According to the estimates by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), in 2020, 2.3 million people residing in Argentina (5% of its total population) were born abroad. Of this total, the percentage of migrants between the age of 0 to 19 years old was of 17.4%.

Children of migrants who maintain the cultural practices of their parents may also become victims of xenophobia and discrimination. According to reports by the public agency in charge of fighting racism and xenophobia in Argentina (INADI), the notion of racism has become more complex in recent years and has begun to emphasize culture and nationality. In Argentina, several ethnic and cultural groups experience racism, including indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and African migrants, and migrants from neighboring countries, Asia, the Jewish and Muslim communities, among others. Argentina offers a number of educational programs to promote cultural diversity, to encourage everyone to respect cultural differences and to be involved in learning about other cultures. Promoting diversity requires an intersectional approach that include human rights perspectives such as access to health and education as well as gender identity.

Therefore, the importance of organizing and carrying out awareness-raising activities that address the issues affecting migrant children and youth has become clear and led to the development of a media campaign.

In alliance with the public TV channel Pakapaka; UNICEF; and the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family (SENAF), IOM Argentina led and financed the development of a cycle of 6 microprograms for TV, aimed at children, seeking to raise awareness about the values and benefits of culturally diverse society.  “Encontrarnos nos hace crecer” communicates a positive message about migrants through experiences commonly found in from our daily lives, by dealing with topics such as food, games, cultural practices, music, and dancing, among others.

The episodes were aired on the cable television channel Pakapaka as part of its regular programming. Due to the short length of each episode, they were inserted at different times throughout the broadcasting schedule. They were also published on IOM, UNICEF, Pakapaka and SENAF social media.

The content was developed with a series of technical reports contributed by each of the participating organizations specifically on the subject of migrant children, which helped establish the needs and direction of the initiative. The scripts were developed in conjunction with a creative production company specializing in children and adolescent content. These scripts were then reviewed, modified and validated by the participating organizations, prior to the graphic production of each episode.

At the initial stage of development, 6 dimensions (sport, food, celebrations, language, dance and clothing) were identified to help formulate the stories and to tell a wide range of culturally diverse experiences of migrants. The team also made a decision not to make explicit references to nationalities, so that the focus of the messages stays on the integration experience and to avoid labeling of certain migrant groups.