RefConnect - A Mobile Social Network for Refugees
RefConnect - A Mobile Social Network for Refugees

Author(s): Evdokia Kogia, Styliani Liberopoulou, Nikolaos Alamanos, Vasilis Pierros, Christos Michalakelis
Subject(s): Media studies, Communication studies, Migration Studies, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: migration; refugees; RefConnect; social network; Greece; new media;
Summary/Abstract: The number of people fleeing war, violence and persecution has been higher these days World War II (UNHCR, Global Trends Forced Displacement in 2015, 2016). The global population of forcibly displaced people increased to 68.5 million as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. More than 25.4 million refugees, over half of them are children, had to seek shelter in nearby countries (UNHCR, Globla trends.Forced displacement in 2017, 2018). Certain Member States on the EU’s external borders, such as Greece, Italy, Malta and Hungary, are overburdened by asylum-seekers which leads to both poor living conditions for them (unjustified detentions, mistreatment, etc.) as well as lower rates of asylum applications being approved. This forces a mosaic of people from different cultures, ethnic and religious backgrounds to spend months or even years away from their compatriots. At the same time, the difficulty of passing from the outskirt countries of EU to the more economically prosperous ones on the north has separated families and friends with little to no communication at all. (European Parliament, n.d.).

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