Eitvydas Bingelis, head of International Organization for Migration Vilnius Office (IOM Lithuania) and rector of Vytautas Magnus University, prof. dr. Juozas Augutis signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of education.

"A lot of children came to Lithuania from Ukraine, they must be included in the Lithuanian education system, accordingly we need teachers who are prepared and can work in a multicultural environment. We hope that in cooperation with VMU we will be able to prepare useful material for teachers, which will facilitate their work", -  says Eitvydas Bingelis, head of IOM Lithuania. 
After the start of the war in Ukraine, more than 24 thousand children came to Lithuania including 7,461 children under the age of 6 and 16,775 thousand children from 7 to 17 years old.

"For the first time, the Lithuanian education system encountered such a situation when it is necessary to include many foreign-speaking students in the educational process in a short period of time, and teachers have to work with children who belong to the different cultural and linguistic groups. Therefore, our goal is to respond to the expectations of teachers with the help of research, scientific knowledge and data", - says VMU Rector Prof. Dr. Juozas Augutis.

The conducted survey shows that 88 percent of teachers in Lithuania did not have experience working with migrants, and one of the most pressing problems is the language barrier. Meanwhile about 15 percent Ukrainian children In Lithuania can study in their native language, and out of more than 2,000 educational specialists who arrived from Ukraine, about 400 are already working in the Lithuanian education system. 

VMU and IOM Lithuania jointly conducted a study related to the inclusion of Ukrainian families in Lithuania, their expectations and psychosocial state. In addition, it is planned to organize joint seminars, practical sessions and conferences for teachers working with children and youth from Ukraine. 

In September, IOM Lithuania organized a conference for education community.