Refugee Resilience

The project/network was established in 2016 and is today linked to the research group Equity in Social Welfare and Global Development at the Department of Health Promotion and Development (HEMIL), and is led by an interdisciplinary research team from various areas of the group's research field, health promotion (Associate Professor Fungi Gwanzura Ottemöller), global development (Professor Marguerite Daniel) and child welfare (Emerita Ragnhild Hollekim).

The purpose of the project is to explore factors and processes that strengthen and build resilience when young adult refugees and migrants are to establish themselves and integrate into Norwegian society. We focus on access to relevant information, how good collaboration between different institutions and organizations can contribute to such processes and the involvement of user groups in research.

In connection with the project, a large national and international network consisting of representatives from both the field of practice and relevant academic institutions has also been established with the help of funds from the NFR (see PIISTON led by Gwanzura Ottemöller (external link)).

From the field of practice, we collaborate with both different parts of the public sector (municipality / state) and the private / voluntary sector, institutions and organizations that work actively with the target group as well as relevant user groups. We have academic partners from Stirling University (Scotland), Western Washington University (USA), and Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Netherlands) and the German Youth Institute, Munich (Germany).

In 2017, we carried out a pilot project to explore what culture means when young and young adult refugees and asylum seekers have to adapt to a new life in Norway. Under the auspices of the project / network, we currently have research collaboration with both the public sector and other organizations that focus on the target group.

Since 2016, we have had a number of master's students who have written master's theses in connection with this topic, from a wide range of the group's research fields. In 2022, we have applied to NFR for a major research project (WEAK TIES) with a focus on how mentors and mentoring can contribute to successful and sustainable integration into working life for young refugees / migrants.