ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

International Ombudsman Institute

Imagine you go to school and you have a problem that you can't fix by yourself. Maybe someone is being mean to you or maybe you are having trouble with your teacher. You can talk to your parents or a teacher you trust. They can help you figure out what to do and maybe even fix the problem.

Now imagine this on a bigger scale. This is where the International Ombudsman Institute comes in. "Ombudsman" is a fancy word that means someone who helps people with their problems. The international part means they help people from all over the world.

The International Ombudsman Institute is a group of people who help solve problems for people who work in the government or the private sector. This could be in countries all over the world. They are like a trusty guide who can listen to both sides of the story and help make a fair decision. They follow certain rules to make sure everything is done fairly and to make sure everyone is happy with the result.

If you think of a playground with many kids playing together, there may be arguments about who gets to use what toy, or who gets to play which game. An Ombudsman would be like the grown-up in charge who can help solve the problem so that everyone can keep playing nicely together.

So the International Ombudsman Institute is like a group of grown-ups who help solve problems between countries and businesses so that everyone can work and play nicely together.