Media-Friendly Glossary on Migration

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and The Panos Europe Institute 

Launched in 2014

In 2014, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the Panos Europe Institute worked together to develop a glossary in English to help journalists and communicators use the appropriate terminology when reporting on and writing about migration, migrant communities, and refugees. The request for such a tool came as the answer to the changing aspect of human migrations and of the words used to characterize these movements. The glossary also stems from the principle that words matter, and that using the proper vocabulary when speaking about specific communities – especially marginalized groups – is not merely a matter of courtesy, but a matter of respect. The glossary is the result of a yearlong project supported by the Open Society Initiative for Europe, in collaboration with a scientific committee composed of eight international and civil society organizations, and an editorial committee of media professionals specialized in migration. 

Find out more:

Media-Friendly Glossary on Migration (UNAOC website): https://www.unaoc.org/resource/media-friendly-glossary-for-migration/

PDF: https://www.unaoc.org/wp-content/uploads/UNAOC-Panos-Europe-Institute_Media-Friendly-Glossary-on-Migration.pdf

“The work of the media greatly influences how the public views migrants and issues related to migration. Media have the power to create positive or negative perceptions; accurate or inaccurate perceptions.” 

From the Glossary’s Foreword by

UNAOC and Panos Europe Institute