MARCO RICORDA

On 16 and 17 February 2022, on behalf of the MC2CM project, I took part in the Cap’Com International Seminar Citizenship and civic participation in the territories:  the role of local public communication in European Union’s countries, in Toulouse.

The objective of our participation was to present to a great network of European institutional communicators, the policy recommendations of our project in relation to communicating migration at the local level as a tool to improve local migration governance.

REBALANCING THE NARRATIVE TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Migration is a natural phenomenon that has shaped the cities and territories of Europe along history for many centuries. Migration makes European cities, diverse places, very dynamic places and spaces where opportunity meets freedom. This brings a potential advantage in terms of innovation and development, but it also brings the need for significant resources to ensure social inclusion, integration, urban development and housing for all.

Unfortunately, though, the prevailing narratives around migration are very polarized and produce a debate that underestimates the complexity of human mobility and is neither pragmatic nor moored in evidence. While representing a small share of the infinite realities of migration, irregular migration flows receive a large share of the media attention and forms part of the general perception and narrative surrounding migration. The success of migration policies hinges in large part on the ability of local authorities to rebalance these narratives because it is at the local level that the reality of migration plays out and affects peoples’ lives.

Over the past 10 years, we have seen several events shaping migration in the region: The European debt crisis; social tensions in North Africa and the Middle East; violent armed conflicts; poverty; and these past two years, the coronavirus pandemic, which adds new health-related concerns to migration management. While the essential contributions by migrant communities working at the forefront of the pandemic were acknowledged, migrants are still disproportionately affected by such crises.

While the politics of migration often appear volatile, public attitudes in Europe are actually stable. The volatility can be found in public opinion, which unlike underlying attitudes, shifts in response to short term events. This volatility is exacerbated by narratives that appeal to values and identities and generate emotional reactions. As the perceived importance of immigration and irregular migration have risen in recent years, the fringes of the migration debate have occupied the public discourse, polarizing public opinion.

This is a vicious circle where migration is frequently presented as “out of control.” Irregular migration, which makes up a tiny proportion of actual mobility and has been in decline in the European Union for the last six years, still dominates the discussion, despite the downward trend in overall asylum applications in comparison to the peak of migration pressure. The notion of migration perceived as a threat to host communities and cities and has become the norm across much of the region. The absence of real, majority, lived experience of human mobility distorts the narrative and policy responses on an issue that affects millions of people.

Due to their proximity to citizens and voters, local officials might be tempted to avoid communicating on such heated issues. However, communication is unavoidable and understanding perceptions and ways to address these, can help avoid conflict and unlock the full potential of migration at local level.

Most authoritative pan‑European surveys (e.g. European Social Survey (ESS) between 2002 and 2018) show that attitudes towards all types of immigration in most European countries have actually become markedly more positive, or at least less negative, in recent years. This also holds for a range of attitudinal types, including preferences to types of immigration, perceived effects of migration, and desired migration policy.

So the question is “Why does the political discourse around migration appear volatile when underlying attitudes are stable?”

The factors that condition attitudes toward migration are complex, but understandable. They include four broad categories: psychological, socialization, attitudinal and contextual. The first of these relates to personal foundations, such as values and morality. But the last of these is particularly relevant to local and regional government actors as factors include: neighborhood safety, contact with immigrants, media influence, local immigration rates, perception of immigrant levels.

4 CHALLENGES IN COMMUNICATING ON MIGRATION AT LOCAL LEVEL

As explained in the MC2CM thematic Learning Report “COMMUNICATION ON MIGRATION: REBALANCING THE NARRATIVE TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL GOVERNANCE“, Migration can appear daunting as a topic for local authorities to address. The challenges cut both ways: there are capacity limits on the side of authorities and access issues for migrants themselves. Resources and capacity vary enormously across the Euro‑Mediterranean region. But communication is unavoidable and understanding mechanisms and perceptions can avoid conflict and prevent negative impacts on social cohesion, while unlocking the undoubted benefits of migration.

LIMITED CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE

• Working on communication on migration benefits strongly from specialised input, knowledge and skill sets that city authorities do not always have.
• The basis for good decisions are good data. Cities across the region do not have uniform access to up‑to‑date information on the migration context. This is essentially a tools issue.
• A shortage of resources and capacity can hinder the development of effective communication strategies, some of which require the commitment of time and financial investment.

LACK OF ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Migrants, and in particular new arrivals, do not always know how to access information that might help them adapt even when it is available. This is especially true for vulnerable groups who do not share a language with the host community, or who have irregular status and may therefore be wary of attempting to access services. This is in part a knock‑on effect of the shortage of capacity identified previously, which complicates the design of relevant services for immigrants.

DISINFORMATION

Local governments face organised, motivated opposition to an evidence‑based rebalancing of the migration narrative. The COVID-19 crisis has seen an acceleration of disinformation that has come to be known as the “infodemic.” The purpose of such disinformation is to sow panic and distrust. There is fertile ground around the migration debate for stoking both panic and distrust. Malicious anti‑migrant rhetoric has long been a central theme within extremist mobilisation globally and a mainstay of disinformation campaigns. Anti‑migrant and far‑right networks in the Euro‑Mediterranean region and beyond are exploiting the COVID-19 situation, as they would do with any type of crisis, to spread disinformation targeting migrants, refugees and other vulnerable populations on and offline. The pandemic has seen migrants falsely cast as a threat to public health.

POLITICS AND PRIORITIES

Communication requires resources that were already scarce before the challenges the pandemic has presented. The allocation of scarce resources may see local authorities choose to invest in other needs or de‑prioritize communication. National debates on migration can often ignore the realities that cities already face. The denial of services to irregular migrants may be popular at the national level, while the consequences are keenly felt in municipalities where these people continue to reside.

LOCAL CHALLENGES AND APPROACHES

In recent decades, cities have become more active in migration policy, developing their own philosophy and spreading awareness that effective inclusion is critical to their viability as communities. Cities are the places where migrants develop social networks, start families, find jobs, access services. They are also the places where negative consequences of mismanaged integration can be concretely felt.

This greater activism has seen cities advocate before national governments but also reach beyond the national arena to become part of networks with other cities and international organisations. For instance, cities have developed specific working areas on migration within the existing networks (e.g. UCLG and Eurocities) in order to exchange know‑how, and to lobby supra‑national institutions, such as the European Union or the United Nations;

The increased activism and the accompanying network effect of cities talking to each other means there is an emerging playbook of effective approaches. All of them rely on shifting from reactive to strategic communication at the local level. A strategy that determines how the city communicates internally (within the administration and vertically with all levels of government) and externally (to the general public and target groups).

6 RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP LOCAL AUTHORITIES IMPROVE COMMUNICATION ON MIGRATION

Diverse and inclusive cities are also successful and attractive cities. The force underpinning this diversity is migration. Cities need to take on the challenge of communication in order to fulfil these potentials as drivers of economic development.

Local contexts differ sharply in European cities. Some cities face a generational shift from points of departure, while other are places of transit or hosting. Some cities face unemployment crises, while others face acute skills shortages. Some municipalities find their positions on migration closely aligned with national governments, while others conflict.

Even before the arrival of the COVID-19, there were clear signs that perceptions of migration had become dangerously detached from the evidence base of its real impacts.

1. Build an evidence base: Collect data to inform and depict an accurate picture of your local migration context. When recent data is unavailable, include stakeholders with deep knowledge of local migration history and precedents.

2. Build capacity: Effective communication on migration requires specialist skills. Communication capacity can lag as a priority, especially during times of acute crisis such as the pandemic. Make the argument for its importance. Cities remain the ideal platform for communicating success stories that will attract future resources and opportunities to exchange and grow.

3. Build alliances: Look beyond the national arena to international and supranational networks of cities, which are building effective alliances. These are also a repository of an increasing wealth of knowledge on best practices. Allies can be found among civil society organisations both as local implementing partners and force multipliers whose own networks and channels can provide crucial entry points to vulnerable or hard to reach groups.

4. Beware of disinformation: The joint crises in public health and the economy create fertile ground for malicious narratives, which seek to scapegoat migrants. The consequences of the “infodemic” can be as serious as those of the pandemic itself.

5. Build bridges: Various formulations have been established to express the division of opinion on migration (haters/ambivalents/lovers) and suggest a concentration on the largest group, the middle category of “ambivalents”. Effective narratives will understand the anxieties of ambivalents and build positive associations between diversity and areas such as tradition and security. Identify shared local identities that speak to these concerns and emphasise common ground.

6. Build for the long term: Migration is not a crisis, it is a human condition. Ad hoc responses to issues such as disinformation may be necessary, but do not replace the need for a coherent plan. Think strategically about building internal capacity and, where possible, diversity in municipal teams. Train staff, practitioners and the media on the benefits of migration. Cultivate relationships with local media who are often the gateway to national coverage. Incorporate migration as a component in strategic plans on areas from jobs to education and culture.

Last 8 February, I had the pleasure to speak on behalf of the MC2CM project to present our findings and recommendations at the very interesting webinar “GCM Objective 16: Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion” organized by Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and Metropolis Asia – Pacific.

The panel also included Sharmarke Dubow, Councillor of the City of Victoria (Canada) and Dr Kennedy Achakoma, Labour Economist at the African Trade Union Migration Network (Ghana) and was moderated by Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, Vice President at GRFDT, and saw the participation of over 150 people from all over the world.

You may see a full recording of the session here below.

The Commitment text for GCM 16 from the compact reads: “We commit to foster inclusive and cohesive societies by empowering migrants to become active members of society and promoting the reciprocal engagement of receiving communities and migrants in the exercise of their rights and obligations towards each other, including observance of national laws and respect for customs of the country of destination. We further commit to strengthen the welfare of all members of societies by minimizing disparities, avoiding polarization and increasing public confidence in policies and institutions related to migration, in line with the acknowledgement that fully integrated migrants are better positioned to contribute to prosperity. ”

Social cohesion is based on the ability of individuals of a society to intermingle with others and provide the society with benefits. From a local government perspective, ensuring social cohesion may involve elements like providing basic access to services and rights. European institutions have always advocated for integration and inclusion, as they are a sustainable solution to guarantee the long term well-being of societies, on a social and economic level.

In particular, the European Commission’s Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 states that if we aim to have thriving societies, we should look at integration as being both a “right and a duty for all”. Along these lines, this concept has been advocated for fervently within MC2CM activities and publications.

The MC2CM project has promoted the concept of local inclusive citizenship, which “contributes to tackling inequalities at the local level, rendering public services accessible for everyone regardless of their legal status” and eventually ensuring social cohesion and inclusion, as cities are the primary instance where public and collective realities unfold. It held a virtual peer-learning-event held in Grenoble in March 2021 on the topic.

The notion of local citizenship grants rights on the basis of residency, rather than legal status, while bridging administrative status gaps and ensuring social cohesion and inclusion.

The MC2CM policy recommendations highlight the importance of supporting migrants’ inclusion in the city through the provision of welcome instruments, access to basic services, access to labour market, access to political participation, as well as guaranteeing adequate urban planning and proper housing.

RELATED MC2CM ACTIONS

 MC2CM has concretely translated the concept of inclusion of social cohesion through many actions on the ground. Namely, through its actions in Moroccan cities (Tetouan, Larache, Alcazar-Quivir), where it strived to build cities through social cohesion, through training educators and agents on the different approaches of migrants’ social inclusion. It also developed a neighbourhood intervention plan to tackle vulnerabilities.

In Sfax, Tunisia, it aimed to establish coordination mechanisms between local authorities and civil society to strengthen capacities and improve access to basic rights.

In Zarqa, Jordan, it strived to improve a safe and inclusive access to the public space to pave the way for cultural exchange, tolerance and dialogue between local community and Syrian refugees.

RELATED MC2CM PUBLICATIONS

In relation to the above, we recommend the following publications and content:

• Social cohesion and intercultural and inter-religious dialogue: The role of local authorities in public policies for the social inclusion of migrants
• Inclusive local citizenship: fostering the right of the city for all: A thematic learning report
• Cultural Policies: a vector for migrants’ inclusion in urban context

When it comes to migration narratives today, definitely the most important aspect to consider is avoiding polarisation and not to focus on the extreme cases of migration. While most of the migration flows to Europe are safe, regular and monitored, the entire media attention and most of public perceptions revolve around irregular flows. Therefore, revitalizing migration partnerships needs to start from the promotion of balanced migration narratives that foster effective policy making in this field.

I loved being live on #FridayLive by ZN discussing the future of digital, the metaverse and the communication of Roberta Metsola, new President of the European Parliament.

I can fairly say that the Club of Venice annual plenary was one of those events I was really looking forward to attend again in presence. On top of the usual outstanding display of knowledge, insights and experiences in public communication, the possibility to meet colleagues in person from all over the continent, made this short trip to Venice memorable. I could feel a generic shared hunger for networking and informal, free and open expression of thoughts and opinions in a dedicated forum about the future of Europe and the role of communication in shaping it.

We must never forget that migration is not only about challenges but also about opportunities; about labour migration, development, investment or public – private – partnership; about many aspects that enrich our economies, our societies and the lives of our people. Migration partnerships are the most promising way to live up to our joint responsibility to address the challenges and seize the opportunities that migration offers. Policy options and cooperation greatly depend on stakeholders’ ability to drive migration narratives that support and provide space to pursue partnership priorities. Communication needs to form an integral part of any partnership, so that we explain why we engage in various cooperation frameworks with countries of destination, transit and origin.

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This year the #ClubofVenice celebrates its 35th anniversary. For the occasion I had the pleasure to write a chapter of their inaugural book “Public communications in Europe” where I discuss communication challenges and evolving narratives in the field of migration.

Migration is one of the most important political issues in current public debates, frequently connected with highly emotional, sometimes even extreme points of view. it is important that migration narratives and effective communication remain high on the policy making agenda in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is fundamental that public communicators, senior officials, academics and practitioners from national governments, local authorities, international organizations, and the media exchange and learn from the latest innovations available on the topic and consolidate a community of practice to promote balanced migration narratives. 

This matter is fundamental at different levels of governance:

• at the level of cities and local communities, as first respondents to the infinite realities of migration and the most important poles of attraction for people in search of opportunities, employment and inclusion.
• at the level of governments, in order to contribute to attenuate polarization and generate an enabling environment for migration policy-making.
• and at the regional level, where it is ever more important to keep working to establish a comprehensive co-operation framework on migration, with a particular focus on strengthening capacity building.

New partnerships are being discussed in the Euro-Mediterranean region, starting with the EU New Pact on Migration and Asylum and the New Agenda for the Mediterranean as part of a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood. Therefore, communication needs to form an integral part of any partnership, so that we explain why we engage in various cooperation frameworks with countries of destination, transit and origin.

Different political and socio-economic contexts result in diverging migration priorities, opportunities and diverse needs in terms of migration capacities across countries. Capacities are instrumental to bridge diverging political agendas between Europe and its southern neighbours and to deliver practical, operational solutions for migration partnerships.

Policy options and cooperation greatly depend on stakeholders’ ability to drive a narrative on migration that supports and provides the space to pursue partnership priorities. Through strengthening capacities, partnerships can contribute to bringing expectations closer, define shared objectives and devise mutually beneficial results.

Beneath the spread of all misinformation, disinformation and foreign influence lies society’s failure to teach its citizens information literacy: how to think critically about the deluge of information that confronts them in our modern digital age. Instead, society has prioritized speed over accuracy, sharing over reading, commenting over understanding.

Children and adults are taught to regurgitate what others tell them and to rely on digital assistants to curate the world rather than learn to navigate the informational landscape on their own. Schools no longer teach source triangulation, conflict arbitration, separating fact from opinion or even the basic concept of verification and validation. We have stopped teaching society how to think about information, leaving citizens adrift in the digital wilderness.

While technical literacy is a powerful and important skill, it is not the same as information literacy and will not help in the war against “fake news.” To truly solve the issue of disinformation we must blend technological assistance with teaching our citizens to be literate consumers of the world around them.

Today’s grand challenge of combating “fake news” requires a very human solution. It requires teaching society the basics of information literacy and how to think about the information they consume. It requires navigating the existential contradictions of today’s social media platforms obsessed with velocity and virality against verification and validation.

The only way to truly begin to combat the spread of digital falsehoods is to understand that they represent a societal rather than a technological issue and to return to the early days of the web when institutions, governments and schools taught and encouraged to question what they read online instead of taking it for granted.

This is a serious danger and something that we communicators, government officials, representatives of global organizations have the chance today to reverse. Let us not miss that chance.

All of the above was discussed at the Migration Face to Face event organized in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe. You can watch the full event here

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 4^th 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.

Can the European Union develop a common vision on migration policy? How can it safeguard the “European Way of Life”, act in the interests of citizens and put its values and principles into action?

These were some of the questions addressed at the EU Watch Policy Conference “Migration and integration: Does the EU live up to its values” organised in Brussels last 11 October, which included an impressive line up of speakers such Member of the European Court of Auditors Leo Brincat, famour author Sir Paul Collier, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri and many more.

In the occasion I had the pleasure to present some of the latest work available on migration narratives such as “Immigration narratives in the Euro-Mediterranean region: what people believe and why” and “What policy communication works for migration? Using values to depolarise“, both authored by James Dennison, Head of the Observatory for Public Attitudes to Migration (OPAM)

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In my experience in Europe, when discussing migration narratives either in a specialized or non-specialized environment, it seems quite automatic to associate the word “migration” with the big three topics that overwhelmingly occupy media attention:

1. Irregular immigration
2. Asylum seekers
3. Integration

It seems increasingly harder, even 6 years after the notorious 2015 migration crisis, to address the overall phenomenon of migration as a whole rather than within its most difficult manifestations. The sentiments generated by the migration debate in the old continent are still very polarized and this is why it is fundamental, for analysts, policy makers and communicators to resort to academia and decompose all the elements that build narratives.

Narratives are increasingly cited by international organisations, NGOs and governments as one of the most important topics in migration policymaking today. Narratives are assumed to strongly affect public opinion and behaviour. The concept of narratives is typically underspecified, with relatively little known about why some narratives become popular and what narratives people actually believe.

Narratives can be defined as selective depictions of reality across at least two points in time that include a causal claim. Furthermore, narratives are:

• Necessary for humans to make sense of and give meaning to complex reality;v
• Generalisable and applicable to multiple situations, unlike specific stories
• Distinct from related concepts such as frames and discourses
• Implicitly or explicitly normative, in terms of efficacy or justice
• Essentially limitless but only a small number gain popularity.

How can we then apply our knowledge on narratives to our knowledge on the power of values. Throughout the twentieth century, psychologists made numerous attempts to classify human ‘values. While the importance of values as predictors of human attitudes and activity was noted at least as early as 1961, the use of values in communication is highly debated, but it remains a poorly or understudied field of expertise.

Perhaps the most eminent and broadly utilized of these values schema is Schwartz’s theory of basic personal values Schwartz, one of the most important social psychologist, cross-cultural researcher of our times defines values as:

“Cognitive representations of broad motivational goals, rather than attitudes towards particular situations, and as stable metrics of the guiding principles in individuals’ lives”. (Schwartz, 1992)

Schwartz shows that there are ten essential values and within each of these are multiple ‘motivational goals’ with accompanying evolutionary causal mechanisms. These values are shown to be consistent across cultures. Values come from numerous psycological and societal factors, from family upbringing to education, from religious attachment to the history of a person’s territory.

As you can see in the table below they are associated with basic motivational goals and specific goal examples.

Schwartz shows that these values can be arranged in relation to each other on two dimensions (on one axis self-transcendence vs. self-enhancement and, second, conservation vs. openness to change). This arrangement shows how some values share commonalties with others, and are thus placed side-by-side, whereas others are highly dissimilar and thus placed in direct opposition to each other.

The two values of ‘universalism’ and ‘benevolence’ increase positivity to immigration, whereas the three values of ‘security’, ‘conformity’ and ‘tradition’—together making up the ‘conservation’ higher order value—decrease positivity to immigration.

Strongly anti-immigration Europeans tend to value conformity, security, tradition and power above the European average. Conversely, they are far less likely to value universalism, benevolence, self-direction, stimulation or hedonism.

Europeans strongly pro-immigration tend to have the opposite value orientation, but far more magnified. They have the most skewed value orientation of any group and, above all, value universalism highly and undervalue security and conformity.

Having defined values and demonstrated their relationship with attitudes to immigration, we now turn to considering how to use this information to persuasively communicate on immigration using values.

Overall, based on the report, we can deduce that messaging is most likely to elicit sympathy when the values it contains are concordant with those of recipient. In other words: Recipients will be sympathetic to a message when its values align with their own and they will be antipathetic to a message when its values diverge from their own.

Narratives are an inescapable part of humanity’s attempts to understand their own reality. As such, policymakers and communicators must prioritize the effective use of narratives in their work to be both understood and believed.

As demand for understanding an issue increases, multiple, competing narratives may simultaneously become popular. As such, the popularity of narratives must be used as a gauge of public opinion with extreme caution.

Due to their size and proximity to citizens, cities are in a unique position to foster social cohesion and encourage data-driven migration narratives. How are local governments in the Euro-Mediterranean region taking action to promote a fair discourse on migration and unlock its full potential? How are cities tackling misguided and ill-informed public perceptions on the migration phenomenon? The topic of balanced migration narratives at local level was the one addressed by the Thematic Session that took place on September 23, in the framework of the MC2CM Days, an event organized by the Mediterranean City-to-City Migration project under the co-patronage of the European Committee of the Regions, which I had the pleasure to moderate.

The panel discussion featured introductory remarks by Ian Barber, Director for Communication at the European Committee of the Regions. Representatives of local governments as well as from international organisations and NGOs, took part in the discussion.

The trust in local and regional authorities is on the rise, according to Barber, who launched the discussion stating that “local and regional politicians are the ones people will trust the most, to hear about migration”. Along the same lines, “the ability to communicate should be a priority for municipalities – stated Abdeslam Amakhtari, President of ASTICUDE –. The topic of migration is a complex one, but cities cannot avoid communicating on it, since communication is necessary for a proper perception of all the issues intertwined with such a phenomenon”. Amakhtari, who has been involved in a range of projects implemented in the framework of MC2CM aiming to enhance the capacities of local media professionals, suggested that communication efforts should be part of a wider territorial plan. “Municipalities should have a migration profile – he continued –, which would help them to gain a clear overview of the actors in place at local level, in order to foster synergies and mobilise capabilities”.

Apart from limited financial resources, which is an element that was also raised by Akram Dribika, Elected Member of the Municipality of Tripoli, cities have often to face the lack of reliable data, according to Waad Bouzidi, City Councillor of the Municipality of Raoued, and this can have a considerable impact on the implementation of evidence-based communication strategies. The regular connection that local authorities entertain with their territories, as well as the thorough knowledge of local contexts and attitudes, place though cities in a privileged position to unlock the potential of migration. “We need to make sure that the whole population can live together, and this is why we promote social mixing” continued Bouzidi, who also mentioned a range of initiatives carried out by the Municipality to this end, such as information outlets for migrants, artistic events, and food festivals.
Promoting balanced migration narratives also requires addressing disinformation and misinformation at the local level, since these phenomena are barriers for local authorities to capitalise on migration opportunities. In this respect, what arose during the discussion, is that partnerships with media should be fostered. “We should encourage media to have a more positive and proactive approach to this matter – stressed Souhaieb Khayati, Migration and Media expert –. We need to stimulate quality coverage and provide media with the necessary means to shift the trend”. “We need to find the frame that can speak to each individual or each group of population – concluded Violeta Wagner, ICMPD Regional Portfolio Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia –. The same message, the same framing can have different effects. We have to find different frames to respond to different values and concerns of the population. And municipalities are in the best position to understand their audience”.

Da anni la questione migratoria e il rapporto fra Italia e Unione europea sono argomenti di grande discussione e accesi dibattiti anche a livello locale. Mentre molte notizie girano, spesso incontrollate, e la battaglia degli slogan sul futuro dell’Europa continua imperterrita, è di interesse per tutti informarsi e discutere apertamente delle tematiche correnti più significative.

A tal scopo lo scorso 15 luglio nella bellissima cornice del Palacongressi di Salsomaggiore ho avuto il piacere di discutere di migrazioni, Europa e territorio con il Professor Trevisan, rettore della Facoltà di Agraria dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, nonchè vice-sindaco della città. È sempre bello poter confrontarsi e ascoltare i cittadini sulle tematiche d’attualità.

Grazie all’Associazione Salotto Illuminato per l’ottima organizzazione e per i continui sforzi nel mantenere la cittadinanza salsese attiva culturalmente.