Winokur learned the importance of listening and adapting to the mentee's needs, utilizing SMART goals effectively. The mentorship not only aided Ahmed's career transition but also positively influenced his family, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of these relationships.

SCALING MENTORSHIP WHILE MAINTAINING QUALITY

Scaling mentorship programs effectively while preserving the quality of human connections is a key challenge. GMI emphasizes program structure as vital for consistent, high-quality experiences, making it easier to manage growth into the hundreds and thousands. Na'amal highlights the importance of mentee ownership, training them to lead the relationship and articulate their needs. Collaboration with local institutions like universities and NGOs is proposed as a strategy to recruit more mentors and reach a larger mentee population. Ultimately, fostering collaboration over competition and ensuring access to those in need are critical for expanding the reach and impact of these vital programs.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Organizations

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Common Questions

The Migration Summit 2022 is a month-long global convening designed to build bridges between diverse communities, including displaced learners, universities, companies, NGOs, governments, and social enterprises, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for refugee and migrant communities.

Topics

Health & Longevity Society & Philosophy Human Connection Access To Education Workforce Development Skill Building Global Collaboration Refugee Support Career & Skills Career Counseling

Mentioned in this video

Organizations

Act for a Better Future

An initiative co-founded by refugees, aiming to bridge the gap between degrees and skills for young refugees, offering soft skills development, mentorship, and application support.

Journeys to Belonging

A program focused on mentor relationships with refugee and displaced youth and adults, mentioned in the context of the Migration Summit.

MIT Refugee Action Hub

An organization that co-organized the Migration Summit, focusing on building bridges for displaced learners and communities.

Rwanda

One of the countries from which refugees are supported by GMI programs, and the origin of a mentee's experience.

Global Mentorship Initiative

An organization created through the Rockefeller Foundation's Digital Jobs Initiative to address the opportunity gap for underserved students, particularly refugees, by providing mentorship to help them find jobs.

Namal

An organization involved in the Migration Summit, which trains refugees in skills for remote work and embeds a mentoring program.

Karam Foundation

An organization that co-organized the Migration Summit.

Paper Airplanes

An organization that co-organized the Migration Summit.

MIT J-WEL

An organization that co-organized the Migration Summit, contributing to virtual events and program development.

Rockefeller Foundation

The foundation that initiated the Digital Jobs Initiative, under which the Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI) was created.

UNHCR

The UN Refugee Agency, from which statistics on forcibly displaced people and refugees worldwide were cited.

European University Institute

An institution in Florence, Italy, where John de Gea is participating in a traineeship program.

Southern New Hampshire University

A university partner of GMI that offers scholarships for refugees in camps to earn bachelor's degrees online, connecting its students to the GMI program.

Software & Apps

GlobalMentorship.org

The website where individuals can learn more about the Global Mentorship Initiative and sign up to be a mentor.

ActForABetterFuture.org

The website for Act for a Better Future, where more information about their programs can be found.

Locations

Palestine

One of the countries from which refugees are supported by GMI programs.

Burundi

The country of origin for John de Gea, one of the mentees.

Congo

One of the countries from which refugees are supported by GMI programs.

Turkey

The country where Alnades Harbour is currently pursuing further studies after being sponsored for her flight.

Lebanon

The country where Alnades Harbour lived as a refugee and pursued her education, facing university admission barriers.

Cambridge

The institution where Lorraine Charles is a research associate.

Kuwait

The location where Dr. Eileen Winneco resides and connects with people, including Lorraine online for the mentoring program.

Concepts

SMART Goals

A framework used in mentorship to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives, which proved helpful for both mentees and their families.

People

Alnades Harbour

A mentee featured in the session, who became the first healthcare management graduate with a BA in Lebanon from SNHU. She is now a student engagement specialist and pursuing studies in Turkey.

Lorraine Charles

Co-founder of Namal and a research associate at Cambridge. She discusses Namal's program for training refugees in remote work skills and its embedded mentoring component.

John de Gea

A mentee of the GMI program, co-founder of Act for a Better Future, originally from Burundi, and a refugee who has transitioned to study in Italy.

Eileen Winneco

A professional development specialist and mentor who shares her experience mentoring Ahmed through the Namal program, highlighting the impact on the mentee and his family.

Tools & Products

Syria

One of the countries from which refugees are supported by GMI programs.