Telling Europe’s migration stories: Framing messages around solutions

In March 2018, EPIM (European Programme for Integration and Migration) together wit SCI (The Social Change Initiative), brought together key actors in the field of migration in Europe to explore communications around migration today.

How can we tell Europe’s migration stories differently? How can we connect with our audience more effectively, so that our messages on migration resonate in the public debate?

In setting the scene, speakers and participants acknowledged the need to understand the current context in Europe, where migration is consistently used as a wedge issue in politics and within the public discourse. Speakers and participants emphasised the need for human rights communication not to buy into this rhetoric or be pushed into a defensive mode but to focus instead on hope and opportunities connected to proposed solutions.

Going forward, together we discussed the need for civil society to better understand who is missing from the conversation and the audiences we are reaching out to, what language can be used to engage them, the importance of listening to them, understanding the diversity of thought and translating this into communications.