San Pedro Sula, Honduras. – IOM’s campaign "Think Twice" consolidates its regional scope and plans future actions for its implementation in new communities next year. Various government agencies from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met in San Pedro Sula, Honduras for the Exchange of Experiences in Communication for Development in Northern Central America on December 12th and 13th. 

Access to information is fundamental to promote regular, orderly, and safe migration. "Think Twice" as a Communication for Development (C4D) strategy seeks to strengthen the capacities of young people in Northern Central America, especially those between 15 and 25 years old who desire to migrate, so that they learn to inform themselves in a safe way and avoid becoming victims of different crimes.  

"This (campaign) is aimed at a specific population, young people, and seeks diminish the incidence of both irregular migration and criminal groups that are dedicated to defraud or deceive our population" highlighted during the activity David Lorenzana, from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (SETRASS), Temporary Work Overseas Program (PTTE) of Honduras.

“Think Twice" campaign was recently evaluated and demonstrated that it has a statistically representative impact on improving knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) related to migration, with an average increase of 12% at the regional level. In addition, more than 74,000 people at the regional level were reached with around 900 face-to-face activities. This can now be developed in other communities located in Tegucigalpa/Comayagüela and La Ceiba in Honduras; Santa Ana and Sonsonate in El Salvador; and San Marcos, San Pedro Sacatepéquez and Huehuetenango in Guatemala. 

As a result of this exchange in San Pedro Sula, areas of opportunity for exchange and tri-national work were identified, essentially from the ministries of education with prevention actions in educational centers and ministries of labor regarding labor migration options, and thus strengthen actions at a structural level that give visibility and sustainability to the strategies of Communication for Development. 
By strengthening partnerships so that people have access to reliable information at all stages of migration, the meeting contributes to the fulfillment of Goal 3 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and its targets, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 01, 03, 16, 17 and 23.

This activity was part of the Regional Migration Program (WHP), funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the U.S. Department of State. For more information, please contact Tatiana Chacón, Coordinator of IOM's WHP Communications Unit, at tchacon@iom.int.