H2020 funds European youth mobility analysis
A new three-year project funded by Horizon 2020 programme will use surveys and case studies to reconstruct mobility patterns of young people and identify examples of good practice.
The ‘Mapping mobility – pathways, institutions and structural effects of youth mobility in Europe’ (MOVE) research project is set to begin in May and is being co-ordinated by the University of Luxembourg. MOVE will analyse cross-border geographic mobility of young people aged 18-29 within the EU.
The project will study the impacts of mobility and migration in some geographic regions, as well as on family and social networks. It will also include different forms of mobility, such as student mobility, cross-border volunteering, employment mobility, mobility for vocational training, pupil’s exchange and entrepreneurship mobility.
Speaking about the project, Dr Ute Karl, associate professor of social work at the University of Luxembourg and co-ordinator of the MOVE-project, commented: “The decision to move from one country to another is influenced by several factors, such as a person’s social background, including gender specific constraints and opportunities, his or her migration background, impairments or disabilities, social relationships, institutional frames, forms of learning, working and living.
“By taking all these effects into account we want to better understand the complexities of young people’s mobility patterns. Most of the existing studies presuppose that mobility is beneficial for young people. MOVE goes beyond the results of the current state of research by asking how mobility can be ‘good’ both on the individual or family and the socioeconomic level.”
The project brings together researchers from nine research and academic institutions. It’s hoped that the results of the study will help improve institutional, legal and programmatic frames of mobility and offer expertise to countries facing significant challenges related to geographical mobility of young workers.
