#GivingTuesday

Data Training for Refugees
Democratizing data for all

What does our campaign aim to do?

Data-Pop Alliance is partnering with Preemptive Love to develop and deliver high-quality data skills training to refugees in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq. These trainings have the specific goal of providing participants with the knowledge and skills they need to get a foothold in the 21st century digital economy. The content and materials will be developed by Data-Pop Alliance, and Preemptive Love will deliver the training in 2023 to refugees in Iraq. No cost will be incurred by the participants.

Why does data training for refugees matter?

“No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”

Warsan Shire, Somali-British writer

Fleeing your home alone or with your family is far from the first option; if anything, it is the last resort. Now imagine having to do so amidst a violent conflict that has finally reached your doorstep, only to find safety in a foreign land where your rights to work, study and even stay are under constant threat and accessing new opportunities is challenging, in the best of cases. For many refugees, this is the reality of their lives.

Refugees put their lives on hold to escape conflict situations in their home countries that have become intolerable. This includes the education, skills training and career development that we so often take for granted in countries not affected by conflict. While refugee camps can and do provide for basic needs, refugees (like any of us) long to gain the skills necessary to live a self-sufficient, dignified life. As digital skills have become a vital part of the modern economic landscape, one path towards this goal is providing those who desire it with the training to begin or advance their careers in fields related to technology and data.

Who are the people you will be helping?

Who are we?

The partnership between Data-Pop Alliance and Preemptive Love is uniquely suited to accomplish the goal of providing digital skills training to refugees.

Data-Pop Alliance, as our name suggests, is a data-focused organization created in 2013 working at the intersection of data and development. Part of this work is designing data trainings, which are often free or scholarship-sponsored, and ultimately aim to “democratize data” by making its immense power available to all. To learn more about our research, training and projects across Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, click here. Some examples of training work are highlighted below. 
Preemptive Love is an organization focused on alleviating the ill effects of conflict and violence. Their refugee-focused work spans from the Middle East to Latin America, and includes efforts to provide skills training for tech-focused jobs which are able to endure through conflict and migration. DPA’s technical training capacity, combined with Preemptive Love’s extensive experience providing on-the-ground training to refugee populations, makes for an ideal partnership to help better the career prospects and lives of those who have been forced to flee violence.