IOM holds media speed date, shares successes of the “Migrants as Messengers Project”

On 8 September 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) hosted a Media Speed Date event to mark the end of the activities of the Migrants as Messengers (MaM) Project in Sierra Leone.

The objective of the event was to share the successes of the MaM Project through the voices of the MaM volunteers and to promote the migrant returnees-led efforts for information and experience-sharing through coordination and collaboration with the Government, development partners, and the media.

Since 2019, IOM Sierra Leone has worked closely with migrant returnees to build their capacity to deliver impactful awareness-raising activities using digital and traditional media and community engagement to provide potential irregular migrants with information to make informed decisions.

Speaking at the event, the IOM Head of Office ad interim Mr Christos Christodoulides highlighted the capacity development of returnees and their association as a key intervention of the project that enabled MaM volunteers to effectively deliver awareness-raising activities on irregular migration in Sierra Leone.

“Successful and sustainable peer-to-peer awareness raising requires a considerable investment in training and capacity building. A wide range of relevant trainings were made available to the MaM Volunteers, taking into account the communication and technical skills required for successful awareness raising, as well as their psychosocial needs, to enable them to perform these tasks,” said Christodoulides.

Mr Christodoulides also indicated that the migrants’ led associations, including Women and Girl Child Against Irregular Migration (WAG-CAIM) and Advocacy Network against Irregular  Migration ( ANAIM), have been pivotal in helping to achieve the outcomes of the project.

The Head of Communications and Media at the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Mr Mohamed Atata Mansaray, commended Migrants as Messengers volunteers for delivering a successful peer-to-peer awareness-raising campaign on the dangers of irregular migration, especially among the youth.

Whilst calling on migrants to continue their engagement with youth, Mr. Mansaray stated that “migrants returnees’ effort to serve as volunteers to engage the young people of this country is a show of patriotism to the people of Sierra Leone. We are pleased with IOM to have these returnees as volunteers rolled out this kind of project in the country”.

MaM was implemented in Sierra Leone based on three strategies—digital, on-air, and on-ground media, with returnee migrants at the center of awareness-raising through a peer-to-peer approach. From April 2020 to September 2022, MaM Volunteers created 11,205 multimedia content, organized 55 community events, and participated in 48 radio talk shows, among many other events, to dissuade young people from embarking on irregular journey.