Two hundred delegates from 8 African countries have converged in Niamey, the Niger Republic for a 3-day UNESCO regional conference on migration.
The conference themed: “Media and migration voices in West and Central Africa,” seeks to enable people, especially young people, to make informed decisions about migration.
According to UNESCO, the conference will engage participants; state authorities, media professionals, associations, migration experts and civil society in reflection around four main themes;
“1. Issues and challenges of the diversity of migration voices in the media
- Media and representation of migration and migrants
- Production of editorial content on migration and influencing factors
- The importance of access to «comprehensive» and quality information on migration.”
Over the 3-day period, sessions will be dedicated to exploring conversations around different papers to be presented. Nigeria’s Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) will discuss “Trafficking migrants in west Africa,” the Advocacy Programme for the African Union of the Regional Office for Africa of the Open Society for West Africa (OSIWA) will present a paper on the – “State of migration in West and Central Africa,“ while the Center for Women Rights and Leadership in the Gambia will talk about the “Importance of access to ‘comprehensive’ and quality information on migration,“ among others.
UNESCO added that West and Central African countries (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal) will serve as a framework for the adoption of recommendations and a plan of action for the implementation of recommendations to promote diversified and de-stereotyped narratives on migration.
It foresees the adoption of a declaration on media and migration by the Ministers of Communication/Information from the eight targeted countries.
PIAK
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