Migration
The Road Back (SAFE-MIT)
From September 2025 to May 2026, Association Capsa Horizons designed and ran "The Road Back", a social media campaign to dispel the illusions of irregular migration among young people aged 16 to 30 in Tunisia's interior and south-west, and their families. Its 25 pieces of content, all created with artificial intelligence so that no real person is shown, highlighted local alternatives and regular migration pathways. The campaign reached 1,464,112 people, 117% of its target.
Context
In Gafsa and the south-west, as across Tunisia's interior regions, unemployment and a lack of prospects lead some young people to see irregular migration as the only way out. Social media feeds the image of an "easy road" to Europe, without showing the risks, exploitation and failures that come with it. The MMD III programme chose to entrust its communication campaigns to local NGOs, who are better placed to speak to young people in their own country. Selected through a call for proposals by The Youth Empowerment Society (YES), the association brought more than eight years of experience in digital content and its roots in the regions concerned.
Objectives
- 01Show the real physical and psychological risks of irregular migration, without fear-based messaging.
- 02Debunk the false promises spread online and encourage critical thinking about unverified content.
- 03Promote local alternatives (vocational training, digital skills, entrepreneurship) and regular migration pathways.
- 04Reach at least 1,250,000 people, as set out in the contract.
What we did
- 18 September 2025Contract with YES takes effect: the association joins the SAFE-MIT project as a "Neighbour Partner"
- 23–24 September 2025SAFE-MIT online training: strategic communication, audience targeting, A/B testing, indicator tracking, safeguarding and responsible storytelling
- 18 November 2025 – 31 May 2026Campaign: 25 pieces of content (21 static visuals and 4 short videos) published organically, as stories and as sponsored posts, each approved by Seefar before release
- 27 March – 21 May 2026Sponsored distribution of all 25 pieces on Facebook, using custom audiences, exclusions and frequency caps to reach new people each time
- 29 May 2026Final report submitted
- 5 June 2026Final report approved by Seefar
Results
Source: project closing report (final report approved by Seefar, Meta Ads Manager statistics).
What changed
- The reach target was exceeded: 1,464,112 people reached against 1,250,000 planned.
- The campaign reached young people as intended: 63% of the audience was aged 18 to 34, and 42% were women.
- The best-performing post, which encouraged young people to talk about their plans with family or someone they trust before acting, reached 322,400 people on its own: a message that invites dialogue goes further than one built on fear.
- AI-generated images, clearly labelled as such, made it possible to address a sensitive subject without exposing real people.
- The team moved from simply boosting posts to genuine data-driven campaigns: A/B testing, targeting and frequency caps.
