In June 2019, Trickle Up and the UNHCR Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) organized the Southern Africa Graduation Approach (SAGA) learning workshop within the framework of the Building Self-Reliance for Refugees (Building Self-Reliance) program – a three-year learning and implementation initiative between Trickle Up and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM).
Due to the wealth of unique experiences coming from the implementation of the Building Self-Reliance program in the Southern Africa region, UNHCR ROSA requested support from Trickle Up to lead an interactive learning workshop with regional UNHCR and implementing partner (IP) staff from four UNHCR Operations, all of which have been implementing GA for six months or longer.
The goals of the workshop, which are captured in this report, were to facilitate the discussion and sharing of the complexities, challenges, bottlenecks, and opportunities among the SAGA Community of Practice (CoP) members; to document what worked, areas for improvement, and lessons learned; and to decide upon next steps.
Workshop participants also included NGOs and funders interested in Graduation Approach for refugees and other persons of concern, invited by Trickle Up.