Telling Europe’s migration stories - EPIM conference 2018

How can we frame messages around solutions in the European migration debate? Which communication approaches are out there? What can we do to broaden the migration debate rather than contribute to polarization?

All these questions were addressed at this year’s European Programme on Migration and Integration (EPIM) conference in Brussels from March 5-6, 2018 where ICPA participated for the second time. As recent opinion polls and elections results have shown, migration is a dividing issue in most European countries, but there are many positive #migrationstories to be told, that often fall behind in a heated debate. Even though the national challenges vary from country to country, there are successful examples of how to talk about migration and how to make space for more voices.

ICPA’s migration team shared their insights on the German context in two sessions on the first conference day. In a one breakout group, participants discussed what role research public perception of migration can play for civil society actors and activist in their communication and campaigning planning. Looking at recent segmentation polling from More In Common, participants saw how segmented opinions the public holds on migration. Detailed segmentation research can help to better inform the work of civil society actors and campaigners. Further, conducting your own research, like ICPA did through a social media mapping of dominant migration narratives in, can be another option to be better informed for your work as civil society organizations. 

In a second session, the aim was to operationalize the results of public perception research to develop more effective messaging for campaigns or strategic communication in general. As activists, we often discuss to find an “overlapping value space” with people in the middle who we want to engage with. But how to get there? And how to get to something positive? In a mapping exercise, participants developed messages that would appeal to positive values of one middle segment, the Economic Pragmatists.
 

The Brussels trip was wrapped up with a Social Change Initiative (SCI) partners meeting on the afternoon of March 6, 2018. Next to ICPA, SCI supports More in Common in France, Open Migration and the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights in Italy andSolidarity Now and Human Rights 360 in Greece to more effectively reframe the migration debate in the respective countries. While challenges and approaches vary, the exchange with these European partners has been very fruitful and this meeting has just been the start of a joint effort in broadening the debate on migration and integration in Europe.

It became clear at this year’s EPIM conference, that most progressive activists and campaigners have realised that how they talk and communicate about migration, doesn’t resonate with a large part of the population. This has been proven by recent election results and policy changes. Still, there are many good examples and approaches in all European countries, which haven proven to be more effective in communicating around migration, now, it is time to join forces, build up alliance and share research and practice to successfully reframe the public migration debate and make space for new, progressive policy options putting forward diversity and inclusion rather than exclusion and security.