Local Leadership East African Return and Reintegration Network
A Local Response to Reintegration for More Inclusive Societies
LLEARN — the Local Leadership East African Return and Reintegration Network — is a regional partnership across Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan.
Funded by the European Union and contracted by International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) through the MMD III Grant Facility, this 18-month initiative empowers local leadership to transform return, readmission, and reintegration by putting communities at the center and strengthening inclusive governance across the region.
OUR VALUES
Locally-led
Evidence-Based
Community-Driven
Collaborative
Bottoms-Up Approach
Locally-led Evidence-Based Community-Driven Collaborative Bottoms-Up Approach
What we do?
Support inclusive (re)integration of refugees, returnees, and IDPs in secondary cities across East Africa and the Horn
Generate locally led, community-driven evidence on displacement and urban reintegration
Translate research into action through participatory forums, city plans, and coalitions
Centre feminist, decolonial, and trauma-informed approaches in all we do
Shift power to local actors and build sustainable urban systems for all
How We Work?
Through locally led partnerships with municipalities, CSOs, and refugee-led organisations
1. By using mixed methods — combining qualitative stories, surveys, and policy analysis
2. With participatory tools like co-creation workshops and city-level forums
3. By applying a research-to-action cycle that turns evidence into plans and policies
4. Grounded in urban systems thinking, tailored to the realities of secondary cities
