tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/youth-mobility-56813/articlesYouth mobility – The Conversation2021-10-13T14:23:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1693672021-10-13T14:23:57Z2021-10-13T14:23:57ZYoung Ghanaians in Europe travel ‘home’ a lot: why their mobility matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425890/original/file-20211012-21-1xnydrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young Ghanaians in Europe visit home for different reasons</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laura Ogden</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Young migrants make up <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/mig/Main-Indicators-of-Immigrant-Integration.pdf">over 20%</a> of the youth population across the European Union. In cities like Hamburg in Germany, half of all children and youth under the age of 18 have a migration background <a href="https://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/11364984/94362bc02852dbb54941652ac43d89d6/data/hamburg-integration-concept.pdf#page=8">(50.4%)</a>, meaning they or their parents were born abroad.</p>
<p>This means millions of young people across Europe have connections to places other than the countries where they live. They stay in touch with friends and family abroad through the internet. They are fluent in the languages of their country of origin and the country where they reside. And they get involved in the politics of the ‘home’ country through diaspora organisations. In other words, migrant youth live transnationally – their lives are a constellation of people, places, and practices around the globe.</p>
<p>People’s lives and identities are not necessarily bound to one nation-state. Migrants can be both integrated and connected to ‘home’.</p>
<p>Researchers have studied migrants’ transnational lives for decades. But one thing they have overlooked is just how physically mobile migrant youth are.</p>
<p>Recent research shows that migrant youth travel to their countries of origin with surprising frequency. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/imre.12084">More than half</a> of migrant youth in several European countries travel ‘home’ at least once a year.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.motrayl.com">research project</a> is taking a closer look at this mobility and how it affects the lives of migrant youth. We focus on young people with a Ghanaian background in Germany, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14733285.2021.1919998">Belgium</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1959304">the Netherlands</a> and Ghana. The project includes ethnographic case studies in the four countries and a large-scale survey of high-school students in Europe.</p>
<p>The ethnographic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17450101.2021.1935304">case study</a> in Germany included 20 young men and women (aged 15-25) who live in Hamburg. Some were born in Ghana, some in Germany, and all had been mobile between the two countries. The small sample size allowed us to follow young people’s lives for over a year. This way, we could explore their mobility and its effects in depth. This included accompanying them to Ghana to understand what happens on their visits and why this matters.</p>
<h2>Diverse mobility</h2>
<p>Our research is showing that young people’s movements – or what we call ‘<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1409107">mobility trajectories</a>’ – are very diverse. While many young people stay in Ghana when their parents migrate, some migrate to Europe themselves. Others grow up in Europe with parents who migrated. And many young people living in Europe visit Ghana frequently, regardless of their own migration history.</p>
<p>For the young people in our Germany case study, travelling to Ghana represents different things.</p>
<p>What it means changes over time, as young people travel back and forth. It also changes depending on where they go, who they visit, and what happens during their travels. </p>
<p>Akosua (19) was born and raised in Hamburg and has visited Ghana five summers in a row. She used to find her time there boring because she didn’t have any local friends. But on a recent trip, Akosua attended make-up school in a busy, urban salon. There, she befriended local young women. Together, they learned new skills and compared life between Ghana and Germany. Through this experience, Akosua got to know Ghana as an independent young woman. Her trip opened up new perspectives on what opportunities Ghana could offer her in the future.</p>
<p>Trips to Ghana also help young people reflect on their own development. Ella was born in Hamburg but grew up mostly in Ghana until she was 16. At age 20, Ella returned to Ghana for the summer. Family and friends commented on how much she had changed since she moved to Germany. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People said I’ve grown, I’ve become more independent, more serious with life.</p>
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<p>Ella’s trip represented an important transition in her life: she realised she was no longer a child, but a woman. </p>
<p>Mobility also allows young people to connect with their family and heritage in ways they cannot do remotely. Esra (19) was born and raised in Hamburg and made her first trip to Ghana aged 17. There, she met relatives she had only seen in photos and visited her parents’ hometown. After her trip, Esra told me: “Before I was like, ‘Whatever, I know my mum comes from Ghana’. But now I know where my mother was in Ghana, where my father was in Ghana. It’s more real than when you hear (about) it”.</p>
<h2>‘Getting to know Ghana in another way’</h2>
<p>The young people in our study had various experiences travelling to Ghana – they went to rural and urban places, visited relatives and friends, felt out of place and right at home. Some visited Ghana every year, others every few years, while a handful had been once or twice.</p>
<p>All these trips shaped young people’s relationships to Ghana. They changed the way young people felt about the country and how often they wanted to travel there. And they shaped what role young people envisaged Ghana playing in their lives.</p>
<p>Akosua wanted to return to Ghana to volunteer and “get to know Ghana in another way”. Ella aimed to have an international career between Ghana and Europe. And Esra couldn’t wait to return to Ghana to spend more time with her family. They all imagined themselves living transnational lives between two – or even more – countries. </p>
<p>Migrant youth don’t just maintain transnational connections and activities from a distance. Their trips ‘home’ help them create and update their relationship with the countries their families come from. The people, places, and events they encounter on their travels give them inspiration, connection and opportunity – and teach us something about what it means to be mobile global citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura J. Ogden is a researcher on the MO-TRAYL project, which receives funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 682982).</span></em></p>Trips to their home countries by migrant youth help them create and update their relationship with the countries their families come from.Laura J Ogden, Researcher, Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development, Maastricht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1361982020-06-25T17:58:59Z2020-06-25T17:58:59ZCOVID-19 brings students back to Himalayan villages with public health messages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344114/original/file-20200625-33515-vw6e47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C11%2C811%2C520&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Medical student Gyalsten Gurung, 25, pictured in a yellow jacket, returned to Upper Dolpo to instruct villagers about COVID-19. Here, on March 27, 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Gyalsten Gurung)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nepal">Nepal’s second-largest city</a>, <a href="https://risingnepaldaily.com/business/covid-19-cripples-tourism-in-pokhara">Pokhara</a>, when <a href="https://www.ei-ie.org/en/detail/16779/nepal-education-unionists-mobilise-during-covid-19-lockdown">students’ classes were cancelled</a> due to COVID-19 in March, medical student Gyalsten Gurung, 25, left the city. He returned to Shimen, the remote village where he was born in the Himalaya’s Upper Dolpo region. </p>
<p>There, he taught villagers about <a href="https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/who-calls-to-promote-good-hand-hygiene/">good hand hygiene</a>, social distancing and ways to prepare safe water for consumption and cleaning where there is no running water. He also created COVID-19 posters in the local language and engaged elders through whiteboard activities, diagrams and storytelling. </p>
<p>He and two other medical students, who have also led COVID-19 village education, are among 22 Himalayan youth I interviewed as part of my research into youth migration in the Himalayas. All 22 interview participants (13 male youth, nine female) migrated to Kathmandu <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2008/04/2008615165932572216.html">during the civil war</a> (1996-2006) to avoid recruitment as child soldiers or other concerns related to the war. In addition to these interviews, I have surveyed over 150 youth. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344115/original/file-20200625-33528-1ln4h2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Medical student Gyalsten Gurung’s stethoscope in front of a Himalayas vista.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Gyalsten Gurung)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the past five years, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nepal-earthquake-of-2015">after the 2015 earthquake</a> and up to the time the COVID-19 crisis close schools
across Nepal and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/20/covid-19-disrupts-international-student-exchange-both-directions">restricted applications for study</a> or <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/03/09/qatar-places-temporary-ban-on-entry-of-people-from-14-countries-including-nepal">work abroad</a>, these youth have increasingly started to return to their villages from Kathmandu and other cities in Nepal. From cities such as <a href="https://www.welcomenepal.com/places-to-see/bhaktapur.html">Bhaktapur</a>, <a href="https://www.panoramicjourneys.com/See/Pokhara-Nepal">Pokhara</a> and <a href="https://www.topnepal.com/nepal/chitwan/page/history">Chitwan</a> they are making trips and visits to engage with their communities of birth on important social issues that affect people’s survival and quality of life.</p>
<p>To my knowledge, no data exists that captures the migration of Himalayan youth <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/opinion/2017/10/17/back-to-the-village-20171017072634">back to their villages</a>. But in my research I have seen anecdotal evidence that youth are returning and educating their rural communities on a larger scale.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-disasters-nepal-copes-with-coronavirus-pandemic-5-years-after-earthquake-134009">Learning from disasters: Nepal copes with coronavirus pandemic 5 years after earthquake</a>
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<h2>Remote realities</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332977/original/file-20200506-49589-1c8wrjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children in Upper Mustang, part of the Annapurna Conservation Area, where tourism was restricted until 1992.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Anil Gurung)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Within the Himalayan mountains are some of the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/nepal/articles/nepal-most-remote-village-in-the-world/">most remote villages</a> in the world. These mountains <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-himalayas-himalayas-facts/6341/">cover about 75 per cent of Nepal</a>, which as a nation has been challenged by slow educational growth. Nepal has one of <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Crisis-in-Education-and-Future-Challenges-for-Nepal-Mathema/71a7030ef3c31db5141a2b3276c0a96c4a740725">the youngest</a> education systems internationally. </p>
<p>Yet, there have been more young people migrating from remote mountain villages to <a href="http://old.cbs.gov.np/image/data/Population/Monograph_vol_1_2(1-10,11-21)/Chapter%2015%20%20Internal%20Migration%20in%20Nepal.pdf">other locations within</a> and <a href="https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mp_nepal_2019.pdf">outside</a> of Nepal, for <a href="https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/A_Human_Rights_Based_Approach_to_Education_for_All.pdf">better educational opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>Youth migrate from the Himalayas for several reasons. Some migrate to pursue <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2018.1402164">non-farming</a> work, for <a href="https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/41187395/15_de+Brauw_2019+RDR+BACKGROUND+PAPER.pdf/8a67f25f-749f-be91-f90f-beed3d524364">international studies</a> or vocational opportunities, and for religious studies in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-14-00021.1">Buddhist monasteries</a>. </p>
<p>But other factors also play a role: harsh winters keep some schools <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/11/24/upper-dolpa-schools-closed-for-six-months">closed for up to six months</a> a year, and the impacts of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2187-1">climate change</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/medical-mountaineers">inadequate health care</a> also affect where youth or their families choose or are able to live. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332911/original/file-20200505-83736-6bhgin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social work student Karma Tenzing Lama, 24, photographed this school in Mugu, close to Rara Lake, Nepal’s largest lake, in June 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Karma Tenzing Lama)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Rural education</h2>
<p>Rural Nepalese villagers’ top concerns about education include the fact that students sometimes walk <a href="https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/rolpa-where-students-still-walk-over-2-hours-to-reach-school/">for hours</a> to the closest or sole school in the region. </p>
<p>Existing schools are often poorly constructed, <a href="https://medium.com/@UNICEFNepal/coming-together-to-revitalize-earthquake-hit-communities-in-nepal-one-school-at-a-time-3db0132a5e18#.thl4pcu7f">unhealthy and dangerous</a>. Also, many provide only basic <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/national/2015/12/20/children-in-chitwan-deprived-of-education-past-primary-level">primary education</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/06/23/quality-in-education">quality of education</a> in Himalayan regions is even more challenged compared to other rural areas of Nepal. For example, the mountain regions have the highest proportion <a href="https://www.globalpartnership.org/sites/default/files/2019-05-nepal-education-sector-analysis.pdf">(24.3 per cent) of four-year-olds not attending school</a> and often face staff and resource shortages.</p>
<p>Also, due to mountainous terrain and insufficient government funding, the Himalayan regions have poor-quality or no internet, phone and computer services, and minimal training on using <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12118">existing technologies</a> for education. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332913/original/file-20200505-83769-1jcbdz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Community educator Dawa Phunthok, 21, distributes materials to children while teaching in Upper Dolpo, December 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Dawa Phunthok)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Students as teachers</h2>
<p>Building on my earlier research on relationships between <a href="https://www.routedmagazine.com/1family-2countries-3borders">youth migration</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2018.1479732">emotions</a> and long-term family separation caused during Nepal’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40311">civil war</a>, my current PhD research examines transitions of Himalayan young people into higher education and work in Nepal or abroad, and return visits to their villages. </p>
<p>I have found that returning students taught villagers about various topics through different creative methods that encouraged villagers’ active engagement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1014&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1014&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332885/original/file-20200505-83751-17bid8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1014&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Community educator Dawa Phunthok travelling through Lower Dolpa and Upper Dolpo, June 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Dawa Phunthok)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Addressing inequalities</h2>
<p>Among students who participated in my interviews, a group of Himalayan students directly helped (or provided educational knowledge) towards the establishment of an NGO in Kathmandu. The NGO assisted with <a href="https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/legislation-policy/naappd/arts-based-community-development-mapping-the-terrain">arts-based community development</a> for students in rural Himalayan villages. It addresses concerns such
as access to rural health care, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/nepals-maithil-women-break-traditional-gender-roles-160626115132870.html">gender inequality</a>, <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/world/nepal-not-doing-enough-to-stop-child-marriages-rights-group-says-1.176978">child marriage and labour</a> and <a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/03/can-nepal-use-a-natural-disaster-to-end-caste-discrimination/520950/">caste</a> discrimination. In various Nepali and Tibetan-based languages, in their villages of birth, the students wrote songs so that their communities could better understand their social messages. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342776/original/file-20200618-41230-1m71y4f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students who assisted with establishing or providing educational insights for a local NGO, clockwise: Karma Tenzing Lama, social work student from Upper Dolpo; Tsering Deki, fashion design student from Upper Humla; Tashi Gurung, hotel management student from Upper Mustang; Chizi Gurung, hotel management student from Upper Mustang; Akhil Shai, Grade 12 student from Lower Mugu; Yamuna Budhathoki, business administration student from Lower Dolpa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Adrian Khan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Preserving Indigenous culture</h2>
<p>Science student Binod Gurung, 21, studying in Chitwan, the city famous for Nepal’s <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284/">first protected</a> national park, with other students returned to <a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/census/documents/Nepal/Nepal-Census-2011-Vol1.pdf">Manang</a>, the district with the smallest population growth and lowest population density in Nepal. These students sought to stress <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4579143/land-based-learning-curriculum-indigenous-culture/">land-based learning</a>. </p>
<p>The group focused on preserving Manang’s <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Manang-will-prosper-from-its-new-road,2749">Indigenous</a> Himalayan culture. Students taught community members effective hygiene practices and how to use cameras to track wildlife and scientific instruments to measure different components of the lake. They also led a land-based drama that served to support the the community in further linking ancestral histories to scientific learning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333235/original/file-20200506-49589-ksjsif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Science student Binod Gurung, an Indigenous Manangey youth, 21, at Tilicho Lake, the world’s highest altitude lake, January 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Binod Gurung)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>These students are contributing to rural educational development throughout the Himalayas by offering their own urban educational experiences in ways that help meet and bridge rural concerns. However, these returning youth, alone, cannot change rural education systems.</p>
<p>Youth in my study expressed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2019.1580131">holding the government accountable</a> for rural educational development and also pushing for increased local <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpubh.2016.00177">NGO and INGO</a> funding collaboration is needed for greater positive change.</p>
<p>Also, they advocated for the idea that both rural and urban educational systems <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/young-nepalis-upgrading-quality-of-education,2039">should train</a> educators and health-care workers how to use different methods for teaching important topics in rural settings to different social groups. Doing so would expand inclusion for better systemic education for a larger number of children and would include more educators in better training to teach in rural environments. </p>
<p>Lastly, youth expressed the need for more <a href="https://rm.coe.int/new-and-innovative-forms-of-youth-participation-in-decision-making-pro/1680759e6a">active participation</a> of return migrants themselves. They want to contribute their knowledge gained while studying in cities outside of the Himalayas to help further positive educational changes in remote Himalayan regions of Nepal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Ashraf Khan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He has also received a: 1) J.Michael Tomczak/Ontario Graduate Scholarship 2) Dr. David Chu Scholarship in Asian Pacific Studies 3) University of Toronto Geography and Planning Research Fellowship. </span></em></p>During the COVID-19 crisis, some medical students at school in Pokhara, Nepal, went to rural Himalayan villages to teach about the virus. Others go home to challenge social inequities.Adrian Ashraf Khan, PhD Candidate, Geography and Social Planning, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1337672020-03-31T00:57:07Z2020-03-31T00:57:07ZAustralians are moving home less. Why? And does it matter?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323104/original/file-20200326-168876-1fdvjip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=159%2C0%2C2436%2C1510&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-kelpie-dog-sitting-cardboard-packing-1619474377">K.A.Willis/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australians are <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EPopulation%20Shift:%20Understanding%20Internal%20Migration%20in%20Australia%7E69">among the most mobile populations</a> in the world. More than 40% of us change address every five years, about <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00025.x">twice the global average</a>. Yet the level of internal migration – moving within Australia – has gone down over the past four decades. </p>
<p>The proportion of Australians changing state of residence <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EPopulation%20Shift:%20Understanding%20Internal%20Migration%20in%20Australia%7E69">fell by 20%</a> between 1981 and 2016, particularly after 1991. Their movement between regions within states – between, say, Brisbane and Mackay – <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EPopulation%20Shift:%20Understanding%20Internal%20Migration%20in%20Australia%7E69">dropped by a whopping 25%</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323130/original/file-20200326-168918-jmxrg6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 1981-2016</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The decline in migration is a feature of a number of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Internal-Migration-in-the-Developed-World-Are-we-becoming-less-mobile/Champion-Cooke-Shuttleworth/p/book/9781472478061">advanced economies</a>, including the United States. Policymakers have been concerned this trend heralds a less flexible economy where workers do not move to regions with jobs. If that’s the case, it could prolong recessions and reduce growth.</p>
<p>So why are Australians moving less? Several factors might help explain it.</p>
<h2>Australia is getting older</h2>
<p>Population ageing is one of the main explanations because older people move less than young people. It’s enough to account for 20-30% of the decline in internal migration in Australia. </p>
<p>However, the increase in the share of mobile groups – such as renters, tertiary-educated people and recently arrived immigrants – has <a href="https://qcpr.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/qcpr_working-paper_kalemba-et-al-2020.pdf">fully compensated</a> the downward effect of population ageing. This means the net effect on migration levels of changes in the composition of the Australian population is close to null.</p>
<p>So the decline is not the result of overall changes in population composition. It is the result of deeper behavioural changes. People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are simply moving less today than in the past.</p>
<h2>Working arrangements have changed</h2>
<p>Information and communication technology and the changes in working arrangements brought by the internet are often thought to have contributed to lower migration levels. But, the proportion of individuals who telework remains small. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aude_Bernard/publication/339899498_Decline_in_internal_migration_levels_in_Australia_Compositional_or_behavioural_effect/links/5e6b3077a6fdccf321d93834/Decline-in-internal-migration-levels-in-Australia-Compositional-or-behavioural-effect.pdf">Only 5%</a> of the Australian workforce worked from home at the 2016 census. </p>
<p>Perhaps more significant is the increase in dual-income households. They now account for <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/3127664/HILDA-Statistical-Report-2019.pdf">two-thirds of couples</a> compared with 56% in 2001. Because these couples find it more challenging to jointly relocate than traditional male-breadwinner families, this shift <a href="https://qcpr.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/qcpr_working-paper_kalemba-et-al-2020.pdf">explains about 10%</a> of the decline in interstate migration in Australia.</p>
<p>Despite these transformations, the mix of reasons for moving hasn’t changed over the past 15 years. Australians still move mainly for family and work reasons.</p>
<p>So, what is going on?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323142/original/file-20200326-168889-xy3fj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors’ calculations using Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Place attachment plays a part</h2>
<p>In the United States, this downward trend has been linked to “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/psp.670">rootedness</a>”, the idea that individuals have become more attached their families and communities and are therefore less inclined to relocate. </p>
<p>Such concepts are difficult to measure and quantify. Yet a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/psp.2225">2019 study</a> showed that Australians with strong place attachment and social networks are less likely to migrate, particularly over long distances. But it is not clear how place attachment has changed over time and whether it has contributed to the decline in internal migration.</p>
<h2>Young people are staying put</h2>
<p>We know young people are moving less than they used to. In 2017, <a href="https://theconversation.com/over-50-of-young-australian-adults-still-live-with-their-parents-and-the-numbers-are-climbing-faster-for-women-120587">56% of Australians below the age of 30</a> were still living at home compared with 47% in 2001. Explanations for this trend include increasing housing costs and delayed union formation.</p>
<p>The consequences not only bring down current migration levels but also in the future. This is because <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/psp.2286">migration is self-reinforcing</a>: having moved in the past increases the chances of moving again. So, young adults who are staying put now are less likely to move later because they have not been exposed early in life to the challenges of relocating.</p>
<p>This means the level of migration in Australia is likely to remain low, but this downward trend may level off as we have seen in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437119316875">United States</a>.</p>
<h2>Is this new low a problem?</h2>
<p>There is no evidence Australians are less willing to relocate for their jobs, so this downward trend should not have major impacts on the economy. </p>
<p>What is more concerning is <a href="https://qcpr.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/qcpr_working-paper_kalemba-et-al-2020.pdf">some groups have been affected</a> more than others, particularly those in part-time work and in low-paid sectors such as retail and trade. These workers are less mobile than in the past and their share in the workforce has increased.</p>
<p>Individuals with limited resources face <a href="https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/38220">greater difficulties</a> in being mobile, particularly when faced with rising housing costs and stagnant wages. We need to ensure Australia does not evolve toward a two-tier migration system, in which some can afford to move and others are “trapped”. This could, in the long term, reinforce socio-economic inequalities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aude Bernard receives funding from the Australian Research Council </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sunganani V. Kalemba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Long before coronavirus hit Australia we were moving less between states and regions. Some worry about economic impacts, but a greater concern is inequality if some people find themselves ‘trapped’.Aude Bernard, Lecturer, Queensland Centre for Population Research, The University of QueenslandSunganani V. Kalemba, PhD candidate, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/999552018-07-16T10:58:33Z2018-07-16T10:58:33ZYouth mobility scheme after Brexit won’t fill gaps left by end to free movement<p>Despite publishing a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724982/The_future_relationship_between_the_United_Kingdom_and_the_European_Union_WEB_VERSION.pdf">white paper</a> on its future relationship with the EU, there is still no clear UK government policy on what will replace the free movement of people after Brexit. The white paper suggests a new “mobility framework” but this seems to be little more than a buzzword with little substance behind it. </p>
<p>These details will be the job for a separate white paper and an immigration bill, which the government says “will bring EU migration under UK law, enabling the UK to set out its future immigration system in domestic legislation”. This will probably come later in 2018, following recommendations from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/migration-advisory-committee">Migration Advisory Committee</a>, due in September.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-brexit-plan-revealed-experts-react-99862">Britain's Brexit plan revealed: experts react</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Much of the white paper section on immigration proposes that the rights of citizens from the European Economic Area (EEA) who come to the UK once free movement stops at the end of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43456502">Brexit transition period in December 2020</a> will be similar to those currently held by non-EEA citizens. While the white paper doesn’t give away much on the UK’s future immigration system, it contains a novel proposal to establish a “UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme”. </p>
<h2>Youth mobility</h2>
<p>The current UK immigration system is <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiBoc-5naPcAhWMalAKHUAlCWIQFgh6MAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearchbriefings.files.parliament.uk%2Fdocuments%2FCBP-7662%2FCBP-7662.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0pebTu3qaGFpu8SFADIKtj">points-based</a> and divided into tiers for different types of visa. Tier 5 is for temporary migration – and the white paper proposes to extend it after Brexit. </p>
<p>The UK currently has a reciprocal <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility">Youth Mobility Scheme</a> (YMS) under Tier 5 with eight countries on a quota basis, with the majority of visas being allocated to Australians. The YMS visa allows young migrants, aged between 18 and 30, to work in the UK without a job offer, with no certification or employer sponsor requirements for up two years. There were <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-2-to-work">41,652 youth mobility visas</a> granted in the year to September 2017, down 1% on the previous year. It’s a very liberal but nonetheless strictly temporary visa with no settlement or <a href="https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/family-residence-rights/index_en.htm">family reunification rights</a>. Because there are no employer sponsorship requirements, very little is known about the labour market activity of these migrants. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.temperproject.eu/research-areas/">Research</a> I’ve been working on has found that young Australians on the YMS are the ideal migrant for both the state and employers alike as they take on precarious but skilled jobs in the UK labour market, without the electoral costs of permanent migration. The public is more concerned about permanent than temporary immigration, and according to research from the University of Oxford’s <a href="http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Report-Public_Opinion.pdf">Migration Observatory</a> less than a third of the public reports thinking about temporary immigrants when normally thinking about immigration.</p>
<p>The government is now proposing an EU-UK youth mobility scheme that would facilitate young, strictly temporary migration between the UK and the EU in the same way. Presumably it would also be based on quotas. How these visas would be allocated between member states will be a crucial detail, given that in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/725288/The_future_relationship_between_the_United_Kingdom_and_the_European_Union.pdf">clause 78</a> of the white paper, the UK says it will not discriminate between existing member states. </p>
<p>This is perhaps the only proposal so far that addresses the elephant in the room: how the government can continue to attract EU workers to come to the UK after Brexit. But whether the proposal will provide any remedy to the looming labour market crisis following the end of free movement really depends on how big the scheme is. In any case, with no settlement or family reunification rights, a new YMS system for EU citizens is certainly not a replacement for free movement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227608/original/file-20180713-27012-1h0b0uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Would you like a Tier 5 visa with that?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/726805228?src=HrJb5WLDvZVs08yuhmPWVQ-1-1&size=medium_jpg">via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<h2>Seasonal workers and students</h2>
<p>Previously, the UK had a successful <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12134-018-0577-x">Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme</a> which allowed young people to work in UK agriculture or horticulture for a temporary seasonal period. Curiously absent from the white paper was any proposal to re-establish such a scheme – a move which seemed likely in light recent <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43127524">comments</a> by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, earlier this year, that the argument for one was “compelling”. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the mantra introduced by the New Labour administrations of attracting the “brightest and best students” remains. Data from the UK Council for International Student affairs <a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Research--Policy/Statistics/International-student-statistics-UK-higher-education">suggest that 6%</a> of students in UK universities are from the EU. Presumably EU students will now face the same triple tuition fees at UK universities as other non-EEA students pay in the UK. Whether the UK will continue to attract these students despite this remains an unknown. Judging by the white paper, the government doesn’t appear to be concerned that the higher fees will deter these prospective students – though it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jul/02/government-guarantees-eu-students-fee-and-loan-rates-past-brexit">has promised</a> to keep fees the same for EU students for the 2019-20 academic year. A key proposal is for the UK to remain in the <a href="https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/brexit-update">Erasmus student exchange</a> programme – surely something the EU won’t accept given that Erasmus is by definition an EU student exchange programme. </p>
<p>Overall, it seems unlikely that the EU will accept the white paper, and judging by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-trouble-is-theresa-may-in-heres-the-evidence-99783">factionalism within the Conservative party</a>, it might well be dead by the end of the summer anyway. </p>
<p>Ending free movement has been the driving force for a hard Brexit. While May could yet water down elements of the agreement to give more preference to EU citizens, free movement is definitively a red line for the UK government and the EU alike, a fact that the prime minister knows. The government may want to have their cake and eat it too, but the EU bakery isn’t selling the cake they want, and won’t be anytime soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erica Consterdine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In its Brexit white paper, the UK government proposed a new UK-EU youth mobility scheme. But the details remain vague.Erica Consterdine, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Immigration Politics and Policy, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.