Communicative Ecologies of Displaced Youth: Ways of Connecting in Protracted Situations of Encampment

"Engaging and effective communication can not only allow young people to absorb important notions but also to instill a sense of agency among the youth in their role as involved members of the unique association of a refugee camp."

Community disruption is one of the main experiences that refugees undergo when they become displaced. Information sharing plays a key role in maintaining interactions among community members, or in establishing interactions with new ones, in order to strengthen ties. This article offers an exploration of the communicative ecologies of young people (aged 16-24 years) in protracted situations of encampment. It shares findings from research conducted in Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya) and Za'atari refugee camp (Jordan), with the aim of facilitating the design of communication interventions that not only address humanitarian needs but also promote community development and enhance a sense of belonging among youth.

The paper begins with an introduction to the communicative ecology framework, which distinguishes the technological, social, and discoursive dimensions in the lives of young refugees in camps. In short, all types of media used, at the individual and community levels, are considered as part of a complex media environment that reflects the surrounding social and cultural milieu. The paper also provides contextual information about both Kakuma and Za'atari camps and offers a brief discussion of the notion of protracted displacement.

As outlined in the methodology section, the study involved semi-structured interviews, participatory workshops, and ethnographic interviews. Data collection was conducted in Kakuma in partnership with FilmAid Kenya in October 2022, and in Za'atari through the facilitation of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Jordan in November 2022.

The presentation of findings is structured around the three layers of the two communicative ecologies (technological; social; and communication content); information is presented for each camp and accompanied by context-specific details (e.g., about level of access to the internet and social media). For example, in Kakuma, agencies play a central role not only in the lives of young people living in the camp but also as information-providers within the discoursive layer of young people's ecologies. While young people in Za'atari appear to have a more independent agenda from the agencies, certain agencies have a more significant presence in the lives of the youth through their youth centres located around the camp, which are the only officially recognised "safe spaces" for young people to gather.

Notably, community mobilisers are important in both camps. These are refugees who are recruited informally by agencies to carry out a number of tasks, and their primary role is typically that of either engaging the community in participating in a new project/initiative or of passing on relevant messages on issues that may affect camp residents in a culturally appropriate way.

The discussion section brings to light the differences that characterise the communicative ecologies of young people in Kakuma and in Za'atari; these differences are discussed from the perspective of a humanitarian context to allow space for reflection on the role the agencies operating in the camps have within these realities of prolonged dislocation. As suggested here: "Appropriate media and communication channels (technological layer) that drive a discourse around cohesion and connection among the youth (discoursive layers) and allow new social relations to form (social layer) can create thriving conditions for community development and foster a sense of belonging in both camps. From this perspective, humanitarian organizations have the opportunity to re-think their communication programming from an ecology perspective, rather than a mere media intervention, and to reframe their communication effort through a coordinated and ecology-informed approach."

Ultimately, this article argues for the importance of understanding young people's communication practices from an ecology perspective in order for agencies to engage more purposefully in strengthening community bonds among the youth through the use of communication.