IOM organises workshop for journalists in Western Region

A two-day training workshop on effective awareness raising and communication on irregular migration in the country has been held for selected journalists in the Western Region.

The workshop was organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with funding from the European Union (EU).

Mrs Florence Kim, a Communication Expert at IOM and a facilitator at the programme, said the training was necessary because the media is a crucial stakeholder that could not be left out on migration issues.

She said it would strengthen their capacities to use the right migration terminologies and educate the public on the positive and negative aspects of migration.

She urged journalists to report accurately and fairly on all migration issues.

Mrs Kim also urged journalists to respect the rights of migrants by avoiding sensationalism in their reportage saying “migrants are just looking for other opportunities they are not criminals”.

She said reporters in all the ten regions of the country would benefit from the programme.

The Communication Expert urged participants to be circumspect and exhibit high levels of professionalism in their reportage after the training.

Mr Collins Yeboah, a Community Outreach Assistant in Ghana for IOM, said from May last year IOM assisted more than 800 irregular migrants into the country.

He said majority of the returnees are going to the Brong-Ahafo, Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western regions.

Mr Yeboah said research conducted by IOM reveals that increasingly, a lot of young Ghanaians from the Western Region were migrating to Libya through unapproved routes.

Topics discussed at the training were communication for development, migration terminology, code of conduct and the role of different media’s in raising awareness.

GNA