Between development, migration and human rights

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At a time marked by serious social turbulence and the blindness of political radicalism, organizations from five European countries – Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Greece and Slovenia – have come together to reaffirm the need to strengthen international cooperation and the promotion of global citizenship. This gave birth to the idea of developing the MigratED project.

Looking to the digital world, this project seeks to investigate and promote new tools for defending human rights and raising awareness in society of the urgent need to defuse the xenophobic rhetoric that has accompanied the migratory crises of recent years.

Led by GVC, an Italian NGO that carries out humanitarian aid and development cooperation projects in communities around the world, the project includes the participation of 4Change and Universidade Lusófona as national representatives, and the involvement of: CSAPSA2, Action Aid Greece, SLOGA, KARPOS and Future Worlds Center.

According to Giorgia Bailo, the project’s European coordinator, “migration is at the center of public debate, but we often see biased statements based on incorrect data and prejudices. A debate in which migrants, refugees and asylum seekers have no voice.” It is necessary to create “a new narrative on migration, a renewed awareness of the connections between development, migration and human rights.” For this to happen, teachers and trainers have a very important role to play, and it is essential to strengthen their skills with regard to involving young people in the construction of this counter-narrative, through the use of digital tools.

In a context highly affected by phenomena of intolerance and irrational responses to the issue of migration, #MigraTed helps young people to understand the underlying causes that lead refugees to leave their countries, helping to deconstruct stereotypes and promoting a rediscovery of the values of solidarity and cultural diversity. This experience will culminate with participation in the Terra di tutti Film Festival, an annual event which, since 2007, has used documentary films as a tool to discuss and raise awareness of human rights and social issues.

The MigratED project kicked off this 2018-2019 school year in four Portuguese schools – and the first term was dedicated to raising awareness about human rights and migration issues, through the “Citizenship and Development” subject or in the “Curricular Flexibility” program. One of the main tools used in this first stage of the project has been participatory photography.

The concept of participatory photography (Photovoice) was developed by Caroline Wang and Mary Ann Burris in 1997. It is a specific photographic technique in which participants capture their everyday realities in the form of photographs. The term Photovoice encapsulates the central idea of this method – to give voice to individual or collective experience through photos. It is a method that uses an exceptionally powerful means of communication – the visual image. In contact with the community, it is a tool that empowers and empowers its users, as they choose what to photograph and when.

In a special session at the Paula Vicente EB 2+3 school, Year 7 students were visited by photographer Elisabete Faisão, who presented her project “Hopen“: a collection of photographs and testimonies from various refugee camps in Europe, from Calais to the Greek islands. Using real photographs of the refugee experience, the 7th graders created the exhibition “Let’s change the reality of refugee camps”, recreating contexts through drawings.

In parallel with raising awareness and involving young people, the MigratED project is focusing on training educators. According to recent data, the majority of teachers in Europe admit to having difficulties in approaching the subject of information technology. In particular, there is a serious gap in access to digital tools in schools, which can be an obstacle to adopting new and more efficient teaching models. For this reason, as well as wanting to deepen the interdependence of the concept of global citizenship with current issues, the MigratED project – as demonstrated by a workshop held in January in Bologna, which brought together teachers and trainers from the five participating countries – aims to contribute to greater use of digital communication tools in teaching, recognizing their potential for attracting young people.

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