BUJUMBURA August 28th (ABP) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Burundi organized on Friday August 25, 2023, a press café for journalists in order to discuss media coverage of migration in the East and Horn of Africa.
In her presentation, the Head of Media and Communication to the IOM, Mrs. Laetitia Romain, indicated that IOM has key elements to promote stories evidence-based and inclusive on migration and promote the viability of the Burundian media. These include the power of words, the importance of data, the power of images, the power of migrant voice and migrant vulnerability
Regarding good reporting on migration, she calls on the media to report unbiased facts, to know the terms, to show humanity, to include the voices of all and to avoid hatred.
To that end, she continued to say, to tell the stories about drought survivors, migrants and other vulnerable groups, the jargon must be removed from the field.
The notion of vulnerability can be understood as meaning that some people are more likely than others to suffer harm because of their exposure to a form of risk, Mrs. Romain explained.
Regarding the role of the media in dealing with migration-related issues, Mrs. Romain cited raising awareness, advocacy and sharing the right information.
During the exchanges, the participants had the opportunity to raise their points of view on the coverage of a history of migration and on the pitfalls to avoid in the fight against misinformation and false information. They cited, among other things, mastery of the topic, good understanding and interpretation of data.