Type of activity Objectives Focus
Description
Duration Materials Tips and Tricks
8. Focus group Focus groups Creating a framework in order to discuss a specific issue with a target category of people One of the subjects discussed is “Migration” It appeared that a lot of young people are willing to go for migration. The idea through the focus group with young people is to know more about what makes them want to migrate. The focus group is one of the best or quicker manner to organize an open discussion in a specific matter. Number of people 10-25. Larger group is possible but the more it goes the more it’s difficult to be heard and to control the group. 60-120 min Seats, convenient community place • It’s important to have a moderator who’ll conduct the discussion, but also observers and other volunteers who’ll screen the group. The moderator’s role is to distribute the flow in order for each participants to give an input on the subject. Take into account cultural realities while organizing these kind of activities in order to make a better of it. It may also be necessary to make private interview with some participants but also people who are external to the group (e.g. elders, parents, women…) in order to gain a different perspective to the same problem. • People have to sit in circle in order for each one to be seen properly. • The bigger the group is, the longer it takes. Use plays in order to install confidence in people and trust in order to discuss big issues. • The youth exodus in Senegal: • In recent years, thousands of Senegalese and Gambian young people have fled to Europe through the “back way”: the perilous, clandestine journey across West Africa, the Sahara, Libya and the Mediterranean. They are mostly young men from rural areas and the suburbs where economic prospects are very limited. Entire rural villages have lost their youth community due to the exodus. The political chaos in Libya, following the fall of Muammar Khadafi in 2011, has allowed traffickers to thrive. In 2016, only 4,047 Senegalese crossed the Mediterranean sea according to the IOM. Once in Europe, many asylum applications are typically rejected, with youth readily dismissed as “economic migrants”.
147