Connecting online freelancers from the Gaza Strip and Kenya to visitors at a development fair in Brussels (en)
Tuesday 18 June 2019 at the European Development Days (EDD) in Brussels, the International Trade Centre (ITC) presented the Refugee Employment and Skills Initiative (RESI). The stand showcased the RESI model, ITC’s approach to delivering innovative, trade-led and market-based solutions for economic opportunities in the context of displacement.
Part of the RESI work focuses on the online freelancing sector in countries such as the Gaza Strip, Jordan and Kenya. In collaboration with partners, ITC works to train displaced persons to become online freelancers, providing them with the right skillset to carry out online jobs, and helping them to connect with global online markets.
To feature this work at the conference, ITC set up live Skype chats with dedicated online freelancers from RESI projects around the world, Dolphine, and Jean-Marie from Kakuma camp in Kenya, together with Hasno and Mohamed from Dadaab joined ITC for the chats. A group from the Gaza Strip, led by the coordinator Yousef, also joined the conversation at the ITC booth, EDD Brussels.
The freelancers were not only able to chat online and recount their experiences from afar, they could also speak to the conference visitors who visited the booth and were keen to learn more about their lives, work and experiences.
This opportunity for people from Belgium, Kenya and Gaza to connect, is a great example of digital tools and technology bringing the World together.