Yaoundé – Last week (4-6/12), members of two Cameroonian civil society organizations and seven community mediators from the Cameroonian Ministry of Youth and Civic Education (MINJEC) participated in a training on Communication for Development (C4D) techniques organized by IOM.

The training aimed at providing IOM partners in the field of awareness raising with common knowledge and tools to strengthen the reach of IOM’s awareness raising campaigns on irregular migration in Cameroon.

Raising awareness on the risks of irregular migration is key to ensuring that potential migrants make informed decisions about their migration journeys. The C4D approach is a consultative process which ensures that the complex factors that motivate and promote sustainable change are integrated in the messaging.

In Cameroon, IOM partnered with two associations, Solutions aux Migrations Clandestines and the Organisation pour l’Eveil des Jeunes sur la Migration Irrégulière et la Traite de Personnes (OEMIT) to disseminate positive messages on migration in the centers and suburbs of Cameroon’s major cities: Yaoundé, Douala and Bafoussam.

OEMIT is unique in that it was established by former migrants who were worried at the number of fellow Cameroonians they saw in detention centres in Libya. Together, they committed to joining their voices and being living examples that young Cameroonians do not need to look outside for their success. 

Several activities have been organized over the past year including educational talks targeting senior high school students, conferences to engage with academics and decision-makers, and high-profile events such as concerts and television debates. These activities are complemented by a community outreach campaign initiated by the Cameroonian government through the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education.

During the training, the participants were invited to design and test messages among themselves to identify and address potential gaps. The participants were also given the opportunity to share their experiences in awareness raising activities

“Now I am more confident on my ability to facilitate a community dialogue with impact thanks to this training”, said one of the community mediators who took part in the training.

This training was organized in the framework of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for migrant Protection and Reintegration in Cameroon.

For more information, please contact Serena Pescatore, in charge of Communication and Awareness-Raising at IOM Cameroon at spescatore@iom.int , Tel:  +237 698 215103.