As socioeconomic challenges and psychosocial distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic make people more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation, IOM Ukraine developed an innovative online quest to help Ukrainians be better informed about safe travel and employment, develop their critical thinking skills and identify risky situations. The 30-minute virtual adventure allows users check what could happen if they sign a contract without reading it, agree to take parcels from a stranger when flying abroad, hand their passport over to their employer, accept or reject a number of other risky offers during their journey. The quest is a multiple scenario game, reflecting key gender, age, and professional aspects. Upon its completion, the users get an analysis of their decisions made during the game and receive information about safe travel and employment rules. They are also referred to the IOM-supported Counter-Trafficking and Migrant Advice Hotline and relevant websites for further information. In October 2020-January 2021 over 16,000 Ukrainians have completed the quest, 85% of whom as a result could tell basic safe migration and employment rules. The quest is suggested as an interactive online tool for further use in targeted prevention work to replace offline activities not possible due to quarantine restrictions.

https://quest.stoptrafficking.org/start

• Ukraine

• Youth
• The unemployed
• Migrants
• Refugees and internally displaced people
• students of vocational technical schools, adults and youth in conflict with law

This approach could be used in work with other groups, especially educate children on safe travel and migration, not only focuses on safe employment. Also, this quest could be translated and adopted for other countries.

This online quest will be used by trained staff of employment centers, vocational technical schools, probation centers and other institutions working with vulnerable populations in their everyday work. Also, it is planned to enhance the quest and promote it among key stakeholders and target audience in order to cover more people and make this project more sustainable. During the next several years this online quest will be in targeted trafficking prevention work by IOM partner NGOs and governmental institutions.

The implementation of this project helped to enhance the capacity of governmental organizations and civil society in conduction of trafficking prevention activities online in time of COVID-19 pandemic. This interactive educational tool improved access of vulnerable populations to the qualified information and knowledge on legal migration and promote safer ways of employment.