PERCEPTIONS

What has current research found out about migration narratives – and which questions are yet to be answered? To answer these questions, the PERCEPTIONS project has started with an analysis of the state of the art in academic research. Furthermore, the project analyses the relationship between migration policies and migrants’ perceptions of the EU. The project has also started its outreach and communication activities, participating at the first ‘project to policy kick-off seminar’ organised by the European Commission.

In its first phase, the PERCEPTIONS project has put its focus on analysing the state of the art, in alignment with the project’s first objective “Research the body of scientific literature on the creation and the distribution of place-related narratives”. As such, the consortium is now exploring the current knowledge on narratives in the context of migration in academic literature. The literature review focuses in particular on examining migrants’ perceptions of the EU as a suitable migration destination and host societies’ perceptions of migration. It further explores how such information and narratives are distributed via disparate channels such as social, digital and mainstream media. Furthermore, partners analysing current migration policies aiming to understand different approaches to policy making in relation to countering and preventing threats linked to migration behaviour. The research activities further summarise current approaches to migration and explores current and best practices in migration policies.

PERCEPTIONS at the first Project to Policy Kick-off Seminar

On 31 January 2020, SYNYO as the PERCEPTIONS project coordinator participated in the first ‘project to policy kick off seminar’, an event organised by the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA), Directorate‑General Migration and Home Affairs (DG Home), and Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect).

The event had the aim to bring together Horizon 2020-funded projects and policy makers to ensure uptake of results and build long-lasting relationships between researchers and policy makers for their mutual benefit. This specifically included projects funded under H2020’s Societal Challenge 7, i.e. Secure societies – protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens, carrying out research in areas such as digital security, border management, crime and terrorism. In an interactive setting, this allowed projects to better understand the EU policy landscape, while EC policy officers got first-hand insights into projects in their respective policy area.

Launch of the project’s Social Media channels

Parallel to its research activities, the PERCEPTIONS project has kicked-off its social media communication, in line with the stakeholder engagement and dissemination strategy of the project. The consortium provides relevant information, news and research insights via its Twitter page, on Facebook, as well as on LinkedIn. This complements the project’s website and newsletter.

Links

https://project.perceptions.eu/

https://twitter.com/PERCEPTIONS_EU 

https://www.facebook.com/perceptionsproject/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/perceptionsproject/ 

Keywords

Perceptions, narratives, migration, migrants, policy