UNESCO trains youth organizations on Migration in Africa and Europe

The two-day event funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation (MAECI) via the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) through the "Fondo Africa", brought together twenty-two representatives drawn from youth organizations involved in migration and a Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs, under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

In its continuous efforts to foster and broaden the universal access to quality information on Migration in Africa and Europe, UNESCO Abuja Regional Office organized a Training Workshop of Content Development on Migration Awareness for Social Media Users in Lagos from November 23 to 24, 2020. 

Considering the immense influence of social media on youths, the workshop focused on building the capacity of participants on content development using the right information for social media on the risks, opportunities, and consequences of migration.

The two-day event funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation (MAECI) via the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) through the "Fondo Africa", brought together twenty-two representatives drawn from youth organizations involved in migration and a Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs, under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

Officer-In-Charge of UNESCO Abuja Regional Office, Mr. Mamadou Lamine Sow, in his opening remark, emphasized that information and communication are crucial to curbing irregular migration at early stages, and the youth possess the power to channel accurate information into the broad population.

Lack of adequate information on movement without necessary authorizations or documents has exceedingly exposed people to risky conditions, including human trafficking, smuggling, rapes, child labor, and abuse.  Dr. Oluseyi Soremekun, the National Information Officer, United Nations Information Center (UNIC) Nigeria in his presentation stated that critical information on migration and consequences of moving irregularly should be disseminated to all. In this digital age, the power of social media in quick dissemination should be applied to disseminate accurate and reliable information on migration topics.

Kyenpiya Nyabam, a participant from Child Love and Protection Advocacy Initiative (CLAPAI), observed that one of the major issues on migration is the inadequate information on destination countries. ”Many people move out of desperation, but without enough information about the intending place to relocate. They will likely encounter unforeseen and unbearable challenges,” she added.

As the migrant population continues to grow in the region, decisions to move should be based on sufficient information on destination countries and living conditions there. To broaden the access to information, developing skits on social media platforms is regarded as promising to inform and educate the public on proper ways to travel.

When designing skits, the facilitator, Dr. Olaoluwa Senayon, the Acting Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, emphasized that cultural sensitivity should be taken into consideration. “Communication is mainly the feedbacks between different people. Communicating migration issues through skits should take into consideration different languages and culture thereby breaking down barriers among various groups of people

The participatory workshops confirmed the importance and potential of integrating youth power in countering irregular migration through effective and creative content development. Doing so not only brings about UNESCO’s efforts to promote an inclusive knowledge society and broaden universal access to reliable information but also the youth organizations gained concrete knowledge on designing skits on migration topics in a sensitive way.

“Young people constitute a substantial part of the population active on social media platforms. You have potential in disseminating creative and effective information to individuals and communities,” pointed out one of the facilitators, Dr. Sharon Omotoso, the coordinator of Women’s Research and Documentation Center.

Over the two-day activity, participants developed four skits full of humor, originality, educative sense, and engagement in the practical session, based on knowledge gained at the workshop. “Through this activity, I learned more than I expected. I got knowledge of the up-to-date context of migration within West Africa and Nigeria, and more importantly, I gained a sense of developing the skits and contents sensitively on this issue. During this training, some new ideas have been circulating in my mind, and I decided to develop a new skit on migration issues immediately after this event,” commented Brown Okojie, from Great Esan Returnees Association (GERA).