This page provides links to some of the many digital technologies used by migrants and refugees. Please use our Contact page to recommend further technologies that could be added. Note that these are not specifically linked to the migration corridors in which we are working, and inclusion in this list does not indicate in any sense approval or recommendation by us of the technologies.
Specific migrant- and refugee-related technologies and apps
- Apprise – a tool for screening vulnerable populations with the potential to unmask situations of forced labor and human trafficking.
- Community Response App – designed by and for IOM field staff, Community Response helps demonstrate the impact of projects to key stakeholders by capturing feedback and testimonials of migrants, including their person-al journeys, achievements, and challenges.
- First-contact.org – provides refugees travelling to Europe with essential information during their journey. It covers data and information about NGOs and situation reports about all countries in Asia an Europe, through which refugees might pass.
- MigApp – developed by IOM “to help migrants make informed decisions during their journeys”
- Redsafe – ICRC’s digital humanitarian platform
- Refaid – shows migrants, refugees and those who help them where services near them – on a map with a very simple interface
- RefuChat – an app for the communication between supporters or paramedics and arabic speaking refugees
- Refugee Phrasebook – Small translation app with about 1100 useful phrases for communication between refugees and supporters. More than 30 languages supported (works offline)
- Refugees Welcome International – “Why shouldn’t refugees be able to live in flatshares or houses instead of camps? We thought so too and found a way to make it happen”.
- Refunite – helping refugee families that have lost contact with each other during escape from conflict with an anonymous service to reconnect.
- Shuvayatra – a mobile app developed by the Asia Foundation and partners to provide Nepali migrant laborers with the tools that they need to plan a safer period of travel and work abroad
General technologies frequently used by migrants
- Facebook – App Store, Google Play
- Google Translate – App Store, Google Play
- SkillLab – “helping people capture their skills, explore careers and apply for jobs”
- WeChat – App Store, Google Play
- WhatsApp – App Store, Google Play
Other useful links
- imix – a team of professional communication experts who want to change the conversation about migration and refugees to create a more welcoming society in the UK
- infomigrants – a news and information site for migrants to counter misinformation at every point of their journey available in five languages
- United Nations University, Computing and Society Institute: Migrant Tech
Previous initiatives for which detailed information is hard to find, or apps/technologies are no longer available.
- Apps for Refugees – a past listing of apps for refugees, focusing mainly on migration to Europe.
- Helping Hand, Brazil – information for refugees in Brazil about institutions, addresses, telephone numbers, maps. Languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Arabic
- InfoAid – an app in the mid-2010s that had up to date information for refugees on their way through south-east of Europe. It covered all countries on the Balkan route, including updates about the situation at the borders, weather reports for the Turkish Sea, ferry strikes, transportation information, security advises, information for children traveling alone and many more topics
- PubNub/Speakfree – an anonymous chat app to get in contact with other refugees or supporters. Without knowing anybody in your city you can ask questions within a radius of 1 kilometre
Latest update 2nd August 2022
ICT4D Collective 