The “Students Mindchangers” project, led by Eclosio in partnership with Accord d’Ebène, aims to train a group of student-relays on migration issues so that they can produce and disseminate an awareness-raising message around them.

During the project, students were trained on two levels. On the one hand, they received thematic training on issues related to migration and discrimination. In this context, they participated in a first awareness raising phase on migration issues during three evenings:

• a group reading of the book “Le Moabi Cinéma” by Blick Bassy;
• a “theatre-forum” about the play “Le pouvoir de la neige” by Mouhamadou Diba;
• a meeting with a well-known Burundian photographer and activist, Teddy Mazina.

Then, they all worked together on the topic of migration during a residential weekend. They chose to work on communication and more specifically “how to communicate on migration issues without stereotyping”. This theme has been developed into five tools:

• A magazine, which contains original articles and content (personal articles, interviews with other participants, photo report, etc.);
• An official plea, which aims to make the University of Liège more hospitable to migrants;
• An awareness-raising video, which allows us to move away from the media and politicised image of the migrant to highlight their humanity and different sides;
• A whole communication campaign, including the creation of tools and communication material that are and will be disseminated on the networks and platforms linked to the project. These materials will partly reflect the work, the process and the impressions of the different participants in the Students Mindchangers project;
• A street action, which will raise awareness and debate around migration issues in the public space. This animation aims more specifically at questioning the way in which the media communicate on migration issues and how the interviewees can contribute to communicate differently and more positively on these issues.

The different tools produced during the weekend were promoted and disseminated on Eclosio’s social networks and the project’s partner associations’, and involved the project participants. As the communication campaign was conceived during the weekend, the emphasis was put on multimedia content (interview, audio, videos, photos, podcast, etc.) to boost visibility on social networks and promote the other tools. This type of content was also used to mobilise students in the following academic years.

Want to see the tools created thanks to the project?

Visit Eclosio’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/EclosioBE

and Instagram account: www.instagram.com/eclosio.belgique/