Migration Communication Strategies: Effective Approaches to Depolarise the Debate - 2023

Programme Description

In many countries around the world, public discourse around migration is highly polarised. In this context, it becomes increasingly more difficult to discuss about this phenomenon without being accused of spreading fake news or provoking heated debates. As a result, there is growing uncertainty about what type of communication strategies are most effective in providing accurate information and changing popular attitudes towards migrants and people on the move.

This Executive Training will develop and strengthen the participants’ communication skills around migration. It will do so in two ways. First, it will discuss original data and research on the factors that shape how people perceive and react to migration and what effects those have on society. Second, it will apply these factors to migration communication campaigns, explaining what strategies have been found to be most effective to engage the audience and how recent developments in digital technology have changed the ways migration is communicated.

The training will combine the perspective of academic researchers with the experience of policymakers and advisors working for governments and civil society organisations. Participants will work together to identify and understand some of the key challenges and good practices of migration communication and will apply scientific evidence to real-life migration communication strategies.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this programme, the participants will be able to:

• Effectively communicate with concerned citizens about the causes and effects of migration and about immigration/integration policies;
• Construct communication strategies that foster social cohesion to tackle discrimination, disinformation, and hate speech;
• Understand and incorporate insights about attitudes to migration and about the impact of underlying factors influencing how people think and feel about migration;
• Comprehend the role of facts and evidence in migration debates, as well as their shortcomings.

Learning methods

• Knowledge transfer sessions led by academics, policy makers, and communication advisers with significant experience in the field;
• Active exchange in interactive training sessions and group work activities that are focused on the interpretation of opinion data, and that address the main challenges posed by the current migration debate;
• Case studies analysis based on real-life migration campaigns and communication strategies.

Information for applicants

• The training course will take place on a hybrid mode on 16, 17, 18 & 19 May 2023. During the registration, the applicants will be able to select their preferred method of participation to this training, choosing between Online or In-person. Selected participants who choose the residential mode will be expected to be present on our campus in Florence, Italy on the days of the training.
• Participants joining the course online, should take note that the official timings of this training are taking place on Central European Summer Time (CEST) (Italian time) so time differences might apply when joining from different time zones.
• The programme will include approximately 16 hours of in-session training.
• Participants will be enrolled to our Virtual Learning Environment (Brightspace) to access the materials of the course. Some pre-training readings will be necessary.
• Accepted participants that successfully complete the training course will receive a certificate of attendance from the EUI’s School of Transnational Governance.

Who should attend

• Communication officers from NGOs, government institutions, EU institutions and agencies, international organisations, etc.;
• Political consultants and advisors working at different levels of government;
• Professionals working in international organisations and NGOs in the field of migration/ diversity/integration/social cohesion;
• Journalists with an interest in migration;
• Politicians who are interested in depolarisation and fostering social cohesion;
• Representatives of public authorities with an interest in migration/diversity/integration/ social cohesion.