Magnum Photos and Migrants as Messengers (MaM) have joined forces to equip returnee migrants from West Africa with tools and skills to tell vivid stories from their countries. More than a visual exercise, it is a dialogue between communities and storytellers. Through their stories, MaM Volunteers (returnee migrants) provide a genuine look at the wide and complex realities in Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, unveiling contrasting fragments of actuality.
Magnum Photos
The cooperative press agency Magnum Photos was founded in 1947, following the aftermath of the Second World War, by four pioneering photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and David Seymour. After 75 years, the agency and collective of photographers is still committed to maintain its ideals and deontology, an idiosyncratic mix of journalists, artists and storytellers; sharing a vision to chronicle world events, people, places and culture with a powerful narrative that defies convention, shatters the status quo, redefines history and transforms lives.
Migrants as Messengers (MaM)
Migrants as Messengers is a peer-to-peer awareness raising campaign that empowers young people in West Africa to make informed decisions about migration. The campaign is carried out directly by more than 400 returnee migrant Volunteers who share honest accounts of their migration experiences with their communities and families. Through interviews and on-the-ground activities, these Volunteers engage their peers so they too can share their stories. Authentic storytelling, peer-to-peer engagement, community activities, and dissemination through social media and messaging platforms make these stories accessible to wider audiences, including local decision-makers, community leaders, religious leaders and young people in the region. Migrants as Messengers is funded by the Netherlands Government and implemented by the International Organization for Migration. More information: www.migrantsasmessengers.org.
IN COLLABORATION WITH MAGNUM PHOTOS
For more information, please contact >> IOM: Amanda Nero (anero@iom.int) Badara Fall (bafall@iom.int) >> MAGNUM PHOTOS: contact@magnumphotos.com