Immigration department videos to promote Australian activity in Refugee Week
The Immigration Department has created a series of videos about government work with refugees who have gone through UNHCR’s processes.
The first “Pathway to Protection” video was uploaded today, as part of marking Refugee Week. The online video series, created inhouse, will show a Bhutanese family’s journey from a refugee camp in Nepal to their new home in Launceston, Tasmania.
The campaign is not the department’s first experiment with social media. In 2011 the Department posted YouTube and Facebook videos in an attempt to deter people who might attempt to seek asylum onshore in Australia by boat.
Sandi Logan, national communications manager with the DoI, told Mumbrella: “Refugee Week is a chance for us to go out and celebrate all the wonderful things that refugees have brought and continue to bring, notwithstanding that it is particularly fraught given the at-times contentious climate the prospect of refugees has in our current (political) climate.”
Asked about the fact that the campaign comes weeks before the federal Election, he said: “We don’t have a choice in the date of the election, that’s not a decision we make, Refugee Week is a campaign celebrated year in and year out. These are incredibly difficult times at the moment for everyone in this space but that shouldn’t prevent us from celebrating what is good about refugees.”
However Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre told Mumbrella: “This is some feel good video of immigration’s more positive activities but you have ask why are they setting up to go and find refugees who are living in a refugee camp where they have peace, security and food.”
Curr said the audience of the video was about catering to the domestic political audience. “This campaign is about aggrieved Australians. I don’t think the people in the Nepalese camps are watching this.”
Logan said the campaign targeted at younger digitally savvy Australians would incorporate Storify, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram throughout the week. “The audience is primarily under 30 and I think the demographic is one that we are trying to reach is one which is tomorrow’s influencers.”
“It’s not to push it out to asylum seekers coming here. Our campaigns have always been directed, notwithstanding YouTube is an international channel, have been to reach diaspora communities in Australia who have the ability to influence, inform and share knowledge with their families, friends and loved ones. Even the No Advantage campaign we did on YouTube that was targeted at diaspora communities.”
Nic Christensen
Artwork in the campaign
Not that the video actually worked but it seems at odds with the ads last week being aired in Afghanistan urging “refugees” not to come to Australia by boat…
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I’m assuming either you didn’t read the entire article, or you can’t tell the difference between two campaigns WD. It’s a separate campaign that celebrates refugees.
The same way you can run a branding campaign alongside a campaign aimed at of selling products, so too can you run a campaign celebrating refugees as well as one deterring those who look to come to Australia by boat.
Two different campaigns. Two different goals.
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