Borders of Fear Meetup: Facing Invisible Borders

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Wednesday 28 October, 19:00 – 22:00 at ACUD Macht Neu, Veteranenstr 21, 10119 Berlin

Part of the DNL Activation programme https://www.disruptionlab.org/meet-ups
Cost: free admission · Language: English

Registration: The number of participants is limited to 15. Booking is essential.
Please get your ticket here: https://pretix.eu/disruptionlab/invisibleborders

Warming up to our 21st conference BORDERS OF FEAR: Migration, Security & Control, (27-29 November 2020, Studio 1, Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien), we invite you to join us for an evening with Thomas Kalunge of the Migrant Media Network – an immersion into the journey of a potential migrant to Germany using design thinking.

The Migrant Media Network (#MMN) is a project by the r0g_agency for open culture & critical transformation that provides young Africans with reliable information and training on migration issues and social media to make informed decisions and be aware of safer migration options to Europe. #MMN promotes youth entrepreneurship at home as a way to build economic and social resilience, encouraging youth to create their own opportunities and work within their communities.

Program – starting from 19:00:

  • Introduction to the conference Borders of Fear: Migration, Security & Control

  • Introduction to the Migrant Media Network

  • Immersive journey: facing invisible borders

  • Drinks and networking

Every year thousands of people from developing countries apply for a visa to western countries, often facing a tedious visa application process: worrying whether they have the right documents, whether a typo might have put their application directly into the reject pile, or just anxiously awaiting a response. At worst, getting a visa successfully is completely mystifying. And what if after doing all the hard work your visa gets denied? The anxiety and fear of rejection are made even worse by locations where the embassy are located especially in developing countries like Ghana and Kenya. The security surrounding the facilities look designed to induce fear. The question then here is who really fears who?

On the contrary, as of July 2020, the German passport was ranked as the 3rd strongest passport in the world: German passport holders can travel to about 189 countries without a visa. The problems of visa application will be therefore new for many German, or European, passport holders.

In this meetup, Thomas C. Kalunge will, after an introduction to the Migrant Media Network project, invite you to immerse yourself via the design thinking process into the experiences of potential migrants. This journey will help you understand the process of applying for visa coming from a developing country, and make the invisible border visible. Are the the strict regulation to access the consulate and the complicated application process strategically designed to induce fear? If so why?

Registration

  • The meetup is free of admission and the number of seats is limited to 15. Booking is essential. You can reserve a spot here

Speaker

Thomas G. Kalunge (Strategy advisor/Agile Project Management, r0g_agency) is Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Scientist and practitioner (MSc) as well as a certified design thinking expert. With the User-centered approach, Thomas’s work focuses on Agile project management, Innovation Management, and diaspora involvement in transformative development in host and countries of origin. Currently, Thomas leads the project Migrant Media Network #MMN. This project uses digital online and offline tools to ensure factual information on migration decisions and to provide a discussion forum to defuse the often one-sided picture of migration perpetuated mostly by human smugglers. He also works with r0g_agency on program and strategy development for various projects and programs in Africa

Funded by: Senatsverwaltung für Kultur Und Europa (Senate Department for Culture and Europa, Berlin), Bundeszentrale Für Politische Bildung, the Reva and David Logan Foundation (Grant Provided by Neo Philanthropy), the Guerrilla Foundation, Checkpoint Charlie Foundation. Supported [in Part] by a Grant From the Foundation Open Society Institute in Cooperation with the OSIFE of the Open Society Foundations. Part of Re-Imagine Europe co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

David Dari

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MMN Coordinator, Bono East Region, Ghana

Email: david@migrantmedia.network

David is a enlightenment thinker, and a student of history, policy, and innovation. He is interested in youth advocacy and activism, and a politician. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in History with Economics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Whiles at the University, he was speaker for the KNUST Students Representative Council (SRC) Parliamentary Council, a member of the Board of the Dean of Students and a Board Member of the University Welfare Committee. He had the opportunity to travel to the United States of America for Leadership Exchange Programs. He lives in the Upper Region of Ghana, and is the MMN coordinator for the Upper West Region.

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Henrietta Asante 

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MMN Coordinator, Ashanti Region, Ghana

Email: henrietta@migrantmedia.network

Henrietta Asante is a native of Kokofu in the Ashanti region, and currently resides in Kumasi. She studied Medicine Counter Assistantship at G health consult in Ghana and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management from the Ghana Baptist University. She currently is the coordinator for Ashanti region, a self-employed, and a politician.

Peter Narh

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#MMN project coordinator & researcher in Ghana

Email: narh@migrantmedia.network

Peter Narh resides in Accra Ghana, and oversees the work of the #MMN regional coordinators in Ghana. In his works he focuses on agriculture, environmental conservation, and transformation in Africa. He currently also volunteers for Farafina Institute, a research and community transformation-focused institute registered in Germany, working in Africa. He coordinates projects with Farafina Institute, mainly on youth entrepreneurship and migration.

Korsah Emmanuel

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#MMN Coordinator, Bono East Region, Ghana

Email: emmanuel@migrantmedia.network

Emmanuel Korsah is a graduate of the Kumasi Technical University in Kumasi. He currently lives in Techiman in the Bono East region of Ghana, from where he coordinates #MMN activities for the region. He hopes to work hard for the #MMN project to advance his own career and to achieve the goal of the #MMN project. He is a writer of short stories, some of which will appear on the #MMN social media pages.

Sabina Abuga

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#MMN Coordinator, North East Region, Ghana

Email: sabina@migrantmedia.network

Sabina Abuga resides in the Central region of Ghana. Currently she is the #MMN Coordinator for the Central region. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Regional Planning from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. She is interested in youth work and transformation. For the #MMN project, she hopes to bring along her good interpersonal and communication skills to achieve goals. She is determined to be a role model for her community.

Freeman Bruce

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MMN Coordinator, North East Region, Ghana

Email: freeman@migrantmedia.network

Freeman Ephrim Brace is a native of the Northern region of Ghana. Currently, he is the Coordinator for the MMN project for the North East Region where he lives. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from China. He had previously worked for Song Ba women Empowerment Centre in Tamale.

Mohammed Abdul-Kabiru

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MMN Coordinator, Savannah Region, Ghana

Email: mohammed@migrantmedia.network

Mohammed Abdul-Kabiru lives in Tamale in the Northern region of Ghana. He was born in Daboya in the Savannah region. He is the MMN Coordinator for the Savannah Region. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the Valley View University in Ghana. Mohammed is keen on supporting efforts of his community to sensitize young people about migration opportunities as well as dangers, both within Ghana and internationally. His career goal similarly is to advance into higher levels of professionalism and to deepen his knowledge around best marketing and financial management practices. He possesses skills in communication, interpersonal relations, and computing.