The Finnish Refugee Council (FRC) was founded in 1965. FRC is a politically and religiously uncommitted non-governmental organisation. The central tasks include information dissemination on refugee issues, education and training, fund raising and refugee work in Finland and abroad.

FRC co-operates with Finnish authorities and organisations and with different international organisations, of which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Nordic refugee organisations are the most important. Co-operation partners in Finland include, in particular the Refugee Advice Centre and the UN organisations, Unicef, Unifem and the Finnish UN Association.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs assists FRC's operations in Finland and abroad through development co-operation funds. However, twenty percent of the funding for the overseas projects comes from private donations. Projects implemented in Finland are also funded by the Ministry of Education, Finland's Slot Machine Association RAY and the European Commission.

In its overseas projects the Finnish Refugee Council focuses on supporting the empowerment of refugees and repatriates. Education and training are central in all operations. In recent years FRC has assisted Sudanese refugees in Uganda and repatriates in Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Information dissemination, education and training on refugee issues play a central role in FRC's work in Finland.

The organisation publishes Pakolainen magazine four times a year. Pakolainen is the only Finnish language magazine in the field that features international refugee issues. Topical information on refugee issues is also available on the FRC website at www.pakolaisapu.fi. The FRC office lends out refugee-related material, such as videos, films, posters, brochures, photographs and maps.

The training and education work focuses on providing background information on refugee questions and on promoting tolerance. Partners in education work are children's day care centres, different schools and colleges, polytechnics and congregations. In recent years, FRC has also begun to support the integration of refugees who have settled in Finland.

The Finnish Refugee Council aims to influence national refugee policy and strategies in international contexts. Annually FRC awards the Refugee Woman of the Year prize on International Women's Day, to support the life management skills of refugee women and to assist in finding tools for their new life situation.

The Finnish Refugee Council raises funds to finance its refugee assistance projects abroad. Additional assistance for refugees in crisis situations is delivered through the UNHCR crisis programme.

www.pakolaisapu.fi

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