Media analysis of two UK and two Italian newspapers covering a selection of countries
experiencing conflicts and people seeking protection, including some which have been largely visible in the media (such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya), others which have received less attention despite still experiencing conflicts and sending many asylum seekers (such as Eritrea and Somalia), including historically (such as Columbia).
A survey of over 200 people aged 18-33 in the UK and Italy about how they use the media and how this use helps them understand global conflicts, displacement, and the role of political institutions.
Online ethnography of relevant hashtags on Twitter (such as #refugeeswelcome,
#clandestini or #invasione), citizen solidarity initiatives (including Facebook groups for addressing refugees’ basic needs, hosting refugees in private homes and crowdfunding) and anti-refugee or anti-migrant groups.
Semi-structured interviews with over 30 asylum seekers and refugees in the UK and
Italy, where they were asked to critically reflect on their experiences within the asylum system and in the receiving countries, and the political situation in their country of origin.
Workshops in which material from media analyses and interviews was shared in order encourage critical reflections about the asylum process, encounters with non-migrant populations, memories of conflicts in their country of origin and the impact of bordering processes on everyday life.
Media analyses, online ethnography, interviews and workshops provided the material
which was “dramatised” into a theatrical script. This enabled asylum seekers and
refugees, generally silenced in the UK and Italian media, to “speak back” and provide
alternative perspectives.