Lebanon - IOM has teamed up with the Lebanese University to offer a masters degree course to Syrian and Lebanese professionals currently providing psychosocial assistance to war-affected communities.

The course, which is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Directorate General for Development Cooperation, will run from March – July 2014 and will train 29 participants from Syria and six from Lebanon. All of the participants are currently involved in helping people affected by the Syrian conflict, in Lebanon and in nine different governorates inside Syria.

International experts from Italy and the UK, together with Lebanese, Syrian and regional specialists, will teach the modular course to provide a diverse overview of topics related to the relationship between psychosocial support and dialogue in a conflict-affected environment.

Teaching will take place every second weekend (Fridays included) to facilitate the participation of working professionals. 

The course is part of IOM’s psychosocial programme: “Psychosocial Support to Crisis-Affected, Displaced and Migrant Youth and their Families in Syria and Neighbouring Countries.”

The course will help participants to identify and conceptualize emotional and mental threats to individuals caused by displacement, war and migration; adopt creative approaches to strengthen the community fabric; counsel war-affected individuals; and develop conflict resolution and mediation skills.

IOM has developed a multi-disciplinary approach to try to resolve psychosocial issues related to the Syrian crisis, with a special focus on the individual, the family and the community.

As well as using more established tools, IOM is also using other means including social theatre, community animation, creative arts, oral history and narrative counselling to de-stigmatize emotional problems related to displacement and war, to help people recover from distress and to strengthen the capacity of national and local actors in this field.

For more information please contact

Amal Ataya
IOM Beirut
Email: aataya@iom.int
Tel. +9613720246

Or

Guglielmo Schininà
IOM HQ
Tel. + 41797010971
Email: gschinina@iom.int