Tag: diaspora

Expert meeting discusses state of elderly care among migrant families

Expert meeting

Policymakers, practitioners and academics working in the area of elderly care and migration came together for an expert meeting organised by the ThirdGen Project research team and Population Europe. This invitation-only event took place on November 13th to bring together stakeholders to discuss the current state of formal and informal elderly care arrangements prevalent among migrant families and explore the ways that they can respond to their unique care needs.

The attendees reflected on the current issues and challenges around elderly care across various European contexts and the origin country Turkey. They shared the policy landscape for the countries they work in and highlighted the challenge for migrant families in accessing formal care provision.

Preferences of care arrangements in migrant families were also discussed with a particular emphasis on how generic care policies often fall short of catering for the unique needs of these families.

Experts pointed out that migrant families prefer to provide care for their elderly within the families. However, such preferences are weakening in younger generations who are more open to utilising the formal provisions. Sector professionals also noted that governments increasingly avoid the fully formal care provisions and promoting a  more hybrid arrangements where family members are encouraged to take a role in the care provision.

Public talk

Principal Investigator Professor Ayse Guveli of the ThirdGen project gave a public talk after the expert meeting. She discussed her extensive body of work on migrant outcomes from a dissimilation perspective. That is, how migrant and their descendants compare to those left behind. It gave an account of migrant’s advancements in different domains of life, including education, labour market, and family formation. The event was held online and attended by 226 people, including policy representatives, practitioners, and the general public.  

Integration of third generation migrants focus of £2.75m research programme

The grandchildren of Turkish migrants across Europe will be interviewed as part of a major research project led by Professor Ayse Guveli from the Department of Sociology and supported by a €2.75 million funding award from the European Research Council.

The ThirdGen project explores the long-term impact of migration on the third generation of Turkish migrant families and their assimilation patterns across different European countries, especially their socioeconomic position and family set ups.

Ayse who is leading the five-year project, said:

“Research has produced extensive knowledge about migrants and their children. But we know almost nothing about the third generation – the grandchildren. Studying the third generation will reveal the long-term implications of migration.

“Now, the grandchildren have grown, enabling us, for the first time, to study their life transitions, job trajectories, migration histories, family set ups, religion, gender roles, and many more factors.

“Has their socioeconomic position improved? Do they still plan to look after their elderly relatives at home? What role do religion and gender play on these?

Extending findings

Ayse explained that the funding is enabling her to extend the findings of her previous research into the migration histories of Turks in Europe which researched the lives of 2,000 families of Turkish migrants, comparing them to the families of Turkish men who stayed in Turkey.

She added:

“I am most grateful to the European Research Council for the funding for this project which will answer new research questions on the long-term impact of migration on the Third Generation.”

President of the European Research Council Professor Maria Leptin said:

“ERC Consolidator grants support researchers at a crucial time of their careers, strengthening their independence, reinforcing their teams and helping them establish themselves as leaders in their fields. And this backing above all gives them a chance to pursue their scientific dreams.”