Benin City: On 28 January – 1 February 2019, IOM, the International Organization for Migration in Nigeria conducted the first-ever Training of Trainers on community dialogue for government officials and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Benin City, Edo State.

IOM, as part of its awareness-raising activities, is engaged in planning and implementing community dialogue to create a platform for community members to raise awareness on issues of irregular migration and human trafficking. Another objective is to develop local solutions to reduce irregular migration and the risk of trafficking in their communities, as well as to promote safe migration practices and enhance social cohesion amongst returning migrants and their communities of origin.

The community dialogue will be piloted in selected communities in Edo and Delta States, the main places of origin of returnees coming back from Libya.

The training, co-organized by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), was devised to build the capacity of government partners and stakeholders on how to use the Community Dialogue Training Manual.

“This is an important collaboration in addressing and eliminating human trafficking,” said Olubiyi Olusayo, a representative from NAPTIP.

“As stakeholders, we should not pay lip service to the issue of human trafficking, we should get personal,” said Tella Effy, representative from the NGO Society for Empowerment of Young Persons (SEYP).

Participants learned the different methodologies for adult learning techniques - using group work, debate, presentations, quizzes and drama.

Participants also clarified that the main differences between trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants. They learned the different types of exploitation migrants experience and the key indicators for identifying these types of exploitation.

IOM also facilitated sessions on how to identify victims of trafficking to address stigmatization that many returnees face upon return to the communities of origin.

The event gathered 20 female and 6 male participants. The next line of action will be for these stakeholders to stepdown the training to the community dialogue facilitators.

For more information please contact Jorge Galindo, IOM Nigeria, Tel: +234 815 5263 827, Email: jgalindo@iom.int