Gambia Project ,,Learning for the Return''

2023-07-05

The Gambia is a small country in West Africa with a population of 2.4 million. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has launched a project together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The Gambia project "Learning for Return" aims to help migrants and refugees make informed decisions about their voluntary return and reintegration into their home country. The project focuses particularly on South-South movements, as about 85% of the refugees are located in developing countries. To improve employability and reduce poverty levels, the project provides vocational and personal counselling and vocational skills training. This is to help increase integration in the host country if return to the home country is not possible. The project works with several pilot interventions, including in The Gambia, Niger, Kyrgyzstan and Mexico. The aim of the project is to improve the educational opportunities of returning Gambians and to strengthen the technical and vocational education sector in The Gambia.

As part of his assignment as an external lecturer at the bbw University of Applied Sciences, Christian Hagedorn conducted an English-language pilot training, which lasted from 2nd May to 12th May 2023. The training consisted of 16 Gambian vocational school teachers and small businesses in the metal trade sector. The course provides an insight into the basic concepts of subject didactics for metal trades. The focus is on practice-oriented education and training methods. After completing the course, participants will be able to name and explain basic didactic concepts for metal trades as well as basic practice-oriented training methods in metal trades. The course is decorated with many different teaching contents and different formats. Besides theoretical input from trainers, participants are also immersed in practical exercises and group work. Through group discussions, participants also simply come to exchange.

Imprint Photos: Christian Hagedorn