Policy makers

Recommendations for policy makers are organized into five groups, presented below.

1. Access to Technology

- Ensure that financial resources and viable programmes are in place to support regular refugee access to technologies, which are now necessary for actively participating in education, community and family life. These include smartphones, reliable internet connectivity, and computers.

- Address barriers to access such as expensive SIM cards and data plans, as well as unaffordable hardware like computers. Young people need access to a range of infrastructures to develop advanced digital skills.

- Collaborate with local authorities, schools, and NGOs to provide access to affordable or subsidised infrastructures for refugees.

2. Multilingual Online Resources

- Fund, develop and promote online resources in multiple languages that cater to the educational and informational needs of refugee teens. This can include language learning materials, tutorials, and academic resources.

- Explore potential collaborations and partnerships with educational platforms, content creators, and NGOs to create and disseminate these resources.

3. Mental Health Support

- Recognise the impact of digital platforms on the mental health and wellbeing of refugee teens.

- Ensure that funding and sustainable structures are available to facilitate access to mental health support services and resources tailored to tackle challenges such as cyberbullying, online harassment, and social media-related comparisons.

- Collaborate with mental health organisations and community centres to offer support that recognises how young refugees might face different mental health risks associated with their background, trauma, age, gender, and/or use of specific kinds of technologies.

4. Address Digital Risks

- Develop policies and actionable recommendations for government, corporations, and educational institutions to address the digital risks faced by all young people, including vulnerable groups such as refugee teens.

- Participate in and led policy-making that tackles the regular exposure of young people to online harassment, exploitation, and misinformation.

- Educate refugee teens about online safety, privacy settings, and responsible digital citizenship.

- Provide resources and training for educators, youth workers, and caregivers to become aware of the unique challenges for wellbeing and mental health that digital technologies present to young refugees.

5. Long-term Support

- Recognise that the digital needs and challenges of refugee teens have complex wellbeing implications, and evolve and change over time.

- Provide sustainable infrastructural and financial resources that support healthy and enabling digital opportunities within diverse and changing social and education environments.

- Regularly evaluate and update policies and programmes based on feedback from refugee teens, refugee organisations, educators, and experts in the field.