The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says it has trained 25 social media users on using their platforms to highlight the risks, opportunities and consequences of migration.
The Officer in Charge, UNESCO Abuja Regional Office, Mr Mamadou Sow, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Sow said that the training was under a project on Empowering Young People in Africa through Media and Communication.
He said that inadequate information on illegal migration had further exposed people to risky conditions such as human trafficking, smuggling, child labour and other forms of violence
“Lack of access to reliable and accurate information on migration issues in most cases leads people to make uninformed decisions thus UNESCO Abuja organised a training workshop.
“It was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation via the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation through the “Fondo Africa”.
“It is to develop youth’s capacity in developing skits and promoting informed content on migration on social media,” he said.
He said that considering the immense influence of social media on youths, the workshop focused on building the capacity of participants on content development.
Sow said that this would help them in using the right information for social media on the risks, opportunities and consequences of migration.
“Lack of adequate information on movement without necessary authorisations or documents has exceedingly exposed people to risky condition, including human trafficking, smuggling, rapes, child labour and abuse,’’ he added.
While emphasising the role information and communication played in curbing irregular migration at early stages, he urged social media users to use their platforms to disseminate accurate and reliable information on migration topics.
Sow said decisions to relocate should be based on sufficient information on destination countries and the life condition there.
“There is need for you to create quality skits using the right information before sharing content on social media,’’ he said.
NAN recalls that UNESCO had earlier appointed the Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as a member, project advisory committee on empowering young people in Africa through media and communication on irregular migrations.
(NAN)
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