Photo: Unsplash (Martha Green)
According to the IOM World Migration Report 2022, the number of people who have left their homes as of 2020 was estimated to be around 281 million globally. The reasons why people leave their countries of origin are multiple: searching for better employment or training opportunities, fleeing from war or violence, being persecuted for religious or political beliefs and even due to the negative effects of climate change.
Despite this, many migrants would rather to return later to their country of origin and start over again. But in order to be able to successfully establish a new life when returning, the returnees need information on the opportunities available to support them in their reintegration process. However, there are not many programs and initiatives focused on providing information for migrants aimed at facilitating their return and reintegration once they decide to return to their countries of origin.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) runs a series of programs globally, which aim to help overcome the challenges associated with migration and to create long-term prospects for people.
Specifically, the Programme ‘Migration for Development’ (PME) has been creating better opportunities for a fresh start in selected countries of origin since the beginning of 2017. Implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), it supports anyone wishing to obtain information about the opportunities in their home countries.
The PME programme supports professional training in Germany, along with advice on returning, and makes it easier for returnees to start over in their countries of origin.
Startfinder: Information for migrants looking to return home
In this context, the Startfinder website serves as a first point of contact and provides information for people wishing to return to their home country or those who are living there and are seeking new opportunities.
Since December 2019, GlobalCAD has been supporting GIZ in the management of the Startfinder information platform. The first phase of the assignment ended in 2021 and was renewed for another year. At the beginning of 2022, GIZ launched a new public call for proposals and GlobalCAD was again successfully awarded the contract.
The main focus of the current contract is to provide overall project management and coordination of the different relevant actors involved in the platform with the aim of making Startfinder as relevant as possible for the defined target groups.
