ICMPD’s EU-funded Project PROTECT hosted a training on “The Role of Media in Forming Migration Questions” last November in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as a part of a monthly training series on migration themes organised for the country’s Migration Service.
The training aimed to develop and strengthen the capacities of officials from the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment of Population, the Migration Service, and the Pre-Departure Centre for Overseas Employment on themes related to migration and media.
Participants, including 40 delegates from these institutions, gained important knowledge on basics of migration reporting, the connection between policy-making, public opinion and the media, the use of photography and video as a tool for storytelling, and more broadly the role of media in reporting on labour migration issues. As a next step, they plan to apply these competencies and knowledge to effectively cover and inform about current and upcoming migration issues in the country and the region.
Our sessions explored the critical impact of media narratives on public perception and policies regarding labour migration. We also discussed best practices for responsible and objective reporting, emphasising the need for accuracy, fairness, empathy, and a focus on the human stories behind the statistics. It is inspiring to engage with professionals, who are committed to enhancing their communication skills and strategies in this important issue.says Xenia Pilipenko, ICMPD Project Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The sessions utilised ICMPD’s previously published ‘Reporting Migration’ handbook, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, which was developed to improve migration reporting and create a model for comprehensive and systematic capacity building on migration reporting for media.
The training was organised in the framework of the EU-funded PROTECT project (“Improving migration management and migrant protection in selected Silk Routes and Central Asian countries”).