Sang Mendy, The Project Manager.
By Ramatoulie Jawo
The Media Academy for Journalism and Communications (MAJaC) launched a new project on Tuesday called “Innovate to Combat Emigration.” The project aims to develop the potential of young people in the Gambia and engage them in efforts to combat irregular emigration to Europe.
The project also seeks to address the root causes of migration, such as unemployment, poverty, and a lack of hope for the future. It also aims to promote citizens’ participation in change-making, innovation, and entrepreneurship in The Gambia.
Project Manager Sang Mendy said in his launch statement that the project will run for three months, from July to September.
“During this period, we will hold a series of meetings and consultations with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), youth groups, the media both (private and community) and national and international organisations involved in the fight to end irregular migrations The idea of meeting these stakeholders is to harvest ideas, action points and proposals on how to combat migration through training,” he said. MAJaC, a journalism training institute, believes it has a greater role to play in combating irregular migration. Mr. Mendy, the institute’s director, said that migration is a developmental issue that both departing and receiving countries are struggling to address. He also noted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that migration can be a powerful driver of sustainable development.
“For now, our focus as stated above is to talk to stakeholders and harvest ideas and relevant information. We can use it to put up a convincing proposal that would play its part in national development,” he said.
Modou S. Joof, Secretary General of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), expressed his happiness at the union’s association with the process and pilot project with MAJaC intended at combating irregular migration.
Joof stated that in 2021/2022, the Press Union, with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), trained journalists to enable them to understand the dynamics and context of migration reporting within the country and the West African sub-region.
“In 2022, we worked with IOM to train journalists on international migration laws. Because we believe that while journalists understand how to report on migration, it is also important that they understand the laws governing migration. There are local laws governing migration in The Gambia, but there are international, regional and African laws as well,” Mr. Joof said.
Mr. Joof further said that in as much as migration is a human right, irregular migration becomes a problem when “our brothers and sisters perish along the way.”
Mr. Joof then urged Gambians to form a coalition and bring together CSOs to brainstorm ideas on how to combat irregular migration.Mr. Alhagie Cham, the representative from TANGO, spoke about the impact of immigration on innovation. He said that expanding immigration can help to moderate the forces that can destabilize long-term economic growth. Immigrants, he said, bring new ideas about potential new products and better ways to produce existing products.
“Migration has the potential to bring positive socio-economic outcomes for both society and migrants. For countries to reap these benefits, their policies and practices need to advance the socio-economic well-being of migrants and society while adhering to international standards that respect no protect and fulfil the human rights of individuals within a state’s territory without discrimination based on nationality, race, gender, religion or migration status,” he said.