Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OPPORTUNITIES (Crises as Opportunities: towards a Level Telling Field on Migration and a New Narrative of Successful Integration) Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2022-02-28 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project Migration discourses in Europe are often more concerned with aligning the diverging migration policies of EU member states than with calling for a humanitarian response to forced displacement and migration. In this sense, migration “crises” have revealed an underlying political crisis: the lack of unity in Europe. A question facing us today is whether the forced displacement of millions of Ukrainians, which has been met with unprecedented solidarity, will also change the attitude towards migration from other places or provoke a backlash if the situation is protracted.OPPORTUNITIES proposes an innovative theoretical model of narrative dynamics in order to explore discourse shifts in national and European conversations on migration. Through quantitative research, we study discourses of openness and closure in Twitter debates on immigration and develop a cross-country comparison of attitudes towards migration. We investigate whether the crisis dynamics are mirrored by shifts in public opinion. Further, by means of comparative discourse analysis, our research explores how these discourse shifts affect discourses on migration and diasporic communities. Theoretical modelling, quantitative analysis, and qualitative work thus provide the backbone of our work.However, OPPORTUNITIES goes beyond academic research. The quest for a fair narrative on migration and a new narrative of successful integration, remain a serious challenge. We believe that in order to find support for a more forward-looking European migration policy grounded on human rights, we need to move beyond nationalist narratives emphasizing security concerns. We also need to review the bureaucratic rhetoric of crisis that reduces displacement and migration to management problems to be solved beyond Europe’s borders.But what does re-framing migration – not as a crisis but as an opportunity – entail? OPPORTUNITIES shows in both theory and practice how we can start an inclusive and productive debate grounded in new principles for a fair dialogue on immigration and successful integration. A fair dialogue is a conversation or discourse in which the perspectives of all participants are equally respected and valued. To achieve this, participants have to agree on a set of premises, principles, and procedures to establish what we call a Level Telling Field (LTF). We derive this term, by analogy, from the economic metaphor of the level playing field in the single market, but we also remain aware of the differences between economic and cultural dynamics. Level Telling Fields are playbooks for an open, constructive, and productive debate. They are best viewed as commitments by all participants in a debate to adopt a shared set of premises, including multiperspectivity, mutual respect, and an ethics of listening. The LTF approach is scalable: it can be adapted for face-to-face encounters, e.g. conversations among migrants and members of local communities (“cross-talk” events), but it can also inform national and European debates on migration.“Fair play” in this context means that a wide range of perspectives must be represented and heard. To date, narratives on migration, i.e. narratives talking about the migrant experience from a non-migrant point of view, dominate in political, scientific, and legal discourses. OPPORTUNITIES, in contrast, seeks to promote narratives of migration, giving a voice to refugees and migrants themselves.Our project not only develops the LTF approach in theory, but also tests it with migrants and stakeholders in public events organized by NGOs in 8 countries. We develop a cross-talk manual which explains how the LTF approach works in practice to overcome toxic debates on migration and similarly controversial issues. And, through close collaboration with a leading European theater company – KVS City Theater in Brussels – we will develop a touring production which will bring the LTF idea to life on European stages.OPPORTUNITIES is a collaborative project bringing together universities and research institutions in Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Senegal, and Ghana, and NGOs from Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal, and Mauritania. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far In the first year of the project, the main task was to create a common language and understanding between participants and set out the preparatory work for the next research phase, next to the instalment of the dissemination tools (website, national Facebook pages, first policy briefs and newsletters). Concrete steps were the creation of the glossary, a joint vocabulary on a large range of terms related to the project, the basic for a fair narrative in the next phase and the design of the cross talks methodology, a participatory action research method for the Opportunities qualitative field work for a fair dialogue with migrants and stakeholders in the next period. Other completed tasks were the quantitative research work: a cross-country analysis of media on selection and attitudes towards narratives on migration, a cross-country comparison on Tweets on migrations by politicians in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Italy and a descriptive analysis of changing attitudes of broad population groups towards migration. These data and results will serve as input for the upcoming research work for a fair narrative and dialogue. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) OPPORTUNITIES is committed to continuous cross-fertilization between the various disciplines (humanities, sociology, action research) within the consortium creating multi-perspectivity and an enriched answer to the toxic debate on migration. A first cross-fertilization takes place between the practical knowledge of NGOs and academics. The glossary is an example of this. The various items were chosen and written in a dialogue between the two fields of knowledge. Terms such as Level Telling Field, Cross Talk, honest dialogue, listening, ... are thus given a richer interpretation. The Cross Talk manual has been developed from the practical knowledge and practice of NGOs and academics. African academics are strongly involved to make the method applicable in African countries. The applicability of the Cross Talk method in the African countries is being further elaborated and will lead to an adapted methodology, from which the European countries can learn.A second cross-fertilization also applies to quantitative research. The Cross Talks start with an interview with questions related to this. The results of the survey and the quantitative research can then be used in the preparations for the Cross Talks. The interviews will be further used in the qualitative research and will enrich the research on narrative ecology. A third cross-fertilization also applies between the quantitative and qualitative research to test the theorization of narrative ecology in practice. The qualitative research on the ecology of narratives is based on new overviews of narrative dynamics and on the testing with concrete stories about and from migration and on the research of long-term trends in attitudes towards migration.Multi-perspectivity is essential for policy recommendations. Each policy brief is based on the progress of the research and on the dialogue within OPPORTUNITIES. Each policy brief is elaborated in dialogue and uses the actual research to frame current social discussions and to offer suggestions for action. Topicality is provided by the NGOs that keep their finger on the pulse in their countries. Home page of the project website
