A 2-day workshop on Sensitization Strategy and Reportage on Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons (TiP) supported by the Nigeria-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (NGC) and the Migrants Resource Centre (MRC) of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has been scheduled to hold in Abuja on May 22-23.
The capacity-building programme targets journalists focusing on migration reportage in the country, under the aegis of the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), and would have in attendance migration-desk journalists, NGC advisors, MRC officials and top officials from the Immigration Service, including the Comptroller General of Immigration Service (CGI), Isa Jere Idris.
A statement by the President of the JIFORM, Dr. Ajibola Abayomi, said the select journalists to attend the workshop cut across all segments of the media ranging from print, electronic and online practitioners.
He listed the objectives of the engagement to include enhancement of journalists’ capacity on evidenced-based, victim-sensitive reportage, and a better understanding of migrant management and rehabilitation of victims of irregular migration.
Resource persons expected at the event include Comptroller James Sunday of the Rivers State Immigration Service, while others are drawn from the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the NGC and Migrant Resource Centre of the FMLE.
The NGC is a structure for migration and reintegration advice established by the global programme Migration for Development (PME). The PME was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ). The overarching objective of the programme is to provide comprehensive support services and advice to both returning and potential migrants for getting (re)established at home.
The NGC advisors inform about the risks of irregular migration, as well as the opportunities and requirements for regular migration to Germany. In addition, the NGC provides support and one-to-one advice on employment, business, vocational and educational perspectives in Nigeria.
The support is intended both for returnees who need help with their social and economic reintegration and for local people seeking to improve their career prospects.
The programme and its partners help individuals to succeed in the Nigerian job market and support those who are looking for education, trainings or options to set up a business.
The programme is implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FMLE), especially its Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) which collaboratively implements the centre’s mandate for employment promotion, reintegration support and employment generation in Nigeria.
JIFORM, an umbrella body for media practitioners reporting migration in Nigeria, is a non-profit body comprising over 300 journalists and other volunteers across the continents covering migration matters. Since 2019, JIFORM has become a major force organizing a series of local and international capacity-building for journalists and other stakeholders. In 2021, it initiated the annual African Migration Summit held in Ghana in partnership with Nekotech Center of Excellence, Accra, the West African Media Migration Summit in Lome, Togo, and held its 3rd Global Migration Summit in Toronto, Canada in October 2022.
NGC, Labour Ministry, NIS to train Journalists on migration
