Seoul — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in the Republic of Korea (ROK), in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), this week hosted a training workshop on Age and Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian Response from March 12 to 13, 2024. The workshop was attended by a total of 25 ROK Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) workers.  

To address the needs identified through the publication of the Korean translation of Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities (HIS) in 2019 and a previous knowledge-sharing webinar on age and disability inclusion in humanitarian programming held in 2022, the two-day workshop aimed to equip ROK humanitarian professionals with the practical knowledge and skills to design and implement inclusive humanitarian interventions that consider age and disability factors. 

The workshop, led by Rawan Khoury, Global Age Inclusion Specialist and Diana Hiscock, Humanitarian Inclusion Advisor of HelpAge International, kicked off with an exploration of key barriers to age and disability inclusion, expanding to cover core elements of HIS. The second day provided participants with deeper insights into project design and M&E, based on real-life examples.  

“It was an invaluable opportunity to have better understanding about age and disability inclusion. All the insights, practical tools and advice I acquired from this training will certainly be useful resources to improve my work”, said a participant. 

Since 2014, IOM ROK has been facilitating capacity-building training for ROK humanitarian actors, with support from USAID. This includes activities focusing on awareness-raising and advocacy, targeting both the general public and humanitarian professionals. 

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For more information, please contact Anna CHA, IOM Republic of Korea Mission, Tel.: +82 70 4820 0292, Email: acha@iom.int.