The project is funded under the Horizon 2020 program and is coordinated by CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (Spain).
BRIDGES aims to understand the causes and consequences of migration narratives in a context of increasing politicization and polarization. The project focuses on 5 European Union countries and one former member state (France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), with a triple objective.

Firstly, on a knowledge level, the project aims to understand the processes of narrative production, the impact of narratives, and the interaction between these two levels. This implies the analysis of the following aspects: a) The reasons why certain narratives have become dominant over others in public and political discourse from a historical perspective. b) How narratives shape individual attitudes in Europe and the decisions of potential migrants in countries of origin and transit; c) How narratives influence political decisions and their outcomes at both the national and EU levels; d) How individuals and policy-makers become narrative producers and influence each other.
On a practical level, BRIDGES aims to promote eivdence-based policies. The project, by developing a range of possible government strategies to address populist narratives, will provide policy-makers with recommendationson how to correct the trend towards increasingly symbolic policies in the fields of migration and integration.
Thirdly, on a social level, the goal is to create spaces for dialogue among the actors involved in narrative production, as well as to facilitate the exchange of innovative best practices among artists, civil society organizations, and migrant communities aimed at building more inclusive narratives.
The project’s objectives can only be achieved if we bridge – hence the name BRIDGES – the various gaps between disciplines and between research and practice, An added value of the project is its interdisciplinary approach and a strong emphasis on co-production, for instance through interactive workshops with representatives from politics, media, and the civil society, a traveling photojournalism exhibition, and two hip-hop competitions to reflect on the challenges of an increasingly multicultural and diverse society.
All the material is available on the website https://www.bridges-migration.eu/