Paper short abstract:

We examine how young adults in 17 diverse locations across seven African countries are exposed to migration information campaigns and perceive their messages. In our analyses we place these campaigns within richly documented contexts of influences on migration aspirations and attitudes to migration.

Paper long abstract:

Recent research on migration information campaigns have often set out with specific campaigns as the object study. From a complementary bird’s eye perspective, we seek to place such campaigns and their effects within broader dynamics of migration and development in diverse African settings. We ask how exposure to campaigns vary, how their messages are perceived, and how they interact with other influences on people’s thoughts and feelings about migration. Data were collected in Cape Verde, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tunisia. In each country, our research covered two or three analytically selected locations and included different forms of qualitative data as well as a representative survey of the population aged 18¬–39 (N=500 per locality). The survey covered a wide range of topics related to migration and development, including a section on migration information campaigns. Between 15% and 92% of young adults in each area have been exposed to some form of migration information during the past year. The campaigns were most often perceived as telling people not to migrate, or warning against smuggling, though the whole picture of message perception is more complex. In our analysis we examine how migration aspirations and attitudes to migration may be affected by migration information campaigns. In doing so, we include consideration of other sources of information or impressions, such as having family members who live in Europe, or knowing individuals who have suffered failed migration attempts. The paper is based on the collaborative project MIGNEX, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme.