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Type of practice
Summary
IOM Argentina has developed a podcast series with six episodes that narrates the stories of six migrants in Argentina (migrants from Bolivia, Peru, Senegal, Paraguay, Mexico and Venezuela). These stories allow us to explore the complexity and diversity of migratory paths, providing a personal account of different migration processes as well as migrants’ expectations, fears and desires. The episodes also sought to incorporate the gender, cultural, child and human rights perspectives. Academics and researchers from different universities specializing in the migration also contributed to each episode, offering a global view of the migration process in which the narrated story of each migrant is framed.
The series was developed in partnership with POSTA.FM, the largest podcast producer in Argentina. IOM Argentina oversaw the entire production process which included the identification and selection of the interviewees, the development of the scripts and the final editing of the episodes. IOM’s thematic specialists also participated in the process. The interviewees were selected with a few criteria in mind: diverse nationalities, life experiences, migration trajectories, motivation for migration, and challenges and opportunities they encountered in the host country. The podcast series highlighted the complexity of the migration processes, sharing candidly the emotional side of the migrants’ experience, as well as the challenges of adapting to the life in the host country, that varied depending on the migrants’ country of origin. The team set out to tell stories that, despite how difficult they might be to hear, promote a positive narrative in both the life stories of the migrants interviewed and migration as a political and social process.
The title "El pasage" is a word play which means both the ticket and passage in Spanish. Here the ticket is what a migrant would use to start their journey and the passage symbolizes the transition that begins with an arrival in a new country and leads to the transformative process of migration.
Benefit and Impact
- Within three months, the podcast was listened to by 12,000 people throughout Latin America, reaching the top 10 in Apple Podcasts in several countries in the region. It was also featured on the local Spotify site, and invited to be a featured podcast for the Amazon Music launch in Mexico. The podcast project has resulted in a stronger working relationship with the government and the private sector. The team is currently working on a second edition, pending funding support for development and production.
- Among other repercussions that this podcast has achieved, at the national and regional level, we can highlight that this initiative has been one of the first to use the podcast format to address migration issues in the region, which is why it has been used as a reference for the podcast production in other IOM offices in South America, as well as by United Nations System agencies in Argentina, generating not only a synergy between the different productions, in which OIM Argentina was consulted by virtue of the production experience of this podcast, but also enabling the participation of IOM Argentina officials in these productions.
- It has also aroused interest in the mass media, having been mentioned in numerous press releases in graphic and radio media, from its launch to the present.
Key Lessons
Another challenge was achieving an emotional impact that allows empathizing with the story, while providing valuable information and analysis on migration into Argentina.
Lastly, in terms of distribution of podcasts, it is essential to consider several platforms to ensure they are widely available and easily accessible. “El Pasaje” can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other podcasting platforms.
Recommendations(if the practice is to be replicated)
Innovation
Also, it is a sustainable initiative, it continues to be available on Spotify and handy to an audience that is constantly renewed.
Although the Argentine population is usually receptive and open towards migrants, the local socioeconomic situation, aggravated by the effect of the pandemic, opens the risk to a greater appearance of xenophobic and discriminatory discourses. This type of initiative is important, mainly in these contexts, to promote inclusive narratives that allow society to empathize with migrants from a deep understanding of the complexities of migration processes.
Finally, this project can both be replicated and escalated, taking into consideration local contexts and complexities in order to promote discourses to shape positive perceptions of migration in different realities.
Additional Resources
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*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).