MOVE Research
International Mobility Norway (IMN) is a newly established research group working on patterns of youth mobility from a perspective within the Norwegian/ Scandinavian context. It focuses on various forms of international mobility among young people, such as learning mobilities, leisure mobilities (tourism), employment mobilities, volunteering, etc. Researchers Tuba Ardic, Irina Pavlova, and Roger Hestholm, from Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and Jan Skrobanek from Department of Sociology at University of Bergen have been leading IMN group since it was constituted in February 2018.
(From the left) Jan Skrobanek, Irina Pavlova, Tuba Ardic and Roger Hestholm during Final MOVE Conference in Luxembourg, 7-9 March 2018
The IMN group was initiated from the research team’s contribution as the Norwegian partner in a consortium for an ongoing H2020 project titled MOVE. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 649263. Researchers from six European countries (Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania and Spain) have been working since 2015 on transnational youth mobility, focusing on pathways, institutions and structural effects of that type of mobility in Europe. MOVE aims to provide a research-informed contribution towards an improvement of the conditions of the mobility of young people in Europe and a reduction of the negative impacts of mobility. One of the main research questions in the project is how the mobility of young people can be ‘good’ both for socio-economic development and for individual growth of young people, and what factors foster / hinder such beneficial mobility?
Some of the findings of the MOVE project has been summarised in these infographics: http://move-project.eu/reports-publications/infographics
International Mobility Norway
The MOVE project is heading towards its end; however, the IMN research group will continue its work on patterns of youth mobility. IMN is a unique research group in Norway using an interdisciplinary approach to understanding youth mobility. It is specifically concerned about international mobility of young persons in various contexts (such as education, employment, voluntary work and tourism) and related youth specific issues like transition from youth to adulthood, belonging and identity, lifestyle, inequality, and sustainable mobilities of young people.
One of the aims of IMN is to provide a platform, which brings together individuals, groups, organisations and institutions. Our goal is to facilitate collaboration between researchers, policy makers, artists, practitioners and young people themselves to understand and discuss various forms of youth mobility.
The last event hosted by IMN researchers was a mobility workshop with students from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, pupils from United World College Norway, IMN researchers and EUs Ambassador to Norway Thierry Béchet. IMN researchers believe in a broader cooperation and involvement of various individuals, groups and organisations in IMN activities, to discuss and challenge different aspects of mobility, as well as developing a dynamic dialogue on youth mobility in particular.
Students from Western Norway University hanging up their mobility poster after the workshop on February 20th, 2018.
We look forward being a part of The Global Mobility Network and developing cooperation with international researchers, groups and organisations working with various forms of mobility.
You can follow our upcoming activities via our home page, on Twitter @IM_Norge or by contacting us directly, Irina Pavlova irina.pavlova@hvl.no and Tuba Ardic tuba.ardic@hvl.no
