UPSA Lecturer Develops Migration App For Journalists

The functional Mobile App, MigStories, which was funded by the ECOWAS Commission and European Union is meant to facilitate reporting on migration issues due to the increasing demand for timely reporting of such issues.

Frontline journalists in Ghana have found it difficult to report from the field on migration because of the lack of functional mobile application to facilitate reporting. The MigStories App is meant to erode that challenge. The key features of the App include text writing function, camera function for photos, video and audio recording, a database of migration stories and function to file reports and attach multi-media.

The MigStories App was developed under the Project: Media Training and Public Sensitisation on ECOWAS and Migrants’ Rights which is implemented in Ghana by Media Response with technical support from International Organisation for Migration(IOM).

Speaking during the launch, Mr Ayiku said the App goes beyond just being used by journalists to file stories and have access to a database of migration stories but also provides a platform for government officials to know the extent of the mobility of migrants and ensure their linkages to services. It also gives them unlimited access to up-to-date migration data. Migrants will also have easy access the counter-trafficking hotlines.

The database of migration stories, he added, provides an accounting of migration stories by citizens and journalists. It also supports local and global migration stories. The database can be accessed at www.ghanamigrationstories.org

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, also urged the media to use these platforms to sensitise the public about the risks associated with illegal migration.

The partners of the project were the Ghana News Agency, Information Services Department, the Ghana Journalists Association and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association.

The MigStories App is available for download at Google PlayStore and App Store.