Counter-documentation tactics: participatory, visual, and walking research with undocumented migrants

Abstract

Abstract The mediation of migration has inspired ample scholarship in the past decades for understanding global power dynamics and the role of communication processes in maintaining, questioning, and reverting those very dynamics. This article sheds light on the experiences of migrants and their tactics for creating more humane, inclusive, and authentic media representations. It reports on one year of participatory action research (PAR) with six undocumented migrants living in Brussels, Belgium, which included participatory video-making and a combination of walking interviews and visual artefact production. The findings revolve around three counter-documentation tactics developed during the study to oppose hegemonic ways of representing (undocumented) migrants. The article aims to make a methodological contribution by reflecting on ethics and the pragmatic combination of different participatory methods while offering a conceptual vocabulary for approaching mediation, migration, and alterity from the perspective of progressive social change.