Governments, international organizations and migration policy actors in the Euro-Mediterranean region are actively seeking a revitalised, comprehensive and holistic approach to migration management after over a year of lockdowns, travel restrictions and a shift in political priorities following the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on societies, economies and diplomacy. New partnerships are discussed and implemented, starting with the European Union’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum and the New Agenda for the Mediterranean as part of a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood.
Across this topic, ways and means to redefine migration cooperation focusing on capacity development and to strike up truly beneficial and lasting relationships are sought. For this reason, EUROMED Migration V (EMM5) has decided to concentrate the 4th EUROMED Migration Communicators Workshop, which I had the pleasure to run as maître de cérémonie on re-defining migration partnerships, by focusing on the communication skills required to promote balanced migration narratives that enable effective and sustainable migration policy.
The imbalance between perceptions “painted with a large brush” and the infinite realities of migrations flows represents a serious obstacle to effective migration management and hence to building effective cooperation and partnerships in this area. With this in mind, this workshop aims at providing the expertise to gather evidence and bring together fragmented knowledge so far in order to continue to develop cohesive responses to the challenge of communication on migration.
In particular, the workshop focused on:
- Migration narratives in the Euro-Mediterranean region: challenges and open question
- Media and migration narratives: how can effective partnerships be established?
- Communicating migration on social media: latest trends and success stories
- Migration data visualization: best practices and advice from top experts
- Public attitudes to migration: the point of view of academia
- Showcasing best practices in private sector branding and corporate communication. How could this approach be transferable to public communication on migration?
After the workshop, participants were invited to attend a High-Level Event that included a public lecture performed by poet and novelist Hédi Kaddour, followed by an interactive panel discussion among distinguished speakers, namely Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, Director French National Centre for Scientific Research, Stefano Rolando, President Club of Venice and Amal Nader, President For2Med, journalist and professor at the Paris Catholic Institute.
You can re-watch the event below.