Understanding the Impact of Narratives and Perceptions of Europe on Migration and Providing Practices, Tools and Guides for Practitioners

Project Information

PERCEPTIONS

Grant agreement ID: 833870

DOI

10.3030/833870

Project closed

EC signature date 29 April 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 28 February 2023

Funded under

• Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens

Total cost

€ 4 994 652,50

EU contribution

€ 4 994 652,50

Coordinated by

SYNYO GmbH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PERCEPTIONS (Understanding the Impact of Narratives and Perceptions of Europe on Migration and Providing Practices, Tools and Guides for Practitioners)

Reporting period: 2020-11-01 to 2023-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In recent years, migration has been a persistent topic of political discussions in Europe. But what are the relevant factors shaping migration? One answer are the constructed narratives and perceptions of a given country. Therefore, the PERCEPTIONS project examines how Europe and the EU are seen by people who have immigrated there or intend to do so. It aims to understand what perceptions of Europe and European countries exist among this group, how they are formed, whether they correspond to reality and how they influence migration decisions.
The main objectives of the PERCEPTIONS project are to (1) identify narratives, images and perceptions of (life in) Europe held by migrants and people who intend to migrate, as well as the channels used to distribute these narratives, images and perceptions, including traditional mass media and social media; (2) investigate how different narratives could lead to problems due to a mismatch of expectation and reality, to migrants and even to national security; and (3) create toolkits of creative and innovative measures to react or even counteract on distorted information, considering social, societal and structural aspects.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project started with a thorough analysis of the state of the art, with the aim to provide the conceptual and knowledge foundation for PERCEPTIONS to guide the empirical and development work in subsequent work packages. As such, the consortium collected and reviewed an extensive body of existing knowledge, studies, secondary data, measures, policies, legal frameworks, as well as social security, threats and risks. As such, the following results have been achieved:
- An extensive overview of the stakeholders within the countries under analysis, including (i) migrant groups, (ii) NGOs and other host society groups, (iii) policymakers, (iv) media, (v) LEAs and other first-line practitioners and (vi) academics.
- A systematic literature review of 221 documents, including journals, book chapters, conference papers, working papers and project reports. Findings illustrate several important issues in the current understanding of migration narratives, demonstrating the complexity of migration narrative.
- An analysis of policies and policy recommendations in the 12 countries under research (Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Spain, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom).
- A matrix of threats and security issues (real or perceived) regarding current movements and processes of migration.
- A collection of good practices addressing or counteracting issues resulting from a mismatch of expectation and reality caused by migrants’ narratives and perceptions of Europe, the EU or European countries.
- A baseline report providing provides a concise overview of (i) which types of stakeholders are relevant to consider for the project; (ii) the existing academic literature on narratives, perceptions and discourses on Europe and how this impacts migration, (iii) policies on migration and security issues, (iv) threats perceived by security practitioners, policymakers and civil society organisations and (v) good practices.
- A multi-perspective study design that takes into account the different target groups included in the empirical research, specifies the various research sites, as well as the research questions for the different activities.
- An ethical framework that presents the results of a thorough review of ethical concerns relevant to the PERCEPTIONS project, and guides the empirical research.
- A detailed collection of the various media sources – both social and conventional media – as data sources that were used for the investigation of online narratives.
- A keyword-based taxonomy to set up a multilingual analytical system to analyse social media data, as well as traditional mass media
- The technical concept of the PERCEPTIONS web platform.

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)

Previous research suggests that perceptions on Europe are formed in the country of residence, and they are based on a multitude of sources; and factors influencing migration are on different levels – from the overall socio-economic situation in a country to perceptions on educational opportunities and gender equality. Through a systematic analysis of the state of the art, the project team was able to identify relevant gaps to be addressed with the empirical research that was carried out, on the one hand, with migrants and experts (first-line practitioners, policymakers, civil society organisations). The literature review has uncovered a critical lack of consideration of perspectives of first-line practitioners and policymakers, as well as host attitudes towards the specific issue of border control. The empirical research of PERCEPTIONS intends to fill this gap.
On the other hand, partners carried out an analysis of social media. The literature review of the project has uncovered, next to the pull and push factors of migration through narratives, the diversity of platforms for the transmission of narratives as well as alternative channels of information. Social media and new communication networks have increased the scope and the intensity of distribution of a variety of narratives; so-called filter bubbles and echo chambers can lead to one-sided narratives that go uncorrected. Due to new communication technologies, claims can take on a life of their own, and might raise unrealistic expectations or disapproval. At the same time, however, technologies and communication networks might also provide a channel to avoid a mismatch of expectation and reality. Therefore, PERCEPTIONS has identified and collected a variety of channels in which such narratives and images are spread. The project examined the role of traditional mass media, as well as social media, in this process, aiming to understand what kind of images and ideas are transported via different channels. The project also examined how the flow of information could be distorted and whether inaccurate information could lead to a threat to the security of migrants (e.g. through dangerous border crossings) or even national security (e.g. radicalisation).
Besides insights gained through the various research activities, PERCEPTIONS outcomes include toolkits of creative and innovative measures to react or even counteract on them, considering social, societal and structural aspects. A series of policies responded to the so-called ‘migration crisis’, based on assumptions about the factors influencing migration. PERCEPTIONS created evidence-based toolkits of creative and innovative measures for policymakers to react or counteract on different perceptions, considering social, societal and structural aspects.

PERCEPTIONS Leaflet Page 1

PERCEPTIONS Leaflet Page 2