| dc.description.abstract | This report starts by providing a summary of key recommendations from existing best-practice guides for migration communication The most common recommendation is to focus on values-based messaging. However, very little work has considered what values-based messaging is and what type of value-based messaging is likely to work regarding migration. This report then summarises the academic literature on values, focussing on Schwarz’s theory of basic human values: broad, stable motivational goals that individuals hold in life, which predict attitudes to specific issues and behaviour. The relationship between these ten values—universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, security, power, achievement, hedonism, self-direction and stimulation—is graphically displayed. It is shown that universalism, benevolence, stimulation and self-direction are associated with pro-immigration attitudes, whereas conformity, security, tradition and power are associated with anti-immigration attitudes. Aligning one’s migration policy communication with the target audience’s values is likely to elicit sympathy for the message. However, values-based messages that do not align with those of the audience are less likely to elicit sympathy and may elicit antipathy. This report then analyses migration policy communication examples from an inventory of 135 campaigns from both sides of the Mediterranean provided by the ICMPD. | en |
