(Re)building supportive relationships for unaccompanied minor refugees: Narratives from Norway, Finland and Scotland

In this seminar, Marte Knag Fylkesnes explores the role of new family-like relationships in building and sustaining wellbeing, from the perspectives of young people in Finland, Norway, and Scotland. She also discusses the usefulness of the wellbeing approach in this context. Rather than conceiving wellbeing as an individual output, the analysis in the presentation is inspired by Sarah White’s concept relational wellbeing. This directs the gaze towards how wellbeing is negotiated in the space between individuals and social systems. Across the three case countries, young participants emphasized the importance of building close, committed, mutual relationships with friends and professionals; “like a father”, “a brother I live with”.

The presentation will unpack the needs these relationships meet, as circumstances change over time in the transition to adulthood, and what this can tell us about the social structures unaccompanied minor refugees negotiate, aiming for a good life in migration.

The presentation is based on the project “Relational wellbeing in the lives of young refugees in Finland, Norway and Scotland (the Drawing Together project), developed together with partners Marja Tiilikanen and Sharon McGregor. For further information about the project: https://www.drawingtogetherproject.org/