Mobile Stories / Historias Móviles

In March 2020, we asked Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Barranquilla, Colombia, to tell us about the importance of mobile connectivity in their lives.

They shared their own stories using the medium of their choice, with control over creative direction and narrative.

These are their stories.

Los Chiquinquireños
Magally
Neikerli
Maria Rosa
Indira
Josélin
Sevigne
David
Rocio
One Zee
Estael
Roland and Yusmaira
Juan
Thailer
Yubith
Lillibeth and Diana
Luis
Dayana

The GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme works to accelerate the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance. We are on track to reach 7 million people with improved access to and use of life-enhancing mobile-enabled services during humanitarian and disaster preparedness, response and recovery by 2022. The programme is supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). 

The Mobile Stories/Historias Móviles project was made possible with the support and partnership of UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency.

UNHCR works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide and to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons.

UNHCR believes that displaced populations and communities that host them have the right, and the choice, to be included in a connected society, and have access to technology that enables them to build better futures for themselves, their families and the world. As such, UNHCR has been supporting this vision through its Connectivity for Refugees initiative since 2016. 

The GSMA and UNHCR have been working together as partners on a number of initiatives since 2017, and in late 2018 an official Memorandum of Understanding was signed to formalise the partnership between the two organisations. 

UNHCR’s Connectivity for Refugees initiative creates safe spaces to experiment with connectivity solutions and works with UNHCR operations to develop local and context specific and community-driven approaches to digital challenges globally. The initiative supports various country operations in developing and testing out new concepts and activities that advance the Connectivity for Refugees agenda through operational support, funding, capacity building and advocacy. Connectivity for Refugees has a strong regional presence and has developed strategic priorities in East Africa and more recently in the Americas. 

This initiative is currently funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and supported by the GSMA and its members.
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