"This paper aims to shed light on the threats that young people living in refugee camps face in their use of Facebook. While social media enable a participatory process of communication (Russo et al., 2008), which is based on the agency of the communicator and defined by their own cultural and moral
...
goals (Lee et al., 2023), these platforms can at times be inappropriately pursued if the communicator lacks relevant skills. The outcome of such a pursuit can also inadvertently damage social cohesion in the camp and lead to conflict.
Design/methodology/approach: A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were carried out in 2023 with young people between the ages of 20 and 29 living in Kakuma refugee camp. The young refugees were asked questions related to their own behaviour and practices on Facebook and to those of their peers. The focus was specifically on the context of the interactions with other youth in Kakuma and on the camp’s Facebook groups or pages.
Findings: Findings reveal that limited knowledge, understanding and awareness of the functioning and affordances of social media platforms such as Facebook are leading young refugees towards multiple risks involved in public online interactions. This has significant negative impacts not only on the lives of the youth who are active on social media in the camp but also on the relationships with their peers and overall community harmony.
Originality/value: A number of studies have identified some of the dangers arising for refugees operating in online spaces, and particularly on social media platforms (see, for example, Tech Transparency Project, 2022; Dekker et al., 2018). Yet, there is a lack of research on the outcomes that young refugees face in their immediate virtual and physical environment as a result of their online behaviour. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to bring to light the nature of the interactions and the dynamics that young, encamped refugees engage in on Facebook and to offer useful reflections that can inform digital literacy efforts carried out by development agencies." (Abstract)
more
"This article explores the role of the radio listener clubs in the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The article demonstrates the unique potential of radio in reducing the challenges relevant to the lives of crisis-affected adolescents since the influx in 2017. Adolescents are
...
the most vulnerable community in Cox’s Bazar. Drawing from findings derived from qualitative fieldwork in situ, the article demonstrates how the listener clubs serve as an inclusive environment where the affected youth can access life-saving information, express their needs, provide feedback for improvement of humanitarian response and act as change agents in the refugee context." (Abstract)
more
"En este número del regreso nos convoca un tema profundo, desgarrador y, algunas veces, inquietante y esperanzador: Migración y Literatura Infantil y Juvenil. Es nuestro deseo que nuestra Voces & Tintas N. 4 sirva de itinerario y brújula hacia el encuentro con los libros, los niños y niñas y el
...
mundo literario de la región." (Editorial)
more
"To what extent can critical media literacy education acknowledge and strengthen young migrants’ resilience? In this article, we evaluate the Netherlands-based participatory action research project Critical media literacy through making media. Gathered empirical data include participant observatio
...
n in two classes, in-depth interviews with 3 teachers and 19 students, as well an 18-minute film reflection. The focus is on how understandings, procedures and affectivity shape young migrants’ mindful media literacy practice. In order to develop media literacy education which works for all, we need to move away from a one-size-fits-all model based on the norms of Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic societies. Drawing on our experiences of co-creating, practicing and evaluating a curriculum with teachers and migrant students, we demonstrate the urgency of situated, reflexive, flexible, culture and context-aware critical media literacy education." (Abstract)
more
"This report provides an overview of how digital technologies are being used to support youth’s transition from school to work, ‘learning to earning’, in displaced and host communities. Based on a rapid analysis of emerging approaches and lessons in this burgeoning space, the report’s purpos
...
e is to inspire concerted attention and action to ensure effectiveness and scale of such digital enablers. The focus of the report is on youth in forcibly displaced and host communities, though many of the solutions presented serve youth in vulnerable contexts more widely, with applicability to forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and migrant populations more broadly. Many insights are also relevant to youth programming more generally, though efforts have been made to draw out the specific considerations for forcibly displaced youth. The report intentionally takes a global view, though the majority of solutions presented are implemented in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regions, which coincides with the focus of the PROSPECTS Partnership. The experiences of forcibly displaced youth vary widely, across and within national boundaries. The solution landscape is also complex, involving different national and international agencies working at national and local levels. Even within countries, school-to-work transition differs according to whether forcibly displaced youth reside in camps or in resettled urban settings, and whether youth are still ‘in transit’. This report does not aim to cover these considerations in detail, though context specificities are of major relevance to solution design." (About this report, page 4)
more