The discussions covered a broad range of topics related to migration and migration reporting in the context of Libya and the Sahel countries

Dr. Canan Atilgan, Director of the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean during her opening words to the participants

Tarek Alhouny, Editor-in-Chief of Libyan Cloud News Agency (LCNA), demonstrates journalistic methods in the context of migration reporting

One of the participants presenting himself during the introduction round

Paola Pace, Senior Project Manager at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the "Regional Development and Protection Programme in North Africa" during the discussion with the participants on the concept of migration

In individual presentations the participants focused on migration-related challenges which are particularly pronounced in their respective regions

Two of the participants during a journalistic writing exercise

Migration from the countries of the Sahel and through Libya has become a central topic for the Mediterranean region and Europe. There is, however, a clear lack of reliable reporting on migration-related topics from the countries of departure and transit. In this context, the KAS Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean in cooperation with the Libyan Cloud News Agency (LCNA) invited 15 journalists from Libya, Mali, and Niger to participate in a training on migration reporting from 24-28 August 2017 in Tunis.

Guest speakers from IOM Tunisia, IOM Niger, and the Libyan Mandela Foundation for Culture and Development provided the participants with insight into the international and national legal frameworks of migration, adequate terminology and discussed the current situation of migration in their respective countries of work. This was complemented by presentations from the participants on the specific forms and challenges of migration in their regions of origin. Through this exchange, the training aimed not only to widen the understanding of the concept and the realities of migration in the Sahel and Libya, but also to counter existing misconceptions between different regions affected by migratory movements.

Additionally, the training included sessions on journalistic skills needed to provide conflict-sensitive, verifiable and unbiased reporting on topics of migration. Through the combination of the different components the training thus aimed to enable the journalists to better understand and report on migration-related topics and thereby to contribute to filling the current information gap.

On the right-hand side, you can find an exemplary article by LCNA correspondents in Niger in English, French, and Arabic.