Project description
A closer look at why some decide to stay
Brazil transformed from a country of immigration to one of emigration in the 1980s. Hit by a severe economic crisis, Brazilians fled to supposed paradises, mainly to the United States but also to Europe. It is estimated that some 100 000 Brazilians have left the country per year since 2000. What about those who did not emigrate? The EU-funded MigYouBra project will explore how young people in the Global South decide to ‘stay put’ when it seems like everyone around them is emigrating. Specifically, it will investigate the motivations, degree of (in)voluntariness and narratives of young people who remain. The study will be conducted in Governador Valadares, Brazil’s so-called capital of transnational migration. The project will combine approaches from geography, youth studies, migration studies and ethnography.
Objective
"The recent migration research agenda emphasises the need to advance the conceptual framework to understand the unique circumstances of the “generation on the move”. In particular, researchers in the field stress the need to connect research on youth and migration studies. Research on immobility is also required to overcome the “mobility bias” that persists in migration studies. The central proposition of the MigYouBra project is to explore how young people in the Global South decide and manage to ""stay put"" in a context of high transnational mobility and how they perceive the desirability of staying put compared with that of migrating. The research will examine the different ways of staying put, investigating the motivations, degree of (in)voluntariness, and narratives of young people who remain. The project will be centered on Governador Valadares, the “national capital” of transnational migration in Brazil. The context of Governador Valadares allows focuses on the protagonism of youth migration, and its relation not only to transnational migration but also to mobility. The key research approach of the project is mixed-method ethnography based on field research and quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, combining approaches from geography, youth studies, migration studies, and ethnography. The project will create extra-European opportunities for long-term research partnership. This proposal includes both the transfer of knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidates in new advanced research techniques. Project results will increase understanding the drivers of young people's migration while also developing and strengthening the research skills of the Experienced Researcher."
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
1600 276 Lisboa
Portugal