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JPI MYBL EWG Care, Inequality and Wellbeing in Transnational Families in Europe: a comparative, intergenerational study in Spain, France, Sweden & UK

Lead Research Organisation: UNIVERSITY OF READING
Department Name: Geography and Environmental Sciences

Abstract

This innovative comparative research project will investigate the relationships between care, inequalities & wellbeing among different generations of transnational families in the UK, Spain, France & Sweden. The COVID-19 crisis has brought into stark relief the care deficits many European countries are confronting as ageing societies, with low-paid women migrants often filling gaps in formal care provision, while their own caring responsibilities for kin are often overlooked. Demographic shifts due to population ageing & increased international migration are leading to major changes in the provision of care, social protection & intergenerational responsibilities. These transformations may exacerbate existing inequalities facing migrant families with care needs.

The project will compare migrant carers' and transnational families' experiences within four partner countries with contrasting welfare models, migration regimes & post-colonial legacies. Using a multi-sited family-focused ethnographic & participatory action research methodology, we will work with partner organisations to train migrant peer researchers & support them to undertake research with families, building trust & capacity within communities. We will select a diverse sample of 100 transnational families with care needs (25 in each country) of different ethnicities & varying legal status from two contrasting regions in each country to compare experiences at different urban and rural scales, as well as between countries. We will engage with 3 or 4 different generations, including family members living in countries of origin/other settlement countries. We will select 20-30 case study families for in-depth ethnographic research. We aim to match the sample with family members living in more than one partner country to explore onward migration & resource flows & compare differing entitlements to social protection.

The study will provide unique insights into how family care practices are negotiated between & within different generations of transnational families in Europe, while also considering their family ties in countries of origin. This timely project will capture the health, economic, social & emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on transnational families as the crisis unfolds, including changing intergenerational caring responsibilities & mobility strategies. It will explore the impacts of care on younger, middle & older generations' wellbeing & opportunities & how social reproductive & productive work are shaped by intersecting inequalities of gender, age & generation, disability, race, ethnicity/cultural background & socio-economic & legal status. It will include a specific focus on young caregiving & how this affects children's wellbeing, education & opportunities. This interdisciplinary project will also explore how language barriers may perpetuate inequalities facing transnational carers & how younger generations may provide 'language-brokering' & help older family members to navigate bureaucratic legal & administrative systems to claim their rights.

The project will achieve significant societal impacts by providing a valuable evidence-base to inform policy in improving the wellbeing & equality of transnational families in Europe. It will embed the learning in practice through the co-production of culturally appropriate tools & training materials that support young & adult carers & transnational families. The findings & outputs will be disseminated through community screenings, regional stakeholder workshops, key academic & practitioner conferences & an international interdisciplinary Symposium. The project will produce 14 high impact journal articles in the fields of migration studies, social & emotional geographies, childhood & youth studies, family sociology, sociolinguistics & migrant language education & a co-edited volume. The dataset will be archived for future researchers' use.
 
Title Addressing Barriers to ESOL Classes 
Description This film shows the challenges that migrants face to access accredited courses of English Language for Speakers of Other Languages, based on our research with transnational families. The challenges relate to caring and work responsibilities and transport and childcare costs, which are not usually refunded by further education colleges who run the accredited courses in the UK. We follow Lina, a working migrant mother, approaching a migrant support organisation to enquire about English language provision. She opts for classes at the local college, but finds it difficult juggling her caring responsibilities and work with studying, and meeting the costs of transport and after school clubs for her children. We see the positive outcome imagined by families: an accredited course provided by a Further Education college is more accessible and the costs of transport and childcare, such as afterschool clubs, can be refunded. The film concludes with policy and practice recommendations. The film was co-produced with families participating in the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing research project (led by Professor Ruth Evans, University of Reading and Dr. Rosa Mas Giralt, University of Leeds) and performers from Rank and File Theatre, who have lived experience of forced migration, disability and mental health challenges. The research team and Rank and File actors discussed with transnational families the actions and social changes they would like to see to address these challenges in participatory workshops in England, using Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed approach. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact We have screened this film to policymakers and practitioners and members of the public at our Policy and Practice workshops and Regional Dissemination events and made it publicly available on our YouTube channel. We have received very positive feedback about how it helps to raise awareness to tackle barriers to ESOL classes for transnational families. 
URL https://youtu.be/RzknO_yeASI?si=Irz0ui4AAFDBlvh3
 
Title Applying for a Family Visa to Meet Care Needs 
Description This film shows a transnational family's frustrations and challenges in applying for a visa for a family member to visit the UK to meet their care needs. The parents of Sara, a young carer, are applying for a visa for one of their sisters to come to the UK to help provide care for the grandmother, whose health has deteriorated. The sister would help care for the children and alleviate their young caring roles. The film shows the difficult process of being interviewed by the Home Office and the family receiving the outcome of their visa application. The film was co-produced with families participating in the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing research project (led by Professor Ruth Evans, University of Reading and Dr. Rosa Mas Giralt, University of Leeds) and performers from Rank and File Theatre, who have lived experience of forced migration, disability and mental health challenges. The research team and Rank and File actors discussed with transnational families the actions and social changes they would like to see to address these challenges in participatory workshops in England, using Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed approach. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact We have screened this film to policymakers and practitioners at our Policy and Practice workshops and made it available on our YouTube channel. We have received very positive feedback about how it helps to raise awareness about the challenges of transnational families applying for a visa to meet care needs and recommendations for change. 
URL https://youtu.be/ETCP-vrRhCw?si=x47XctFZHAvMwIuj
 
Title Language and Interpretation Needs in Accessing Healthcare 
Description This film shows the difficulties that migrants, asylum seekers and refugees may face when trying to access health or other services due to language barriers, based on our research with transnational families. We follow Dalya and her mother who arrive at Accident and Emergency because Dalya has a very high temperature and needs urgent medical attention. Written forms are not available in the language they require and interpreters are not readily available. The solution imagined by research participants shows healthcare staff being more helpful in providing forms in languages other than English and in arranging appropriate interpreters, having benefited from intercultural training. The film concludes with policy and practice recommendations based on families' suggestions. The film was co-produced with families participating in the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing research project (led by Professor Ruth Evans, University of Reading and Dr. Rosa Mas Giralt, University of Leeds) and performers from Rank and File Theatre, who have lived experience of forced migration, disability and mental health challenges. The research team and Rank and File actors discussed with transnational families the actions and social changes they would like to see to address these challenges in participatory workshops in England, using Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed approach. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact We have screened this film to policymakers and practitioners and members of the public at our Policy and Practice workshops and Regional Dissemination events and made it available on our YouTube channel. We have received very positive feedback about how powerful it is in raising awareness about the importance of ensuring access to appropriate interpreters when accessing healthcare and other public services and to take account of language varieties when supporting transnational families. 
URL https://youtu.be/qbVwznEdVEw?si=lzdaLtlLg1_ltXdJ
 
Title Reflections on Participatory Research with Transnational Families 
Description In this short film, the research team, community researchers and theatre performers reflect on using a range of creative, participatory methods with transnational families in Spain, Sweden, the UK and France, as part of the research project, 'Care, Inequality and Wellbeing in Transnational Families in Europe: a comparative, intergenerational study in Spain, France, Sweden and UK' (2021-2024). In all four study countries, community researchers from refugee and other migrant backgrounds were trained in qualitative interviewing and participatory methods and gathered data with transnational family members. We also developed a range of creative, participatory approaches with transnational families in each country. In Spain, the team and community researchers engaged with the PhotoVoice method to co-produce a photography collage and documentaries. In Sweden, the team and community researchers developed short films drawing on families' stories. In the UK, the team and theatre performers with lived experience of migration used the Theatre of the Oppressed approach with transnational families to act out scenarios based on families' experiences and co-produced short films of key messages for policymakers and practitioners. In France, the team, filmmakers and families co-produced two ethnographic documentaries with two transnational families. The participatory approaches we adopted in Spain, Sweden, the UK and France allowed us to work with a wide range of transnational families and brought many benefits to the research. Participatory methods such as Photovoice, Theatre of the Oppressed, and co-produced films and documentaries provided opportunities for dialogue and empowerment among participants, policymakers and practitioners. Participatory research with transnational families however requires realistic research timelines and sufficient resources. The research project was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [Grant Ref. ES/W001527/1], FORTE Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [Grant Ref. 2020-01524], Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain [PCI2021-121924], Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France [Grant reference : ANR-21-MYBL-0001-01], through the JPI More Years, Better Lives, Equality and Wellbeing across Generations. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2025 
Impact 34 views to date on YouTube. 
URL https://youtu.be/cdGYunF8EEs?si=z--vnQ60wy_SNpkx
 
Title Refugee Families Caring and Seeking Reunification 
Description This film focuses on an example from our research with family participants of the challenges they faced when trying to care for family members at a distance across borders, and when trying to reunite with extended family members in the UK.The United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention enshrines the right to family reunion for refugees. However, each signatory to the Convention might have different rules in place. We follow the story of Ahmed and Aisha, from Syria, who arrived in the UK 4 years ago with their children. They were resettled by the UN Refugee Agency, from a refugee camp in Jordan. Aisha's elderly parents were not allowed to be resettled in the UK together with Aisha and her family and were left behind in Jordan. Research participants imagined a change in the family reunification laws that would enable transnational family members to be reunified and culturally appropriate care to be provided by the family. The film was co-produced with families participating in the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing research project (led by Professor Ruth Evans, University of Reading and Dr. Rosa Mas Giralt, University of Leeds) and performers from Rank and File Theatre, who have lived experience of forced migration, disability and mental health challenges. The research team and Rank and File actors discussed with transnational families the actions and social changes they would like to see to address these challenges in participatory workshops in England, using Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed approach. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact We have screened this film to policymakers and practitioners and members of the public at our Policy and Practice workshops and Regional Dissemination events and made it publicly available on our YouTube channel. We have received very positive feedback from the Refugee Council and other practitioners about how powerful it is in raising awareness about the difficulties refugee families face in family reunification and resettlement processes. Our project partner, MESH are currently developing a set of learning resources for English for Speakers of Other Languages practitioners, based on this film, Refugee Families Caring and Seeking Reunification. 
URL https://youtu.be/JKAcE-A6f6g?si=Ok2LfFXDSpcRXs0C
 
Title Young Caregiving in Transnational Families 
Description This film highlights the pressures that young people may face when providing care in transnational families. The film was co-produced with families participating in the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing research project (led by Professor Ruth Evans, University of Reading and Dr. Rosa Mas Giralt, University of Leeds) and performers from Rank and File Theatre, who have lived experience of forced migration, disability and mental health challenges. The research team and Rank and File actors discussed with transnational families the actions and social changes they would like to see to address these challenges in participatory workshops in England, using Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed approach. Other versions of the film are also available with French, Spanish and Swedish subtitles on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CAREWELLTransnationalFamilies 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact We have screened this film to policymakers and practitioners and members of the public at our Policy and Practice workshops, the Symposium, Regional Dissemination events and made it available on our YouTube channel. We have received very positive feedback about how powerful it is in raising awareness and conveying the multiple pressures on young people who have caring responsibilities in transnational families. The film was also used as the basis for the Learning Resources for teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages produced by our project partner MESH on Transnational Families: Family Challenges, https://learningenglishplus.org.uk/resource-hub/transnational-families/. The resource has been viewed by 343 users since the beginning of November 2024 and has been communicated through an Out & About feature and social media, through their professional networks of ESOL teachers and showcased at regular network events with up to 100 stakeholders to date. 
URL https://youtu.be/HP-JzjjVKIg?si=uF0dN1vxTjGKu-PP
 
Description This research project investigated the relationships between care, inequalities and wellbeing among different generations of transnational families in the UK, Spain, France and Sweden. 'Transnational families' are family groups where one or more family members spend all or most of their time geographically separated across borders, but share a collective sense of connection as a 'family'.

This project established a new transnational interdisciplinary network across the four partner countries. The network built the capacity of migrants and practitioners through developing research skills and co-producing knowledge. It also built the capacity of early career and established academics through mutual learning in participatory and ethnographic approaches. The consortium facilitated comparative research that is influencing policy and practice changes to improve the equality and wellbeing of migrant carers of different generations.

The research has shown that transnational families simultaneously manage multiple caring responsibilities, both proximately for family members, and by caring at a distance for kin living in other countries. Families' opportunities and access to social protection are shaped by intersecting inequalities based on legal status, nationality, race and ethnicity, disability/chronic illness, socio-economic status, language-related inequalities, gender and generation. The physical and mental health, economic, social and emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were interlinked for migrants and led to the further marginalisation of transnational families, particularly those with insecure legal status and low socio-economic status.

The deficits of migration and care regimes, alongside the absence of kin, create the need for children and youth to take on caring roles in transnational families. Children's care work is often invisible, but may be crucial in enabling parents/relatives to fill gaps in care provision, facilitating access to public services through language and digital brokering. The accelerated shift towards digital technology becoming the primary gateway to access public services particularly affects older generations and those with low levels of literacy or language proficiency in the dominant societal language and increases the reliance on younger generations. The research highlighted several barriers to accessing affordable, appropriate and high-quality language education provision.

Negative impacts of caregiving were evidenced among middle and younger generations in terms of their education, employment and finances, family relationships, social participation, health and wellbeing. Such impacts could have significant implications for carers' long term opportunities and wellbeing, especially among transnational families with high care needs who were already facing financial hardships and insecurity. Policy recommendations focus on levelling out inequalities, expanding the definition of 'family' in reunification policies, recognising children's care work in transnational families, making public services more accessible, welcoming and inclusive for migrant carers and their families.

The findings across the four countries have been published in an open access Report (Summary also available in French, Spanish and Swedish), 4 Policy Briefs and 11 academic articles to date, 13 accessible film outputs and disseminated through regional workshops, an international Symposium and professional networks. We guest-edited a special issue of Population, Space and Place journal on 'Intergenerational care, inequalities and wellbeing among transnational families in Europe', which includes 5 papers based on the findings.
Exploitation Route This study has provided the first comparative, intergenerational and intersectional analysis of the relationships between care, inequalities and wellbeing in transnational families. It has contributed to theoretical developments and provided valuable comparative evidence across key settlement countries in Western, Southern and Northern Europe. The project has provided insights into the effects of contrasting welfare and migration regimes on lived experiences and the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for transnational families. It has generated a major evidence base to inform policy and practice in addressing young caregiving in transnational families and wider intersecting inequalities and social protection in transnational families with caring responsibilities. It is making a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in care ethics, transnational migration, social and emotional geographies, social studies of childhood and youth, family sociology, sociolinguistics and migrant language education.

Our edited collection (in preparation) and the special issue of Population, Space and Place we are editing, which includes our major scientific papers (Mas Giralt and Evans, forthcoming; Suter et al, 2025; Capstick et al, 2025) adopt an ethic of care perspective in the analysis of families' experiences - a novel approach which has not been used to date in studies of transnational families. Our reflections on the innovative participatory methodologies adopted across the four study countries with peer researchers and actors with lived experience of migration and disability have been shared in our film, Reflections on Participatory Research with Transnational Families (publicly available on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@CAREWELLTransnationalFamilies) and publications.

Our project addresses several areas relevant to policymakers and practitioners working to improve the care, equality and wellbeing of transnational families in the UK, France, Spain and Sweden. We have produced major outputs (Report, Policy Briefs, Policy and Practice Films, Documentary Films, Learning Resources) that policymakers and practitioners can use to advocate for changes to improve the equality and wellbeing of transnational families.

The five films we have co-produced with Rank and File Theatre, which are publicly available on our YouTube channel, can be used to raise awareness and achieve societal change:
Young Caregiving in Transnational Families (also available with French, Spanish and Swedish subtitles)
Applying for a family visa to meet care needs
Language and Interpretation Needs in Accessing Healthcare
Addressing Barriers to Accessing ESOL Classes
Refugee Families Caring and Seeking Reunification
(available here: www.youtube.com/@CAREWELLTransnationalFamilies).

The dataset of family transcripts and policy transcripts will be archived for researchers' future use.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Creative Economy

Education

Healthcare

Government

Democracy and Justice

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/
 
Description Our project addresses several related areas where we are trying to achieve changes in policy and practice to improve the care, equality and wellbeing of transnational families in the UK, France, Spain and Sweden. We have produced major outputs (Report, Policy Briefs, Policy and Practice Films, Documentary Films) that policymakers and practitioners can use to advocate for changes in: a) the lack of recognition and support for young carers & inaccessible carers' support services, health & social care provision for migrant carers & relatives. b) inequalities facing migrant carers & families, differential entitlements to welfare, health & social care in Europe & transnationally. c) Constraints of family reunification policies, which are inconsistent between different European countries and based on assumptions about family structures informed by Western nuclear families models that do not acknowledge the diversity of family forms & intergenerational care common in the Majority world d) Gendered and generational repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic for migrants e) Limited migrant language education provision and curriculum which does not reflect experiences & needs of transnational families. Our innovative methodological approach of providing training and working closely with community researchers from migrant backgrounds and local partner organisations has built capacity within migrant communities and among practitioners in the UK, Spain, France and Sweden. The on-going collaboration and engagement with community researchers throughout the project has enhanced their skills and employability and potentially led to empowerment and peer support. In the UK, all community researchers were presented with certificates from the University of Reading/ University of Leeds to acknowledge the training and work experience they had gained, in addition to remuneration for their work on the project. Employment references were also provided for two community researchers, who secured the posts they applied for. The collaboration in the UK with Rank and File Theatre performers who have lived experience of migration and disability also led to personal benefits such as engaging with diverse audiences, reflecting on their own experiences and gaining a sense of empowerment in acting families' stories and potential solutions to the challenges they faced and filming these to help achieve social change. These benefits to community researchers, theatre performers and transnational families are evidenced in our documentary film reflecting on the participatory approach adopted across the four study countries. Overall to date, our outputs are primarily leading to greater recognition within policy and practice of young caregiving in transnational families. In particular, the research has demonstrated their language and digital brokering roles among professionals (health and social care and education, third sector organisations), particularly in the UK, Spain and Sweden. This is also highlighted in our journal article (Suter et al, 2025). In the UK, our impact activities to date have focused on: • Increasing awareness and recognition of young caregiving in transnational families among health and social care staff, teachers and other professionals, including recognising language and digital brokering as care work in itself - through presentations to key professional networks, policy and practice briefings and short film on Young Caregiving in Transnational Families. • Discussing with practitioners from health and social care, HealthWatch and the third sector the need to expand interpreting and translation services, and raise awareness about issues of gender sensitivities, language varieties, to alleviate children's and family members' responsibilities for language brokering when accessing health, social care, education, legal, employment and other public services - through our short film on Language and Interpretation Needs in Accessing Healthcare and a forthcoming Policy Brief on young caregiving. • Advocating to expand the definition of 'family' in reunification policies to facilitate transnational family reunion and mobility across borders for extended family members and fast-track where there are care needs - through our short film on Refugee Families Caring and Seeking Reunification and Applying for a Visa to meet Care Needs. These recommendations are also highlighted in Mas Giralt and Evans' journal article (under review). • Advocating for expanding and improving the quality of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) education (Policy Brief in preparation). Our partner organisation, Migrant English Support Hub (MESH) developed a set of learning materials on 'Family Challenges' for ESOL practitioners using our film on Young Caregiving in Transnational Families. MESH are currently working on another set of learning resources for ESOL practitioners, using our film, Refugee Families Caring and Seeking Reunification. The resource was viewed by 343 users November 2024- February 2025 and has been communicated through an Out & About feature and social media, through their professional networks of ESOL teachers and showcased at regular network events with up to 100 stakeholders to date. Our partnership with Rank and File Theatre on the scenarios for participatory theatre in family feedback workshops informed the script and performance of their play, Where do we go from here? Their play was performed on 4 occasions in Berkshire, UK, April - May 2024. We were invited to present at a knowledge exchange workshop and to contribute a best practice case study (under review) for a learning resource about participatory work in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, UK with refugees, asylum seekers and/or forcibly displaced people. Ruth Evans presented at the knowledge exchange workshop at the Imperial War Museum, London in June 2024. The UK team contributed evidence to two All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Select Committee Inquiries: • APPG for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers Inquiry into life opportunities for young carers and young adult carers (August 2023) • The Effects of UK Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Policy on Poverty: A Joint Inquiry by the APPG on Migration and the APPG on Poverty (October 2023). We were invited to present the key findings and show our short film, Young Caregiving in Transnational Families at national and local authority stakeholder meetings to inform and enhance practitioners' work to support young carers and adult carers: • Queen's Nursing Institute Homeless and Inclusion Health Network focused on Young Caregiving (December 2024). • Carers Steering Group, Public Health, Reading Borough Council (December 2024).
First Year Of Impact 2024
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Policy & public services
 
Description Contribution to Insights on Social Care ESRC review
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description ESOL Learning Resources, Transnational Families: Family Challenges
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact ESOL practitioners have reported how helpful these learning resources are when preparing their ESOL teaching with migrants, as it enables them to ensure their teaching is relevant to the challenges and needs of transnational families.
URL https://learningenglishplus.org.uk/resource-hub/transnational-families/
 
Description GLAM Knowledge Exchange Best Practice Case Study
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Inquiry into life opportunities for young carers and young adult carers
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://carers.org/downloads/appg-for-young-carers-and-young-adults-carers-reportlr.pdf
 
Description Recognising the needs of young carers in transnational families - Community nursing network
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact We received good feedback about how the findings and film highlight the specific issues facing young carers in transnational families, particularly their language and digital brokering roles and how these could be used to improve practice.
 
Description Recognising the needs of young carers in transnational families - LA Carers Steering Group
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The findings and film received excellent feedback from the Social Care Leads on Young Carers and Adult Carers, with a commitment to further meetings to take forward the recommendations.
 
Description The Effects of UK Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Policy on Poverty
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://appgmigration.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MigrationandPoverty_Report2024_print1.pdf
 
Description CASTLE - Children left behind by labour migration: supporting Moldovan and Ukrainian transnational families in the EU 
Organisation Babes-Bolyai University
Country Romania 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Ruth Evans and the project consortium were invited to participate in the international colloquium 'Transnational families in focus' (14-16 September 2021) hosted by the Research project CASTLE - Children left behind by labour migration: supporting Moldovan and Ukrainian transnational families in the EU, led by Viorela Telegdi-Csetri, Babes?-Bolyai University of Cluj (Romania). Polina Palash gave a presentation about the project and participated in interesting discussions about participatory methodologies with young migrants.
Collaborator Contribution Opportunity for networking and sharing project methodological approach.
Impact Polina Palash (post-doctoral researcher, France team) represented the project consortium and gave a presentation about the project and participated in interesting discussions about participatory methodologies with young migrants at the international colloquium 'Transnational families in focus' (14-16 September 2021)
Start Year 2021
 
Description COST Action CA21143 - Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe 
Organisation European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
Department COST Action
Country Belgium 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Members of the Consortium were invited to join, and seven members representing all four countries in the project joined, including Ruth Evans and Rosa Mas Giralt, the COST Action CA21143 - Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe (2022 - 2026). Rosa Mas Giralt presented at the one-day "Conference on Transnational Families and Care" (17th October 2024, Berlin) organized by Working Group 2 (Integrating the perspective of vulnerable children and young people in welfare and policy) of the COST Action and DeZIM-Institute, with a paper entitled: Caring 'here' and 'there': Intergenerational caring relationships and intersecting inequalities among transnational families in France, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, also representing Ruth Evans, Laura Oso Casas, Andrea Souto García and CareWell Team.
Collaborator Contribution Opportunities for networking, meetings, conferences and contributions to joint outputs.
Impact Rosa Mas Giralt presented a paper entitled: Caring 'here' and 'there': Intergenerational caring relationships and intersecting inequalities among transnational families in France, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, also representing Ruth Evans, Laura Oso Casas, Andrea Souto García and CareWell Team.
Start Year 2023
 
Description IMISCOE Network (International Migration Research Network) 
Organisation International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe (IMISCOE)
Country Netherlands 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We organised three workshops discussing and sharing the findings of the project at IMISCOE Annual Conferences: 2022 Conference in Oslo 2023 Annual Conference in Warsaw 2024 Annual Conference in Lisbon.
Collaborator Contribution Opportunities to network, engage in discussions and disseminate findings to academic audiences
Impact Ruth Evans (University of Reading, UK) and Rosa Mas Giralt (University of Leeds, UK) (2024) with participation from other team members Katarina Mozetic (Malmo University), Laura Oso Casas and Andrea Souto (University of A Coruña), Virginie Baby-Collin (University of Aix-Marseille, France) and Domiziana Turcatti (University of Oxford), as well as Eleonore Kofman (Middlesex University, UK)."Intergenerational care, intersecting inequalities and wellbeing among transnational families in Europe": A workshop at 21st IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) Annual Conference in Lisbon. Brigitte Suter, Rosa Mas Giralt and other team members (2023) Organising care in transnational families in Europe: Actors, practices and challenges for well-being and equality in the (post)Covid-19 era" at IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) 20th Annual Conference, Warsaw. Polina Palash, Ingrid Jerve Ramsøy, Brigitte Suter, Paloma Moré, Laura Oso, Andrea Souto, Rosa Mas Giralt (2022) "Transnational Families in Europe: the time of 'crisis' of the COVID-19 pandemic and caring across borders in France, Spain, Sweden and UK (2022) at IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) 19th Annual Conference, Oslo. Oso, L., Martínez-Buján, R. and Moré, P. (2021) "The impact of Covid-19 in social protection of transnational families in Spain" 19th IMISCOE Annual Conference. Oslo, Norway.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Project partner - The Children's Society 
Organisation The Children's Society
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We have shared our research expertise and key findings and film outputs, providing relevant evidence and potential training materials for Children's Society practitioners.
Collaborator Contribution The Children's Society practitioners participated in the UK Advisory Group; they provided training for community researchers and practitioners on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from refugee and other migrant backgrounds; helped to identify policy and practice stakeholders; they provided assistance in facilitating activities with children in family feedback workshops; provided expert commentary in the panel discussion during the plenary of key findings presented at the final Symposium.
Impact Policy and practice commentary on key findings and recommendations in panel discussion following plenary presenting key findings, Symposium, 4 June 2024.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Advisory Group meetings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Two UK Advisory Group meetings were held online (June 2021 and December 2021) with national and regional policy and practice stakeholders, researchers and collaborating institutions. Stakeholders were informed about the project plans and their advice and guidance sought on key policy and practice issues and research design.
One UK Advisory Group meeting was held in November/December 2022 : Online data collection exercise with the Advisory Group to map key challenges for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker families and relevant non-academic stakeholders in the UK and internationally.
One UK Advisory Group meeting was held on 24th January 2023: Meeting to discuss the stakeholder mapping exercise and identify key challenges and national/international stakeholders. This was followed by an update of data collection progress and data analysis plan with the Advisory Group members.
One UK Advisory Group meeting was held on 22nd September 2023: Meeting to discuss preliminary findings, participatory feedback workshops and co-production of accessible outputs with Advisory Group members.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022,2023
 
Description Blogpost: Channel tragedy highlights unfair family reunion policies for transnational families 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Comment piece on the Channel tragedy from the perspective of transnational families and raising awareness about our project
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/channel-tragedy-highlights-unfair-family-reuni...
 
Description Blogpost: Supporting transnational families in the time of COVID-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Raising awareness about St Vincent's, Leeds, one of our collaborating institution's support for transnational families during the COVID-19 pandemic
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/supporting-transnational-families-in-the-time-...
 
Description Blogposts on research website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Over 30 blogposts about themes of our research and updates about our research activities have been posted on our research website 2022 to present.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022,2023,2024,2025
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/category/news/
 
Description Family feedback workshops 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact 4 family feedback workshops (in Reading, Leeds (x2), Manchester) focused on sharing key messages from the research primarily with family participants (adults and children) from migrant, asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds, as well as with practitioners and other migrant families. Participatory theatre activities, discussion and ranking of key priorities for policy and practice and collection of feedback on necessary policy and practice changes. Alongside this there were family- and children-focused activities to gain further insight into their experiences.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/family-feedback-workshop-in-reading/
 
Description Film screening and public seminar, Aix Marseille University 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Members of the French research team of the Transnational Families in Europe: Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing project presented two documentaries at a seminar in Aix-en-Provence (Aix Marseille University) in October 2023. The documentaries drew on recent ethnographic research with transnational families. These documentaries and the process by which they were created had been reviewed previously at the May 2023 seminar of the Mimed research network on migration.
The films are examples of social science research outputs that make use of the creative arts to communicate findings. This approach makes the findings accessible to a wide range of audiences, and has been well- received by both the general public and the researcher and student communities.

Two discussants led the seminar discussion following the screenings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/seminar-screening-of-two-documentary-films-at-...
 
Description Online Policy and Practice Feedback Workshop, UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Policy and Practice workshop to discuss key emerging findings and draft recommendations with practitioners and screen short films co-produced with family participants and Rank and File Theatre. Attended by 20 participants, who gave helpful suggestions for how the film outputs could be used to achieve societal impact and changes in policy and practice. Their views helped inform the presentation of key findings and recommendations in the final report and final film outputs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/report/
 
Description Policy and Practice Feedback Workshop, Reading, UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Policy and Practice workshop to discuss key emerging findings and rank draft recommendations with practitioners and screen short films co-produced with family participants and Rank and File theatre. Attended by 14 participants, who ranked draft recommendations and gave helpful suggestions for how the film outputs could be used to achieve societal impact and changes in policy and practice. Their views helped inform the presentation of key findings and recommendations in the final report and final film outputs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/report/
 
Description Press release 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Press release about launch of project
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2021/research-news/pr857107
 
Description Press release - Report reveals challenges facing transnational families 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Press release to launch final report:
Evans, R., Mas Giralt, R. et al., 2024. Care, Inequalities and Wellbeing among Transnational Families in Europe. Report of the CareWell comparative, intergenerational
study in Spain, France, Sweden and UK. University of Reading and University of Leeds, UK.

Report reveals challenges facing transnational families
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2024/Research-News/Report-reveals-challenges-facing-transnational-fam...
 
Description Public seminar, Aix Marseille University 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Public seminar (hybrid), January 2024: "Intergenerational Care across the Lifecourse in Transnational Families", as part of the monthly migration seminars organised by the MIMED French research network on migration in the Mediterranean. During the seminar, the Transnational Families in Europe team presented two papers authored bythe French and Spanish teams and authored by the UK and Swedish teams.

The presentations were followed by a lively discussion with discussants from Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, and with the audience both in person and online.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Public seminar, Malmo University 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Public seminar (hybrid) at Malmö University in February 2023 : "Participatory research on transnational families and care: Insights and reflections from ongoing research in Sweden, France, Spain and the UK"
The team presented the participation research design of the project at the public Migration seminar that is organised weekly by Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM) at Malmö University. The team presented their implementation of participatory research design when studying transnational families and care. Each team presented the specific methodological approach and reflected on the advantages as well as the hick-ups that have arisen from the particular participatory approach. The Swedish team was joined by one of the community researchers involved in the study, adding to the debate her own reflections on and take-outs from the project. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion with the audience, reflecting the increased interest in this type of research design.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/project-meeting-and-public-seminar-in-malmo/
 
Description Regional dissemination events, Caring in Migrant Families (Reading, Leeds, Manchester) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Three regional dissemination events were held in Reading, Leeds and Manchester to launch the final report, short films and ESOL resources. Events included the presentation of key findings by Ruth Evans, Rosa Mas Giralt and Tony Capstick and panel discussions with key policymakers, project partner practitioners and community researchers, discussion of film outputs. Reading event was attended by 25 participants. See blogpost for more details: https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/launch-of-the-care-inequalities-and-wellbeing-in-transnational-families-in-europe-report-event-highlights/
Leeds event was attended by 17 participants; Manchester event was attended by 19 participants. See blogpost for more details: https://bit.ly/carelaunch
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/launch-of-the-care-inequalities-and-wellbeing-...
 
Description Symposium: Migration, Care and Intersecting Inequalities, University of Reading 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Key findings, Policy Briefs, and some of the UK films were disseminated at a plenary session of the international, interdisciplinary Symposium on Care, Inequality and Wellbeing in Transnational Families in Europe, organised by Ruth Evans and Rosa Mas Giralt (and the CareWell project team) at University of Reading, Reading on 4 June 2024. The presentation of key findings was followed by a panel discussion with leading academics, practitioners and policymakers: Eleanore Kofman, ,Professor of Gender, Migration and Citizenship, University of Middlesex; Jack Liuta, community researcher, Migration Yorkshire; Marieke Widmann, Policy and Practice Adviser, The Children's Society; Andy McGowan, Policy and Practice Manager, Carers Trust. The Symposium was attended by 40 delegates (in person) and 88 online delegates for the hybrid sessions, including our plenary of key findings. Policymakers and practitioners provided helpful feedback which together with discussions at the Symposium, informed the final Report, recommendations and Policy Briefs and Film outputs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://research.reading.ac.uk/transnational-families/symposium-migration-care-and-intersecting-ineq...