Supervisors info:
Νίκος Παπαναστασίου, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μέσων Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης, ΕΚΠΑ
Αικατερίνη Σταυριανέα, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μέσων Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρίνα Ρήγου, Eπίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και Μέσων Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The research interest of this paper focuses on the use of social media and specifically facebook by NGOs active in the refugee field. Specifically, the field of research was the posts on Facebook and the interaction they had with their audience, two NGOs that have contributed substantially to the defense of refugee rights. These are the High Commission and Transmission.
The refugee wave, which however mainly comes from countries in South West Asia and West Africa, made its presence felt in Greece in 2014, but a rapid increase in this phenomenon was observed in 2015 - 2016. This development led Greece to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and international and domestic NGOs were called upon to cope with grim situations. However, due to the technological evolution, their use of social media has been an important aid in their work.
In particular, the spread of the internet, in addition to a series of changes in the lives of users, has also changed the way information is disseminated (Kalogeropoulos A. Fletcher R. & Nielsen, 2018). With the emergence of Web 2.0, new possibilities for using the internet unfolded, with the interaction between users as a key feature (Boyd, 2015). With the contribution of NICs, citizens can participate in social actions, organize themselves very quickly,interact and generate radical ideas for the benefit of society as a whole. ( Scearce, D., Kasper, G. & H. McLeod Grant, 2009)
With these benefits, it is of major importance for NGOs to use social media as a key strategic communication tool. At a time when social
change is difficult to achieve, promoting NGO activities through social media can lead to an increase in volunteers and more funding. The desired results are more immediate. (Kanter, B. & A. Fine, 2010).
Therefore, social media when used effectively can help NGOs to engage with the public and benefit from those who are interested, as well as achieve public awareness by utilizing Facebook applications. The aim of this paper is therefore to critically approach the contribution of Social Media in terms of communicating the problems that arise due to the increased refugee flows and how social policy has been affected. Examining the posts of the High Commission and Metathrasis on fb will help us to answer the main question of the paper which is: How Facebook contributed to the communication of the needs of refugees as well as to the contact of the wider public with the actions of these two particular NGOs.
The first chapter presents an extensive analysis of the term NGO and how it is differentiated from civil society . The actions of the two NGOs under consideration, i.e. UNHCR and Metadrasia, are also presented in detail. Then, reference is made to the refugee crisis and the concept of migration in an attempt to understand the important role played by NGOs in the current humanitarian crisis. The second chapter is followed by a study of social media and what is its impact on civil society. In particular, the characteristics of social media and what are the benefits of their use by NGOs are analyzed. Chapter three is followed by the analysis of the findings of the samples examined, while chapter four presents the conclusions of our research based on the theoretical part of the thesis.
Keywords:
Civil society , NGOs, refugee crisis, social media.
