The overarching aim of the project is to expose and break down biases that contemporary societies face in the context of rapid digitalization and increasing resistance to diversity by learning from three unique contexts that empower youth to deal with these challenges. We will do so by organizing research-oriented, collaborative winter schools in 1) Uganda (2025) to explore digital literacy and health misinformation among diverse youth (in collaboration with Kampala International University and the NGO Junior Achievement Uganda); 2) Kenya (2026) to investigate resilience of disadvantaged and diverse youth in Africa's largest urban slum, Kibera, particularly the role of digital media in social entrepreneurship and political empowerment; and 3) Italy (2027) to study social cohesion and the creation of inclusive multicultural and multiethnic communities in times of increasing socio-political polarization in Europe. The predominant methods of data collection will be 1) community-engaged learning, meaning here the active involvement of local stakeholders in both designing and carrying out the research; and 2) qualitative and creative (digital) methods, drawing on narrative, audio-visual, arts-based and experiential forms of knowledge production that provide alternative and empowering channels for expression for youth and community members alike.

More information can be found on https://bridgingcontinents.sites.uu.nl 

• drs. Gerrit Dielissen
• prof. dr. Bruce Mutsvairo
• dr. Ester Driel MSc

In large European cities, young people with a migration background are now the majority. Classical theories of assimilation predict that the engagement of the second generation with their 'homeland' would reduce compared to first generation migrants. However, current research points to a different direction. As 'digital natives', migrant-background youth cultivate socio-cultural connections with the country of 'origin' online and travel 'home' regularly. These visits do not diminish over the generations and have a significant impact on how youth are faring in their countries of residence in terms of their education and well-being. Scholars have studied digital connections with and physical mobilities to the 'homeland' separately thus far, concealing how they might shape each other. This project investigates the fundamental role of digital media in the changing character of young people's transnational engagements and mobilities by focusing on the specific case of mobile youth of Ghanaian background in Germany. Combining multi-sited ethnography with creative collaborative methods, this study will provide an innovative framework to understand 1) how digital media change the ways in which migrant-background youth relate to the 'homeland' compared to other generations (both older and previous movers); 2) how digital connections and physical mobilities between countries are interconnected and feed into each other; 3) how a sustained transnational life across generations benefits youth in the country of residence.

• Prof. Valentina Mazzucato (PI)