Vientiane – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently (06/12) interacted with the young crowd in advancing volunteerism and showcasing the link between migration and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the Youth for SDGs Laos Conference held in celebration of International Volunteer Day 2020.

At an academic event organized by Zero Waste Laos, to encourage the youth to take actions for the achievement of SDGs under the theme ‘Together We Can, through Volunteering’, IOM set up an interactive booth and hosted educational activities aimed at raising awareness on migration related issues and its growing relevance in the realization of the SDGs.

The event gathered more than 200 participants from Vientiane high schools, National University of Laos and other youth development groups. United Nations Volunteers (UNV), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Vision and Korea International Cooperation Agency were among the many development partners present at the event, alongside IOM.

Throughout the event, IOM presented information, education and communication (IEC) materials demonstrating activities under several ongoing development projects in Lao People’s Democratic Republic and led short interview sessions to gain insight into the understanding and perception of migration among adolescents and youth. Students were also invited to take part in a short online survey designed to test their knowledge on the topic.

The interview session was fruitful in drawing useful insights on what students perceive migration to be, their aspirations to migrate in the future and the way their past migration decisions have influenced them personally. One participant shared his experience of migrating to study abroad, highlighting what he sees as the utmost advantage of migration – being able to bring the knowledge and skills acquired in the host country back to the country of origin, adding to its greater prosperity.

Considering the responses gathered from the activities at the event, IOM Lao PDR will continue to raise awareness on safe and regular channels of migration and its relevance in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda through community outreach targeting the youth demographic.

“We fully recognize young members of the community as actors of development and are committed to unlocking their potential in responding to the emerging challenges and opportunities of migration, under the principle of engaging youth as key partners in migration governance,” said Shareen Tuladhar, Chief of Mission at IOM Lao PDR.

For more information please contact Suhyun PARK at IOM Vientiane. Tel. + 856 (0)55 136 294. Email: spark@iom.int