Abidjan hosted the official launch of the INNOVE project on Thursday, 30 April 2026. Promoted by AVSI in partnership with Soleterre, CeVI, Ballafon, Bibliothèques Sans Frontières and Proyecto Solidario, the event brought together representatives of institutions, technical partners, community actors and project beneficiaries.
Titled “Integrated community initiatives for effective communication against irregular migration in support of vulnerable populations”, the project is funded by the European Union through the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME). INNOVE addresses the information and communication factors that influence migration choices, with a particular focus on Côte d’Ivoire, a country of origin, and Morocco, a country of origin and transit.
The project aims to improve access to reliable information on the risks of irregular migration, while at the same time highlighting legal alternatives and local economic and social opportunities. INNOVE adopts an approach based on community-based communication and local mobilisation, working along two main lines of action: countering distorted narratives and strengthening community awareness of the risks of irregular migration. This is achieved through the involvement of opinion leaders, local authorities, journalists, returnee migrants and diaspora communities.
Over the next three years, INNOVE is expected to directly reach more than 33,800 people along the main migration routes in West Africa and North Africa. The project makes use of innovative tools, including digital libraries, web series, podcasts, theatre performances, video testimonies and social media. A strategic role is also assigned to diaspora communities in Italy, France and Spain, who are called upon to share credible narratives grounded in real migration experiences.
During the launch ceremony, Bamba Lassiné, AVSI Country Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, highlighted the need to renew communication approaches on migration issues:
“The persistence of false information on irregular migration calls for innovative communication methods. This means changing the content of messages, the audiences reached, the channels used and, above all, the ability to create synergies among local actors. For AVSI, targeted and concrete awareness-raising is essential.”
The Abidjan event also provided an opportunity to discuss the project’s objectives, methodology and expected results, following the official launch in Morocco on 28 April 2026. As underlined by Jessica Verdelli, INNOVE project manager: “It is essential to act on perceptions before the decision to leave becomes irreversible.”
With INNOVE, AVSI and its partners reaffirm their commitment to responsible, community-rooted communication on irregular migration, placing people, accurate information and real future prospects at the centre.
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