Publications
The three stages of the pre-migration journey: Insights from digital diaries
Necla Acik reflects on her experience with digital diaries, where she followed 18 individuals over half a year to explore how migration decisions take shape. The diaries reveal that migration begins long before departure, unfolding as a pre-migration ‘journey’ with three key stages. Understanding this process is essential to ensuring safe migration pathways.
Policing borders or providing prospects? How opportunity shapes mobility
Recent research suggests that improving living conditions and prospects can reduce the desire to migrate, an insight further explored in an ongoing DYNAMIG study. Lena Detlefsen, Tobias Heidland and Claas Schneiderheinze argue that fostering optimism and opportunity in countries of origin may be more effective than the restrictive border control measures Western countries often prioritise.
Cutting aid, fuelling irregular migration? The possible unintended effects of global aid cuts
Aid has been increasingly used to control migration, although its effectiveness remains debated. Pointing to new evidence suggesting aid used to improve living conditions can indeed reduce migration aspirations, Anna Knoll and Tobias Heidland warn that global aid cuts might backfire.
How shifting gender norms are shaping migration decisions across Africa
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Omololá Olárìndé explores how changing gender norms are shaping migration decisions in Africa, drawing from interviews with over 150 people in Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco.
Beyond the data: Migrants’ experiences in research – Part 3
On International Migrants Day, AspirE, DYNAMIG and PACES want to honour and reflect on the voices of migrants in migration research. In this three-part interview series, we focus on how (aspiring) migrants experienced their participation in our research. Through their reflections, we aim to shed light on the human side of academic studies, exploring what it means to share one’s story. In the third interview, we hear from Felicity.
Video series – Work in progress: DYNAMIG research findings
In this series of short videos, the DYNAMIG project team dive into the research they are conducting and share some initial findings.
Emerging insights from our work in Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria
Omololá Olárìndé and Necla Acik share some of the emerging findings of our research, focusing on social media and gender, and reflect on what they take away from the workshops in Ilara-Mokin, Nairobi and Rabat.
Podcast: How does gender affect migration?
For the second episode of ECDPM’s podcast series 'Minding the gap: Conversations on gender', Omololá Olárìndé joins ECDPM's Jamie Slater to discuss the latest findings from the DYNAMIG project and what they might mean for the way we understand migration and migration policy.
Migration aspirations in Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic: A social media analysis
In this paper, Amir Abdul Reda and Omololá Olárìndé explore trends in migration conversations on social media from three African countries – Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria – to determine what these can tell us about migration aspirations.
Seeking greener shores? Emigration aspirations in Morocco and Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic
Amir Abdul Reda and Omololá Olárìndé present some early findings of their DYNAMIG research on the impact of health crises on migration aspirations in Atlantic countries of the Global South, analysing social media data. This short paper was originally published in the 2023 edition of The Atlantic Currents.