Information and awareness-raising campaigns targeting migrants or potential migrants in third countries are a key element of current migration strategies, both at national and European level. Over the last ten years, this form of communication with (potential) migrants has become increasingly important. Not only has the number of such campaigns increased, but the target groups, types, formats, messages and strategies of these campaigns have also become more diverse. Despite the growing relevance of information and awareness-raising campaigns in current migration policy, little is known about their effectiveness and impact on migration behaviour.
The 2019 National EMN Conference brought together experts from academia, policymaking, and international organisations, as well as more than 100 international participants, to discuss promising and innovative ideas and explore how evidence-based communication strategies for (potential) migrants can be improved.
The discussion focused on four key questions:
1. What do we know about the effectiveness of information and awareness-raising campaigns for (potential) migrants?
2. Can information change behaviour?
3. How can the effectiveness of information and awareness-raising campaigns be measured?
4. What should future campaigns look like?
The conference briefing paper provides a detailed summary of all the discussions and key takeaways, with links to the presentations. Further information on the speakers can be found in the conference programme.
