{"id":20586,"date":"2020-03-17T12:46:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T11:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axfoundation.se\/?post_type=project&p=20586"},"modified":"2024-02-08T17:06:59","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T16:06:59","slug":"move-educationapp","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/www.axfoundation.se\/en\/projects\/move-educationapp","title":{"rendered":"MOVE \u2013 An Education App that Failed instead of Scaled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Issue<\/h2>\n
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Swedish and European food retailers depend largely on deliveries from suppliers in Thailand, who in turn depend on migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to exploitation and often have few opportunities to assert their rights. Among other reasons, a lack of livelihood opportunities in the home country leads to many accepting poor working conditions abroad. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Thailand in 2020, thousands of migrants lost their jobs and were scattered all over the country in lockdown. The need for clear communication channels and reliable information was high, since the lack of it increased both health and human rights risks in the region.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n \"MOVE\n

MOVE aimed to empower migrant workers in global supply chains through easily accessible training, shared knowledge and constructive dialogue.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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The vulnerability of migrant workers<\/h2>\n
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Exploitation of migrant workers occurs at all stages of a typical migration cycle, from recruitment to employment and upon returning home. The corona pandemic has exacerbated the situation in manufacturing countries such as Thailand, as it has led to layoffs and increased insecurity for already vulnerable workers.<\/p>\n

Migrants can get into debt to pay for visas, health checks and travel costs for temporary employment abroad. The\u00a0Employer Pays Principle<\/a>\u00a0was launched to minimize this risk, in line with the\u00a0DhakaPrinciples for migration with dignity.<\/a>\u00a0They state that employers must bear all costs related to employment.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n

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Our Solution<\/h2>\n
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To address this issue, Axfoundation and the ed tech company Quizrr<\/a> developed a mobile app with free and secure information about corona prevention and rights-based training. The ambition was to reach migrant workers with open-access, important and relevant information in their native language.<\/p>\n

The mobile app included training on rights and obligations, health and safety, employee representation, wage setting and ethical recruitment at supplier factories. The app also contained COVID-19 information produced by The International Organization Migration, IOM<\/a>, whose website for migrants referred to the app and vice versa. Both the website and the app were in four languages, for migrants from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos and locally employed Thais. Local chat groups and social media in Thailand were also linked to the platform.<\/p>\n

The first purpose of MOVE\u2019s efforts was to provide extra support and attention to the group of migrant workers during the pandemic. The second purpose was to prevent exploitation and discrimination by increasing the group\u2019s awareness of rights, laws and regulations. A third aim was to increase the digital skills of migrants in a time characterized by digitization and automation. The approach was to get an efficient and scalable communication platform at low cost to a group that was in need of reliable information and rights-based training.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n \"MOVE\n

MOVE launched a mobile app with training in four languages for migrant workers in Thailand.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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We wanted to make a quick, targeted and open effort in Thailand for those who were hit the hardest by the pandemic; the migrant workers. They support the food industry and contribute greatly to the food on our plates and the electronics in our hands and homes. The MOVE group and the mobile app showed that it is possible to innovate in difficult times, but it was challenging to scale.- Viveka Risberg, Axfoundation<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Our Work<\/h2>\n
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The project MOVE was initiated in 2020 as an expansion of The Nordic Initiative – a successful collaboration between ten Nordic food companies, including Axfood, Coop and ICA. The collaboration, which included the support from Axfoundation, started in 2017 to raise awareness about working conditions at supplier factories in Thailand. Using the positive experience of the educational efforts made in Thailand as a springboard, MOVE turned to companies and organizations in all countries and industries. The United Nations\u2019 International Organization for Migration, IOM)<\/a>, was a key partner in MOVE.<\/p>\n

Axfoundation was the project lead and assisted in raising the resources needed to enable the project, with funds and commitment from Swedish, US-based and other international organizations.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Results<\/h2>\n
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As a digital solution, MOVE had the potential to be duplicated into other markets where migrants constitute a large portion of the workforce. However, despite support from IOM and other local organizations, the app turned out to be less of a great fit than first anticipated.
\nThe MOVE app was only used about 300 times, well below the goal of 5,000 downloads. The project MOVE showed that it was possible to act quickly and efficiently with companies that had never collaborated before, from completely different industries and countries. Everyone had a common goal: to take responsibility for their supply chains and assist migrant workers.<\/p>\n

The need for reliable information and preventive training remains, even if the acute pandemic situation is over. Axfoundation is open to the fact that the time may be ripe for a new initiative, not least because digital literacy is important for migrants, and that comes with the training app.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Progress Report 2023<\/h2>\n
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