Many research (and practical) projects finish when the funding finishes; researchers and organisations quickly move on to the next source of funding, and new ideas. Even those who have the best intentions to measure real outcomes, rather than just outputs, very often do not have the time or funding to do so. As part of the UKRI GCRF funded MIDEQ initiative (2019-2024), members of the ICT4D Collective were from the beginning eager to try to work differently in their research with migrants on how digital technologies might be used to reduce inequalities. Some of our discussions around this have been published in our working paper Unwin, Casentini, Harindranath and Lorini (2023), but funding from a Research England Block Grant, the ICT4D Collective, and our own personal resources has recently enabled “Hari” Harindranath and Tim Unwin to return to South Africa in September and October 2024, eight months after MIDEQ funding had ceased, to meet with organisations and migrants in Johannesberg and Cape Town to learn from them about the outcomes of our work so far, and what lessons we mght learn from our engagement together, so that we can improve similar work that we might undertake in the future. Our findings are briefly summarised at https://ict4d.org.uk/technology-inequality-and-migration/zaoutcomes/, which includes some encouraging and inspirational videos from the migrants with whom we worked.
It is evident from their comments that our research-practice has indeed had many positive outcomes on their lives, interestingly not necessarily direly to do with digital tech, but more in terms of self-confidence, knowledge sharing and community building. However, the number of migrants with whom our team (Maria Rosa Lorini, Tim Unwin and “Hari” Harindranath) actually worked together was relatively small. The challenge remains as to how we can continue to support them to extend this work on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech more widely, thereby making it more sustainable into the future. It is clear that nothing works without some funding, and relying on volunteers is rarely ever sustainable.
For our free resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech on different themes and in multiple languages, see: https://ict4d.org.uk/sws/.
“Hari” Harindranth and Tim Unwin from the ICT4D Collective were delighted to have had the opportunity to participate actively in this year’s ICEGOV (International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance) held in Pretoria from 1st to 4th October, and convened by our good friends at UNU EGOV, under the patronage of South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration, and organised jointly with the Univeristy of the Witwatersrand and South Africa’s Centre for Public Service Administration. The organising committee created a very convivial atmosphere, in which we were able to meet with acquaintances from the past and also made many new friends from across the world. On a more personal level, it was great being able to walk to and from the conference centre at CSIR every day which served to keep us fit, and we had just about adjusted to the altitude (c.1350 m) by the time we had to leave!
We were kept busy by the organisers, chairing a third of the conference’s paper sessions between us! Hari was joint session chair for two of the conference sessions (click on link for the detailed programme):
Hari also presented a joint paper on behalf of Maria Rosa Lorini and Tim on Mitigating Risks: Safe, Wise and Secure Use of Digital Technologies by Migrant Communities in South Africa. To our delight, this was one of three papers nominated by the conference panel for the best ongoing research! The proceedings will be published in digital format only as part of the ACM International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS) so watch out for this if you want to read the full paper.
Highlights of the conference included keynotes by Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala (Rector of the UNU) on Digital Cooperation: International Governance of Emerging Technologies & the Global Digital Compact, and by Prof. Judy Dlamini (the Chancellor of Wits University) who gave an inspiring closing keynote. We were also richly entertained to a traditional South African braai and music at ithe conference dinner, where together we all sought to put to rights the world of global digital governance!
Particular thanks are due to the entire organising team, and especially to the tireless Flávia Barbosa who did so much behind the scenes to make our participation in the conference so productive and enjoyable.
Professor Luis Neves Domingos and Tim Unwin signing a partnership Memorandum of Understanding between the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM), Mozambique, and the ICT4D Collective on Monday 30th September 2024 in Maputo.
The ICT4D Collective is delighted to have signed its latest partnership agreement with the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM) at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. This agreement builds on collaboration between the two organisations over more than 20 years, which began during the UK Government’s Imfundo initiative, and was then taken further through the Africa ICT4D university network that was funded by the UK’s Development Partnerships for Higher Education (DelPHE) scheme supported by DFID and the British Council, and subsequently by European EDULINK funding. This agreement has the following main intended outputs:
High quality research and practice on digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development
Joint workshops and conferences to explore aspects of the inter-relationships between digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development
Research visits and exchanges between partners, especially to enhance the experiences of early career researchers
Joint strategic interventions designed to enhance the wise and appropriate use of digital technologies, especially by marginalised communities and individuals
Joint research grant applications to relevant funding agencies and research councils
Policy recommendations on areas of mutual interests
More specifically, our work together will focus on developing and sharing local language training resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, and will initially concentrate on disseminating these resources to Community Radio stations through the agency of the Centro de Apoio à Informação e Comunicação Comunitária.
Signing this agreement also provided an opportunity for both Neves and Tim to discuss with the Rector of Eduardo Mondlane University, Prof. Dr. Manuel Guilherme Junior, further ways in which closer collaboration between Mozambican and UK-based researchers and practitioners in the field of digital tech for development can be developed in the interests of some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Mozambique.
This was also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the CIUEM’s recent achievements, and the exciting new facilities that they are developing, especially in the field of of digital engtrepreneurship and capacity development.
The ICT4D Collective was delighted to be involved in delivering an online workshop/seminar with our partners ACORAB (the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) and CIN (Community Information Network) in Nepal on 24th July. This drew on our previous work in Nepal, as well as the session on community radio that we ran earlier in the year at WSIS+20 together with other organisations and partners. These form part of our increasing work on cyber-security. Some 70 participants, mostly journalists from community radio stations, participated in the two-and-a-half hour workshop which had four main aims:
To share information and ideas about the work that members of the Collective have been doing, mainly with migrants, on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in Nepal, South Africa, Brazil and Mozamibique;
To provide participants with advice that will hopefully be of value to them both personally and in their professional lives;
To share resources on cyber-security that can be used through community radio to advise listeners in Nepal; and
An opportunity for discussion and dialogue between participants
The slide deck used for the workshop is available here, and we would love to hear any feedback or suggestions about the content through our contact page.
In the final months of our MIDEQ WP9 team’s interventions working with migrants in South Africa, a remarkable phenomenon emerged — a “yeast effect” that represented the catalytic effect of the impact of colaboration between academia, NGOs, migrant communities and individual participants. This effect symbolises the organic growth and replication of positive outcomes, as individuals who were initially trained by our team together with local colleagues and experts became catalysts for change within their own communities and associations.
Adapting and Propagating Learning Materials
One of the cornerstones of our intervention was the adaptation and propagation of learning material used in the initial workshops we organised and ran. Recognizing the importance of tailoring educational resources to local contexts, we worked with local educators and experts and with the initial participants to create relevant learning material on issue relating to the use of digital tech by migrants. A special focus was on security and safety online and on content creation (to see more about our initiative and trainings), ensuring their accessibility and relevance to the communities we and they served.
After a series of workshops run by our team between November 2022 and August 2023, some of the trainees started organising sessions and training people in their own communities. During presentations to different audiences, such as chairmen of migrant associations, women community leaders, NGOs representatives and teenagers, the new trainers further adapted the learning material to suit the specific needs and understandings of each group. All examples were carefully crafted to resonate with the audience and address their concerns, responding to feedback from local stakeholders and demonstrating their commitment to meeting emerging challenges and empowering individuals with relevant skills and knowledge.
Furthermore, the team of trainers began developing new PowerPoint presentations that addressed frequently asked questions and were designed to be engaging and captivating for the public. Some examples of these slides are illustrated below.
From the Power Point Presentation created by the Fusion Avenue team in Johannesburg
From the Power Point Presentation created by the Fusion Avenue team in Cape Town
Targeted Events, Outreach, Collaborations and Partnerships
Our efforts encompassed a diverse range of events such as documentary presentations (see our blog about recent events) and targeting specific groups of stakeholders. From migrants and migrant associations to local communities, international organizations, academics, and media, we engaged with a wide spectrum of audiences to ensure the broad dissemination of knowledge and resources. A key highlight of this part of the intervention was the implementation of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing initiatives. Through video creation and dissemination, as well as face-to-face workshops run by migrants for migrants, we witnessed at first hand the power of community-led education. Individuals who were trained in our initial workshops took on leadership roles, becoming educators and advocates within their own communities. This is how the Fusion Avenue team of trainers presents and sponsors their work to support more organisations and communities:
Central to the success of these interventions was a spirit of collaboration and partnership. We worked closely with local stakeholders such as the Adonis Musati Project, international organizations such as the Scalabrini Centre, academia and research institutes such as SIHMA, and migrant associations such as MAGSA to leverage collective expertise and resources. This collaborative approach not only enhanced the effectiveness of our interventions but also fostered a sense of ownership and created the bases for the continuation and sustainability of the activities within the communities we served. This collaboration of groups from 12 different African countries represents a significant step forward in fostering solidarity and collective action among diverse migrant communities.
Together, they are now working on a common agenda in Johannesburg and Cape Town related to the safe, secure, and wise use of digital technologies, as well as communication skills and changing the narratives around migration. This collaboration represents a significant step forward in fostering solidarity and collective action among diverse migrant communities.
Measuring Impact and Ensuring Sustainability
The impact of the intervention was quantifiable, with hundreds of individuals already having been trained and reached through the different activities convened by the migrants with whom we worked. More than 200 people have been trained during the last 5 months by 12 of the 30 trainees in our original workshops. The rest of the participants are using the acquired skills to get a job and to fulfil their personal aims.
The majority of the activities carried on by the ‘new trainers’ covered more than one 4-hours session with each group of people. This approach ensured sufficient knowledge transmission, not least by allocating enough time to do practical exercises during the session including such things as how to change the settings on personal social media accounts. It also enabled the testing of information reception during the re-cap done by the trainees at the start of every new session.
Every participant completed a feedback form to give back impressions on the quality of the activity and suggestions for improvements. In the case of school teachers, community leaders and representatives of organisations and associations, the learning material was always requested by the trainees so that they could further disseminate the lessons learned (all our materials were created using Creative Commons BY-SA licenses). Some interviews and appreciative letters also witness this commitment. The administrator of the Congolese Society of South Africa Diana Bongongo highlights below what she learned from our trainees – now trainers! – and how she will herself become another yeast of change!
Integration of lessons learned into existing programmes
As part of our commitment to knowledge exchange and continuous improvement, we have shared our journey through a documentary film covering our interventions in South Africa. Additionally, we leveraged social media and collaborated with research hubs and NGOs to disseminate videos created by migrants, ensuring that our learnings reached a wider audience and had a lasting impact. But perhaps more importantly, our focus was on ensuring the continuation of these activities beyond the intervention period. Through partnerships with local stakeholders (including migrant organizations, associations, community leaders, local media companies, and school teachers) and integration of training resources into existing programs, we laid the groundwork for long-term sustainability and community empowerment. Our learning material is for instance now being used by the Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town, which reaches out to 1,500 migrants trained face-to-face yearly. Cape Town TV is also supporting the dissemination of the videos produced as well as the preparation of focused programs on migration.
Additionally, local non-migrant organizations such as Ubuntu Bethu have been instrumental in deploying workshops on digital safety and content creation in marginalized communities where many migrants reside. These partnerships have expanded the reach of our intervention to people living with constraints and limited access to the type of support and trainings offered elsewhere, and provide much needed advice for job search in areas with more than 50% rate unemployment, and for online safety in area of high gender based violence. The new partnerships and collaboration have also sparked further discussions around inequalities faced by migrants in areas affected by severe deprivation for all residents, furthering our collective efforts for social change.
In conclusion, the yeast effect of our intervention exemplifies the transformative potential of collaborative efforts in uplifting migrants and the wider communities in which they live. By harnessing the power of community engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and targeted outreach, we not only empowered individuals but also laid the foundation for sustainable change that will continue to flourish long after the intervention has ended.
We are delighted to hear that the training resources on safe, wise and secure use of digital tech by migrants, originally developed in Nepal (as part of the MIDEQ Hub, funded by UKRI GCRF) and reversioned specifically for women in Southern Africa have recently been used by our good friends at the Domestic Workers Association Zimbabwe (DWAZ) to deliver training to 1911 of their members in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. DWAZ was set up by Mendy Lusaba in 2021 (see this interview about her in Lionesses of Africa), and it has a centre in Zimbabwe that offers training in housekeeping, cooking and baking, gardening and care work. They also have a domestic worker netball team for the mental health of domestic workers.
In January this year, we met up with Mendy in Johannesburg, where she joined the launch of our work in South Africa that had trained migrants in video making amd the safe use of digital tech, and she made the astute observation that little digital literacy training available in the region includes sessions on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech (watch this short video where she speaks about this). Working with her and others in South Africa, we therefore reversioned our resources specifically so that they focused on the needs of women and girl migrants there, and it is great to see them being used in this way. The resources include a slide deck and guidance notes on how they can be used and adapted by trainers, and is available freely under a CC BY-SA licence. We are continuing to develop this and we are currently working in Brazil to produce a Portuguese language version that can also be adapted for countries such as Mozambique and Angola.
Everyone is vulnerable to the many harms enabled through the use of digital tech, and it is very important that these are mitigated so that people can indeed benefit from them. Women and girls in Southern Africa are particularly vulnerable to online sexual harassment, scams, bullying, being tracked, exploitation, fake news and identity theft. The training deck is designed for people with little previous knowledge about using digital tech, and includes specific guidance on how to avoid these harms. It was developed together with migrants and migrant oprganisations, and combines this practical approach with existing good practices recommended in the relevant literature. It is divided into four main sections: an introduction covering digital literacy basics, the safe use of digital tech, how to use these technologies wisely, and how to use them privately and securely, and it also includes a short list of recommendations for further reading.
Example of final slide from the training resources
Should you use these resources, please let us know and share suggestions for how they could be improved, and don’t forget to satisfy the requirements of the CC BY-SA licence so that iothers can also benefit from your work.
We are delighted to see our recent partnership agreement with ACORAB and CIN in Nepal already bearing fruit. This was designed in part to share information about the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, especially in remote areas of the country, as well as providing migrants with information about the new portal https://pardesi.org.np that we helped to craft with a range of migrant organisations and tech developers as part of our contribution to the MDEQ Hub.
Sajha Nepal Episode 1: Featuring Kabiraj Upreti from the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety, Government of Nepal and Aayush Pradhananga from AuraEd.
ACORAB, the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, Nepal, and CIN, their Community Information Network, have collaboratively developed radio programmes based on some of the resources we have developed with our partners in Nepal. Two recent broadcasts show the considerable importance of community radio as a means for sharing information:
A Public Service Announcement developed earlier in 2024 which included a short section about safe migration had received 4,900 views on Facebook by 6th February, and its final broadcast was on 12th February. By today (14th February) it had received 5,600 views and 452 likes.
ACORAB also extended an invitation to several individuals that we had recommended to participate in a radio programme on secure use of information technology for safe migration, and Kabiraj Upreti from the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety and Aayush Pradhananga from AuraEd were able to participate in a recording session on 5th February. Subsequently this was aired on 7th February immediately following the Sajha Khabar news bulletin at 7 am, as part of their regular program “Sajha Nepal”, and it has also already reached over 1,000 views on Facebook, with 45 likes.
There are more than 300 community radio stations in ACORAB’s network, and these reach over 6.7 million people throughout Nepal, many of whom will have also heard these broadcaste. We are incredibly grateful to everyone at ACORAB and CIN, especially their programme manager Ayeesha Joshi, for helping to make this happen, and look forward to hearing in due course from some of those who have listened to the broadcasts about how they have changed their digital behaviours as a result.
We very much look forward to continuing our work with ACORAB and CIN, and to help them develop their broadcasting capacity, drawing on good practices globally, and optimising the use ot digital technologies.
We were delighted to convene public launches on 15th January in Johannesburg and on 18th January in Cape Town for the interventions on which we have worked with migrants and migrant organisations in South Africa. The same format was followed in each location and included four main elements:
Premiere of a documentary film about the lives of the migrants with whom we have been working, entitled Through Their Eyes and produced by Simone Zanetti and Maria Rosa Lorini;
Presentation of videos made by the migrants following training by our work package, and introduction to their YouTube channel Fusion Avenue which features all the videos that they have made;
Information about the training they have been doing for others on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, following the training that they have received from our work package; and
Refreshments and networking.
These interventions were conceived and facilitated by the Digital Technologies and Migration work package (WP9) of the MIDEQ Hub funded by the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). WP9 is led by Professor G. “Hari” Harindranath and Professor Tim Unwin CMG, with the support of Dr. Maria Rosa Lorini (who led the work in South Africa), based at the ICT4D Collective (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK). The resources were created collaboratively with migrants and organisations in both the Johannesburg and Cape Town regions, including the Scalabrini Centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg, the University of Cape Town, UNISA’s Information Systems Department, Stoneintheshoe, Rainbow Media, and SIHMA. Other organisations involved in the initiative have included Adonis Musati, Cape Town TV, Ubunti-Bethu, and JL Zwane
Johannesburg launch, 15th January
The Johannesburg launch was held at St Patrick’s Catholic Curch in La Rochelle (press release), and attracted people from the local community, migrants, universities and international organisations (click on arrows to go through the slide deck).
Cape Town launch, 18th January
The Cape Town launch was held at Bertha House, Mowbray (press release), and likewise attracted people from the local community, migrants, universities and international organisations (click on arrows to go through the slide deck).
[Click on images or links to download the relevant press release]
Events
Lalitpur
10 December 2023, Lalitpur, Nepal: The launch of the digital tech interventions for Nepali migrants facilitated by Work Package 9 of the MIDEQ Hub took place today in the Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur. Eighty participants from government, civil society, the private sector, international organisations and digital tech students attended. The two key interventions that Hari Harindranath, Tim Unwin and Maria Rosa Lorini (from the ICT4D Collective and Royal Holloway, University of London) had helped their Nepali colleagues to create were presented: the https://pardesi.org.np portal, which is a one-stop-shop for migrants and their families to find out about all aspects of the migration process; and resources that can be used to train migrants in the safe, wise and secure (or private) uses of digital tech, which have been designed to be especially useful in the Migrant Resource Centres.
A novel initiative to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child took place in the vibrant city of Cape Town, South Africa, on 11th October. This was driven by a collective commitment to disseminate the importance of safe, wise and secure use of digital technologies, one of the corner stones of Work Package 9 (WP9) within the MIDEQ Hub funded by the UK government’s UKRI GCRF. This team is dedicated to harnessing the potential of digital tech to improve the lives of people and has dedicated much attention and care to discussing the side-effects of the digital world and to find ways to decrease any potential harms, especially when working with vulnerable groups.
Five of the migrants living in South Africa and trained in digital skills through MIDEQ’s WP9, organised and managed an event that stands as a testimony to the importance given by people from many different backgrounds to the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, and also witnesses the power of autonomous action and community engagement. The ‘Big Five’, as the activists called themselves in a comparison with the charismatic South African megafauna, took it upon themselves to participate in a school event dedicated to girls. This event took on added significance given the unique challenges faced by girls in the digital landscape, including issues of sexual harassment and trafficking, particularly within the migrant community. The school is situated in an area characterized by a significant concentration of migrants, and the teachers there are well-informed about the delicate issues associated with xenophobia and hate speech. Their stydents comprises girls from various nationalities, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Notably, the facilitators, who hail from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were themselves also able to glean valuable insights from the small group conversations during the activities.
Pascal Avenvuka Mbu-Letang interacting with the young students. Photo Credit: Hentie Wilson
The autonomy and initiative of these migrants trained through WP9 shone through as they seized the opportunity to impart crucial knowledge on online safety and security. As facilitators, they valued the school and specifically the chance to contribute to an event focused on girls’ perspectives. This was just the right arena with a relevant audience to spread messages and initiate a conversation with both students and teachers on risky digital behaviours that are too often underestimated. Above all in marginalised areas affected by limited infrastructures and high inequalities, parents and teachers do not consider digital risks as a priority to worry about. Nevertheless, as the facilitators highlighted during their talks, more and more often technology is the conduit of sexual harassment initially online and soon afterwards in person.
To emphasize the importance of being cautious and discerning while online, the speakers posed a provocative question to the students, asking them who assists them at school. The young audience quickly responded, stating that they have friends. However, when a similar inquiry was made regarding social media, the students became uncertain and struggled to formulate their responses. Throughout the session, the facilitators carefully avoided sounding judgmental about common mistakes or limited knowledge of online risks and solutions. Instead, they tactfully encouraged students to reflect on aspects such as the potential for online tracking when sharing personal pictures of their daily activities.
These migrants are among the founders of the Fusion Avenue YouTube Channel – a collective of migrants living in South Africa dedicated to exploring cultures, ideas, and viewpoints with the goal to bridge gaps, celebrate differences, and find common ground. With the consent of the school, the facilitators created a video reportage of the event, and have posted this on their channel (click also on the image below).
Join us on this journey as we delve into the details of this inspiring initiative, exploring how these dedicated facilitators catalysed the attention of their young audience and left a mark on the students and teachers with whom they engaged. This is a story of empowerment, autonomy, and the boundless potential of collaboratiion that we would like to tell though their own voices.
Memory Mwadziwana, one of the facilitators, captured the essence of the day in this way
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a recap of the extraordinary International Girls Day event! Ladies and gentlemen, this is Memory, reporting on the extraordinary International Girls Day event that took place on October 11th at the Purpose Finders School. It was a day that resonated with empowerment, education, and unity, leaving a profound impact on both the girls and the teachers who took part.
The day kicked off with a briefing by our dedicated organizers, laying the foundation for what would become a transformative experience at Purpose Finders School.
An emotional prayer permeated the air, symbolizing hope and unity and setting the tone for the day’s events. It was followed by a shout-out to the remarkable facilitators and organizers, including Fusion Avenue, Women African Weavers, DMS Ministry, and Purpose Finders School. Their unwavering dedication forged a sense of community, creating a collaborative atmosphere that would define the day.
The girls took centre stage, sharing poignant poems that transcended mere performance; they became acts of self-expression and empowerment. The bond between teachers and students strengthened as educators gained a newfound appreciation for the incredible talents of their charges.
Theatre sketch by the students about early pregnancy (Photo credit: Marlene Sitah)
A highlight of the event was Pascal’s presentation on online safety and security. Trained by the MIDEQ Project, Pascal and her colleagues brought forth critical topics, including personal data exposure, digital harassment, hate speech, and online scams. In an age dominated by digital interactions, this knowledge proved invaluable.
Reiterating the importance of online safety, the event underscored the significance of being vigilant and informed in the digital world. Teachers expressed gratitude for the invaluable knowledge, and the girls left with newfound confidence.
Pascal Avenvuka Mbu-Letang presenting personal data belongingness and life to the young students. Photo Credit: Michael Kanyinda
Reporting from the Purpose Finders School, this is Memory, signing off with a heart full of inspiration and hope for the continued empowerment of young minds.”
At the end of the event, a debriefing session took place among the facilitators and the teachers who were keen to discuss further involvement of the ‘Big Five’ in this learning process, starting from themselves as educators.
From our side in MIDEQ WP9, we can only wish the Fusion Avenue team more successful events such as this!
Tim Unwin visited Cape Town between 23rd and 30th August to carry forward our work led by Maria Rosa Lorini with migrants in South Africa as part of the MIDEQ Hub. This visit focused especially on dissemination, monitoring and evaluation, and training skills, but it also provided an excellent opportunity to work with other colleagues in MIDEQ from the South African lead team at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and also the work package on creative resistance and well-being from the University of Glasgow
We held two workshops at the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town with the group of migrants who have been trained in video production and in the safe, wise and secure use of digtital tech through our MIDEQ intervention. The first of these concentrated on ways through which these videos can be disseminated more widely, as well as the importance of rigorous monitoring and evaluation for us to understand the impact of these videos. Key ideas to emerge from the workshop were: that it is better to produce something of, say, 60% quality, rather than aiming to produce something of 95% quality but failing to deliver anything; the ways that short videos on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok can be used to direct other migrants to their Fusion Avenue videos on YouTube; and the need for individuals in any loosely knit organisation to take responsibility for some aspect of its work. We also explored the top five tips on Instagram success that Michelle Carlin had suggested.
The migrants had recently held a training workshop on safe, wise and secure use of digital tech for other migrants at Rugby, and so our second workshop was to draw out lessons from this and provide them with additional advice on how to train others. This involved them in delivering short training segments and having feedback from each other on what went well and what aspects they might try to improve.
As part of our dissemination strategy and in order to help make our work sustainable beyond the duration of funding from the UKRI GCRF, we also used the opportunity to have very productive practical discussions with organisations working at the interface between migration and digital tech about ways through which the migrants’ skills in video production could be used to make further videos for these organisations in the future. Among the organisations with whom we explored future collaboration on a range of modalities are the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, the Adonis Musati Project, the University of Cape Town’s Refugee Rights Unit, Cape Town TV, Phillipi TV, Africa Unite, Ubunthu-Betu in Samora Machel and JL Zwane in Gugulethu.
Finally, this visit provided an excellent opportunity to work together with colleagues from other work packages within MIDEQ, namely our South African country lead team ked by Dr. Faisal Garba at UCT, and Dr. Gameli Tordzro from the Univeristy of Glasgow. Gameli is a highly engaging and charismatic artist and musican whose research is in creative arts and translating cultures, language and education with a focus on African diaspora music, video film production, story and storytelling. He was in Cape Town working with about 25 migrants at Africa Unite to weave a story in words, music and culture about the experiences of African migrants, and it was truly humbling to watch them develop their very moving collective story and performance.
Finalising details with them of a portal to bring together existing information of relevance to migrants so that they can readily gain reliable advice on all aspects of migration. There are many existing apps and websites relating to migration for Nepali citizens, not least the advice provided by the government. However, migrant organisations told us early on in our work with them that there was a real need for such a one-stop-shop, and we have been supporting them as they have been creating this portal together with local tech developers. This is due to be launched in December 2023, and the migrants also made some short videos that will be used to promote the portal in advance of the launch.
A second element of work suggested by the organisations was the need for basic training guidance for migrants in multiple languages used in Nepal on the safe, wise and secure/private use of digital tech. Following the development of a training programme earlier in 2023, along with guidance notes on how the slide deck can be used, migrants rquested a more basic set of information. Having produced this before our visit, we tested it out again in Kathmandu, and following some further revisions this is now being translated into relevant languages, and will also be availabe at the launch in December.
The visit also provided an opportunity to meet with colleagues from different organisations based in Kathmandu, primarily to explore ways through which these resources can best be disseminated, notably the Government of Nepal’s Foreign Employment Bureau, the ILO Office in Kathmandu, and the UNESCO office in Kathmandu. We are very grateful for their strong support and the advice that they have given us. It was also good to meet with Nayan Pokhrel who has led on the translation of our work, and has provide much useful information about Nepal for us.
In Pokhara, we followed a similar pattern of work including:
Meetings with our partners at Gandaki University as well as those involved in training young people in digital skills at the National Innovation Centre’s ICT & Electronics Innovation Lab, and staff at Gandaki Medical College and hospital.
A review session on the basic training deck we have been creating together on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, with colleagues from Gandaki University, the MRC in Pokhara, and NEST in Pokhara.
We were also grateful to have an opportunity to see some of the wealth of cultural heritage of Nepal, especially around Patan Durbar Square and Kathmandu Durbar Square which have been so lovingly restored after the earthquake of 2015.
ICT4D Collective 