In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Czech Republic has received a large number of Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, since March 2022. One of the most important challenges related to their reception has proven to be ensuring strategic communication between key institutional actors in the integration process and providing quality information to temporary protection holders. With this in mind, a new report published on 24 May investigates which communication channels temporary protection holders use most often, and how they handle information. 

Research for the report was designed as a mixed-methods study, i.e. using both quantitative and qualitative methods and techniques (1 237 questionnaires; 120 interviews). The research was funded by UNICEF, commissioned by the Czech Republic's Ministry of Interior and implemented by research agency Sociofactor. 

Main findings

79% of respondents said they are satisfied with the information provided by state institutions. The primary source of information is websites, especially the information portal for foreigners (FRS) operated by the Ministry of the Interior, as well as websites of other ministries and institutions.  The five most frequent channels for obtaining information are: Facebook, friends (compatriots), FRS, family members and messaging app Telegram.

70.9% of respondents said that for the first 6 months after arrival they had access to enough quality information. Refugees outside of Prague (75%) were found to be significantly better informed than those in Prague (59%). A total of 80.9% of respondents reported receiving information from the state in a timely manner. 

Respondents said they mainly need information about the end of temporary protection (61.1%), employment (41.6%), language lessons (36.1%), housing (33.8%) and rights and obligations (33.5%). 71% said they had asked for information at a regional integration centre, while more than half had turned to a non-profit organisation for information. The vast majority were satisfied with the quality of the information they'd received. 

The most frequent barriers to seeking information were identified by respondents as the language barrier (52.6%), not knowing who to turn to for advice, and not being able to verify the reliability of the source. More than a quarter of respondents said that they have problems understanding information if it is not well translated into Ukrainian. 

Find the full report, a summary and a related infographic in English attached below, or read the full report in Czech here. There is also a report summary in Czech and a report infographic in Czech.