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ACHR present the cultural value of European’s InfoMigrants website in London

InfoMigrants is an important and ambitious initiative involving the collaboration of three international news media corporations (FMM, DW and ANSA) across three languages (Arabic, French and English). Setting it up required a huge investment of technological skills, knowledge and time. It is a mobile first, web-based platform with an array of social media. Its core purpose is to offer refugees and migrants timely and trustworthy news and information about migration and asylum processes, as well as relevant and useful information related to making their lives in hosting countries. It seeks to address issues related to migration and asylum in countries of origin, in transit, at the borders of and in Europe. It aims to provide information about the protection of and support for migrants as well as the risks and dangers associated with undocumented migration, smugglers and the criminal underworlds (actual and digital) in which they operate. The purpose of InfoMigrants is only to inform, not to persuade or to dissuade, but to enable refugees and migrants themselves to make better informed decisions based on reliable, high-quality information. In line with the values embraced by the European Commission (inclusion, diversity, equality), InfoMigrants aims to counter stereotypes and prejudice about migrants, asylum- seekers and refugees and to offer insights into their lives. The platform is also expected to become a ‘safe space’ where refugee voices and experiences can be shared and heard.

The presentation of InfoMigrants website is based on the Cultural Value Model taken place in London’s Conway hall on Thursday the 13th of July 2017. This is a methodological tool inspired by decades of research into participatory methods, media and migration at the Open University. It was devised by Prof. Gillespie and her colleagues. It offers a comprehensive approach to assessing the impact of digital resources and is unique in assessing value from the diverse perspectives of all stakeholders involved. It mixed data sets, combining performance assessment data on Key Performance Indicators gathered by France Media Monde, with additional qualitative and quantitative data collected and analysed by the Open University.

The research team has been monitoring the Version 2 of the platform when it was released on May 2017. Data collected so far offers important insights into the platform’s performance to date. It offers indications of how we might expect InfoMigrants to progress in the future.

One key informant and research participant, Mr. Faisal Maramazi, is an executive director of Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights and a research student who received training in Participatory Action Research (PAR) at the Evelyn Oldfield Unit in London. For his research project, he chose to assess the cultural value of IM (InfoMigrants) among Arabic speakers from Syria and Ahwazi Arabs living in London. He interviewed three high profile, journalists and human right activists one from Syria and other two are Ahwazi Arab.

Faisal shows the platform to the audience and quickly gave an overview on the importance of the IM platform where it could be one of the trusted migrants platforms for referring to refugees’ matters. Faisal’s views are also considered for the final report as he engaged with IM as a user as well.

At the end of presentation, Questions were raised from audience to Faisal that were mainly regards the European Commission and very strong, and by excellent explanation of the presenter, he has promised to do his best to add all these questions/comments on his final report regards the assessing the cultural value of IM.

 

To watch the video of the presentation please click HERE

 

Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights

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