About the project
The project recognises the need to coordinate what kind of aid is needed to support the recovery of Ukraine and the wellbeing of Ukrainian refugees. Using a participatory approach and working with displaced young Ukrainians in the UK, Germany and Poland, we aim to understand if and how state measures respond to the needs of young Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, we ask how these young people themselves envision the future of Ukraine and their aspirations to return.
The main research objectives are following:
1. To explore migration infrastructures via lived experiences of young Ukrainians
- By co-producing together with community researchers the current coping tactics and the role of social networks
- To explore mobility aspirations (to stay or return)
- To analyse how educational, welfare and migration policies overall are accessible and how young people respond to them.
2. To examine the hopes and the visions regarding the futures of Ukraine among young movers
- How do the pre-2022 experiences and the current war impact imaginaries regarding the social, economic and political development of the country?
- How do the current lived experiences impact visions regarding Ukraine's desirable political and social vectors?
The community researchers take training within the Community Practitioner Research Programme (CPRP).
The project is funded by the QR Policy Support Fund at the University of Birmingham (2023-2024).
Publications
Kuznetsova, I., Kogut N., Jones S. with Round, J., Kraftl, P., Kogut, A., Myuselmyan, V., Rybna, L. & Tymchuk, T. (2024) Young Ukrainians in the UK two years on: Lives in Limbo. Research report and recommendations. University of Birmingham.
Popyk, A., Horova, S., Mykhailova, A., Pysarevskyi, A, Sheichenko, R., Som, N, Kuznetsova, I. (2024). Displaced Ukrainian Youth in Poland: lived experiences two years on. Youth Working Papers, 1/2024. Warsaw: SWPS University, Youth Research Center. DOI: 10.58142/swps-ins-ap-01.11.24
Get in touch
To find out more about the project and what it involves, please contact:
Dr Irina Kuznetsova (principal investigator)
Dr Natalia Kogut (research associate)