Cross-border geographical mobility among young people has become a widespread phenomenon. Being mobile is often presented positively as a way of learning and of opening up to new perspectives in life. In the “northern countries” it is politically encouraged and promoted by many programs. International youth exchange programs during school or university studies, overseas volunteering programs after finishing high school, and work-and-travel programs are some examples. However, the positive connotation of young people being mobile does not apply to all. If youth become mobile due to high unemployment and poverty, or to save their lives or those of their families due to violence and war, the perspective is a different one, often accompanied by restrictive political measures. Thus, mobility among young people is embedded in questions of social inequalities and in social differences between different parts of the worlds. This complexity has to be reflected by social work.
Therefore, we are pleased to present in this volume the focus topic of “Youth and Mobility: Crossroads and Emerging Issues,” edited by Anastasia Christou and Andreas Herz. It explores the relation between “Youth” and “Mobility” and provides insights into current research in different contexts.
Evropi Chatzipanagiotidou analyzes youth migration from Greece to Cyprus in the context of the ongoing economic crisis, and reveals the impact of labor conditions, precarity and mobility on the lives and aspirations of young migrants. Donna Michail and Anastasia Christou explore various dimensions of mobility and agency among second-generation immigrants in Greece who have experienced the economic crisis throughout their studies at higher education institutions. Monica Roman, Laura Mihaela Muresan, Ioana Manafi, and Daniela Marinescu explore the roles of volunteering within international mobility in post-socialist Romania over the last two decades. Ruixin Wei focuses on the agency in mobility of Korean-Chinese children from transnational families in China that embrace the practical and symbolic value of mobility for children’s self-development. Finally, Kira Kosnick compares the modalities of mobility related to the ethnic club scenes that have emerged as leisure contexts for ethnic minority youth in the European metropolitan cities of Paris, London, and Berlin.
In the general article section, Andreas Wagner turns to the organization of local communities in development cooperation, and Oliver Kuhn to populist attacks on transnational political standards. Five book reviews and a report on “Social Work Education and Professional Practice in Nigeria” complete this issue.
We wish you an inspiring reading of TSR!