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.
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 