Strengthening the Capacity of the MERCOSUR Member States and the Media to Promote the Positive Contribution of Migration

Effective communication on migration is of fundamental importance as the presentation of reliable migration-related information to stakeholders and public opinion is key to contributing to the development of evidence-based migration-related policies.

In South America, the majority of the content that shapes public opinion on migration is generated by the media and often stigmatizes migrants, linking them to negative events related to conflict, illegality, insecurity, delinquency and social marginalization. In the current South American migration context, intra-regional and extra-regional flows have increased, along with cases of xenophobia and discriminatory attitudes toward migrants.

The proposed project includes the following:

1) A capacity-building training on effective communication on migration for representatives of the benefiting MERCOSUR Member States in the framework of the XL course on international migration of Mar del Plata, Argentina;
2) A virtual training course on migration and human-rights for journalists and social communicators; and
3) The launch of a regional competition, via which an IOM South American Journalism Award will be offered to ten journalists having linked migration with a human-rights approach.