Cultural artefacts and belonging: A comparative case study of displaced and refugee young people and families in Ukraine and Belarus.

This study will examine the ways that displaced young people in Belarus and Ukraine transform their identities and sense of belonging in turbulent situations through the use of cultural artefacts. In particular, the study will focus on the role of cultural and linguistic heritage in the transformation of young people's sense of themselves. The subjects of the research are young people and their families affected by unanticipated large scale forced population displacements from the East of Ukraine and the Crimea to other parts of Ukraine and to the neighbouring country of Belarus which is now also experiencing political turbulence. Previous research has shown that identity and sense of belonging influences the pace of adaptation of young refugees and their families and can impact on educational outcomes and emotional wellbeing. Young people whose families have become forcefully displaced as a result of critical societal conflict are likely to be negatively affected in terms of the equality of educational and life opportunities. Family, school, friends and neighbourhood constitute major influences on identity formation and the basis of the social support system for children and adolescents; forceful displacement (or immigration) as a result of a violent conflict and complete change of social environment pose additional challenges for the young people's identity formation and their integration into the possibilities of a new community. Studies of music, song and language conducted in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states have established the significance of cultural artefacts in relation to multi-cultural societies. Two comparative case studies in Ukraine and Belarus will explore the changing cultural landscapes for displaced people in the two countries from an innovative inter-generational perspective through on-line interviewing and interactive focus groups with YP and their parents/families. Through the innovative use of cultural memory boxes related to identity and belonging we will explore how cultural artefacts (e.g. music, poetry, literature) mediate feelings of belonging and cultural connectedness or exclusion during times of political and social crisis. The study aims through focus groups of young people and their families to establish the feasibility of analysing the role of cultural artefacts in the formation of identities in other conflict situation. The research will conclude with exhibitions of cultural artefacts related to identity. The research will also contribute to knowledge of the way that arts-based memories impinge on issues of affect and safety. An enhanced understanding of identity development in turbulent situations such as those that obtain in Ukraine and Belarus will assists in the formulation of interventions that reduce feelings of insecurity, isolation, lack of belonging and estrangement. In summary, this project focusses on the making of new identities for transformed futures. It will examine the place of cultural artefacts in this creative activity, the process of mediation involved in transformation, and the context in which this is supported.