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FORSTERK-Forsterkningsmidler

Cinematic communication for increased impact of MIGNEX

Awarded: NOK 1.0 mill.

Why do people migrate and what effects does migration have on their life and on the communities they come from? Migration is a prominent issue in public debate in Norway, not just with respect to the national context, but also in terms of Norway's approach to global migration challenges. With an issue as politically divisive as migration, scientific research can provide an objective understanding that enriches the larger societal debate. The CINEMIG project will contribute to communicating research on the topic to the broader public. CINEMIG will collaborate with the MIGNEX project ? a research endeavour that will survey and interview people across ten countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia - to understand how positive and negative changes in society affect their desires to stay or to leave. CINEMIG will produce a documentary film and a series of videos for social media , which will be filmed in MIGNEX research locations in Cabo Verde, Ghana, and Pakistan. The documentary will present a nuanced story from the field, balancing research insights with the larger stories of people and places, while the videos will present the research take-aways.

OUTCOMES Project participants at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) have developed new competence in collaborative research communication. This involves the presentation and visualization of insights as well as new forms of external partnerships and financial arrangements for collaboration. Staff at Differ Media have developed new competence in incorporating research in cinematic productions. This builds upon the company’s long-standing engagement with social and political issues and gives it a new dimensions. IMPACTS The output from the project places scientific knowledge about migration in new communicative contexts, with the potential to counter the polarization of public debate on international migration. The output also demonstrates the value of scientific research in debates on migration, not only as a source of facts, but in providing new perspectives, asking new questions, and stimulating curiosity.

The reinforcement project CINEMIG will use cinematic communication to increase the value-added of Norwegian-led research on the causes of international migration. PRIO coordinates MIGNEX, the largest-ever European funded research project on migration to Europe. The project collects data in 25 communities across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. One of our aims is to understand how positive and negative changes in society affect people's desires to stay or to leave. Communication and dissemination activities within MIGNEX itself targets the project's two main user groups: the policy community and the scientific community. However, the project has potential for impact well beyond these groups. Migration is a prominent issue in public debate in Norway, not just with respect to national issues, but also in terms of Norway's approach to global migration challenges. The reinforcement project CINEMIG will allow for communication that targets broader sections of Norwegian society. In doing so, it will not only disseminate insights on migration, but also raise awareness of the contribution of research, and of the ability of a Norwegian institution to take the lead in research on global challenges. The supplementary funding will be dedicated to the production of a short documentary and a series of videos for social media, all in in Norwegian and English versions. The videos will have clear, research-based messages while the documentary will allow for a more nuanced story that integrates research insights with a cinematic narrative. PRIO will work with the Norwegian production company Differ Media, based in Oslo. Differ Media has produced a series of award-winning documentaries and describe their work as 'telling personal and powerful stories about the most important issues of our time'. The interaction between filmmaking and research will be facilitated by Differ Media's previous coverage of related topics, as well as by the MIGNEX team's emphasis on research communication.

Funding scheme:

FORSTERK-Forsterkningsmidler

Funding Sources