Migration

A crucial factor in shaping public narratives and opinions on refugees and migrants is the media. In order to better understand public perceptions and discourses along the so-called Balkan route, we commissioned three studies looking into the language and visuals used to report about migration and people on the move in different countries, namely Turkey, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia.

Based on these three e-papers we created three short videos that summarise the main findings of each study. This one is the video for Turkey.

You can also watch:

The video for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia: https://youtu.be/sFASUoRWsA4

The video for Greece: https://youtu.be/nzVnQ2ywQXg

A compilation of all three aforementioned videos: https://youtu.be/75QEmaOKM0Q

Neda Noraie-Kia, Head of Migration Policy Europe

Just a few days before the parliamentary elections of 21 May 2023 in Greece, the staff of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Thessaloniki Office, maps the urgent issues of concern to Greek society and highlights some key points of what is at stake in these polls.

The video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

A crucial factor in shaping public narratives and opinions on refugees and migrants is the media. In order to better understand public perceptions and discourses along the so-called Balkan route, we commissioned three studies looking into the language and visuals used to report about migration and people on the move in different countries, namely Turkey, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia.

Despite differences, representations of people on the move are everywhere generalised, stripping them of their human traits and perceiving them as masses or numbers. The focus is more on national rather than human security, while various categories, such as children, women, LGBTQI+, or different nationalities, are often underrepresented. Most of the times the floor is not given to the people on the move themselves but instead others speak for and about them.

Based on these three e-papers we commissioned the organisation Media and Migration Association (MMA) to create three short videos that summarise the main findings of each study. This one is the compilation of all three aforementioned videos.

You can also watch the videos separately for each country:

The video for Turkey: https://youtu.be/fVd-EHGhzJc

The video for Greece: https://youtu.be/nzVnQ2ywQXg

The video for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia: https://youtu.be/sFASUoRWsA4

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #6

Perspective to stay - ways forward

• Radoš Đurović, APC, Serbia
• Emir Prcanović, Vaša Prava, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Antonia Pindulić, legal expert and activist, Centre for Peace Studies, Croatia
• Andrea Kontenta, Italy

Moderator: Karolina Augustova

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #5

EU policies in response to the war in Ukraine

• Giulia Amaducci, European Commission, DG Home
• Prof. Monika Mokre, Austria
• Aigul Hakimova, Slovenia
• Magda Faltova, director of Association for Integration and Migration (SIMI), Czech Republic

Moderator: Neda Noraie-Kia

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #4

Human Rights at the EU’s external borders

• Sara Kekuš, policy expert and activist, Centre for Peace Studies, Croatia
• Erik Marquart, MEP, Germany
• Joanie DUROCHER, Head, Programme Support Unit, IOM BiH
• Hanaa Hakiki, Senior Legal Advisor at European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Germany

Moderator: Giorgos Christides

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #3

Media and Migration along the Balkan route

• Stavros Malichudis, We are Solomon, Greece
• Idriss Moussaoui, activist, France
• İbrahim Kibar, activist, Turkey
• Elvira Jukić-Mujkić, editor at Media Centar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Moderator: Nidžara Ahmetašević

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #2

Shrinking Spaces

• Eleni Velivasaki, RSA, Greece
• Marta Stojić, expert, Serbia
• Karolina Augustova, researcher and activist
• Tajana Tadić, expert/activist, Croatia/Germany

Moderator: Gorana Mlinarević

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.

People on the Move: (Still) stuck in the corridors to the EU “Status quo and Perspectives”

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 March and 1 April 2022
Organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki

Panel session #1

HORIZONS: Overview on the situation in BiH and the wider region

• Gorana Mlinarević, researcher, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Nidžara Ahmetašević, researcher, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Radoš Đurović, director of APC, Serbia
• Mersiha Smajlović, Legis, North Macedonia

Moderators: Judith Brand and Neda Noraie-Kia

HBS offices Sarajevo and Thessaloniki brought together experts, grassroots activists, academia, practitioner and policy-maker from the region, the so called Balkan route as well as from the EU level, to have an in-depth look at the current status-quo of migration policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans and the EU, taking the latest developments in Ukraine into consideration. Over two days conference covered different aspects and challenges such as: - shrinking space/criminalization of people on the move and those showing solidarity with them, - media coverage of migration, mainstream narratives and hate speech, - "border management", the securitization of borders, - pushbacks and deportations, - asylum politics and alternative perspectives to stay.