Migration – Page 2 – C4D Network

Participatory Mapping Toolkit: A Guide For Refugee Contexts ( Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, 2018)

March 17, 2019

This practical How-To Guide contains three separate sections.

Section One: The Power of Participatory Mapping explains how these methods are in fact a means of mainstreaming protection into operations.
Section Two: Refugee Contexts reviews all of the different factors an organization should consider before engaging in a project.
Finally, Section Three: Tools and Processes is the true heart of the toolkit – it is a series of powerful tools and processes that span the lifecycle of mapping, from remote to field mapping, quality assurance to map creation. It has everything you need to begin, and links out to more in depth resources such as our growing Github toolbox.

Click here for full toolkit.

IOM X free online resources designed to engage audiences about human trafficking and exploitation and build a C4D Campaign (2019)

February 6, 2019

IOM X is the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s campaign to encourage safe migration and public action to stop exploitation and human trafficking. Their website provides a number of free resources designed to to engage audiences about human trafficking and exploitation, as well as the tools to build a Communication for Development campaign.

The first part of the website is a library of downloadable IOM X materials. This includes videos, factsheets, presentations, research and training guides that you can use to support communication campaigns. These are mostly editable files.

The second part of the website guides readers through the process of creating a C4D campaign. Along with detailed instructions for every step, and tools you may need, such as facilitation guides and examples from past campaigns. Note that C4D approaches are relevant across IOM activities, not just counter-trafficking.

Click here to visit the website.

Evaluating the impact of information campaigns in the field of migration: A systematic review of the evidence, and practical guidance ( Central Mediterranean Route Thematic Report Series, International Organization for Migration, 2018)

February 6, 2019

“Evaluating the impact of information campaigns in the field of migration: A systematic review of the evidence, a practical guidance” presents the results of a systematic literature review of the evaluations of migration information campaigns.

The study reveals that the evidence base available for programming and policymaking in this area remains very limited. In the absence of reliable evidence, the debate on the potential of this policy tool often relies on anecdotal evidence. The current lack of evidence limits the impact of future campaigns, and better evidence can show how information campaigns can be designed to best achieve their intended effects given the particular circumstances. While rigorous assessment of information campaigns can be difficult and costly, better evidence is clearly needed wherever feasible and appropriate.

Click here for full study.

When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefits (Migration Policy Institute, 2018)

February 6, 2019

At a time when people have more information at their fingertips than ever, it feels as though it has become equally easy to share it widely or to ignore, discount, and discredit it. Several factors have contributed to this state of affairs. New technologies have given a platform to a wider range of voices, but this has also meant that unvetted information and politically motivated “fake news” find their way more easily into the bloodstream of public debate. Human nature also shapes how people consume and recall information, making them more likely to resist information that contradicts their existing beliefs and personal experiences.

Nowhere has this been more apparent than in debates about hot-button issues such as immigration. Whether in the run-up to the 2016 UK referendum on Brexit, elections across Europe and North America, or responses to the 2015–16 European refugee and migration crisis, emotionally charged and anecdotal narratives about immigrants, refugees, and their effects on receiving communities often seemed to drown out arguments made on the basis of robust data and evidence.

Yet policymaking in democratic societies relies on the engagement of an electorate able to access and think critically about new information, and to adjust their views accordingly. This report explores why there is often a pronounced gap between what research has shown about migration trends and immigration policy outcomes and what the public believes. To do so, it explores the social psychological literature on why people embrace or reject information, as well as recent changes in the media landscape. The report concludes with a reexamination of what it takes to make the “expert consensus” on these issues resonate with sceptical publics, including recommendations for policymakers and researchers seeking to communicate more effectively the costs and benefits of immigration.

Click here for full report.

Anti-refugee Mobilization in Social Media: The Case of Soldiers of Odin (Social Media + Society article, 2018)

February 6, 2019

Article abstract: In the wake of the international refugee crisis, racist attitudes are becoming more publicly evident across the European Union. Propelled by the attacks in Köln on New Year’s Eve 2015 and harsher public sentiments on immigration, vigilante gangs have emerged in various European cities. These gangs mobilize through social media networks and claim to protect citizens from alleged violent and sexual attacks by refugees. This article analyzes how racist actors use social media to mobilize and organize street politics targeting refugees/immigrants. The aim is to explore the relation between social media and anti-refugee mobilization in a time of perceived insecurity and forced migration. The study uses the vigilante network Soldiers of Odin as a specific case, looking at (1) how they communicate through social media, (2) how they are represented in the large “alternative” space of right-wing online sites, and (3) how they are represented in traditional mainstream news. Using a critical adaption of Cammaerts’ theory of “mediation opportunity structure,” the article explicates the (inverted) rationale of racist online networks. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, both social media content and traditional news media are examined. The results show that although racist actors succeed in utilizing many of the opportunities embedded in social media communication and protest logic, they are also subject to constraints, such as a lack of public support and negative framing in news media. The article calls for more research on the (critical) relationship between uncivil engagement and social media networks.

Click here to view the full article.