Minister calls on media to help educate youth on migration

Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, said migration has assumed alarming proportions globally with many of the youth risking their lives in search of greener pastures and falling victims to human trafficking.

She said in Ghana migration, historically, played a central role in the livelihood enhancement for both the rural and urban population.

Mrs Kusi said this at a Lessons Learnt Workshop on Migration held for Migration Reporters within the Western Region to solicit ideas and experiences on improving on their reportage.

It was a follow-up to a previous workshop on 'Investigative Journalism on Free Movement and Migration, to provide the media personnel the opportunity to share their experiences, best practices, challenges and recommendations on the way forward.

Participants included the International Organisation for Migration, Ghana Immigration and Police services, Regional Coordinating Council, Ghana Journalists Association, Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association, Ghana News Agency, and the Information Services Department.

Mrs Kusi, in her keynote address, said: "Given the contemporary migration realities and dynamics as well as the current global processes of development of technology including ICT and the new natural resources discoveries, Ghana cannot afford to ignore migration and its impact on economic development.”

She said in recent times the use of social media and emerging technologies had become very important in the various sectors of the economy including the media, "therefore there is no doubt that the media have a crucial role to play in the promotion of safe and secure intraregional migration".

Mrs Kusi said the issue of free movement and migrants’ rights were the most important to the Region due to its location as home to the country's second harbour.

The Region, she said, was becoming a major attraction for both regular and irregular migrants from all over the world due to the oil and gas industries there.

She said it recorded the highest number of attempted stowaways and called on the media to help educate the youth more on the effects.

Mrs Kusi said the Lessons learnt from the workshop should serve as recommendations, which would further strengthen the capacity of journalists to design more strategies to promote migration issues in the Region.

She said the Government was determined to support the growth of the media.