The CYS Team Completed a Series of Presentations in Stavropol for 'Resilience and Creative Potential' Project
Researchers of the Centre for Youth Studies presented the results of the project in North Caucasus Federal University. The final trip to Stavropol was part from a series of presentations in cities of fieldwork for the the project 'Resilience and creative potential of the youth of the North Caucasian region in the context of educational and labor migration', which is supported by the Russian Science Foundation.
The team of the Centre for Youth Studies in HSE St. Petersburg finalised the presentation series of the results of the project 'Resilience and creative potential of the youth of the North Caucasian region in the context of educational and labor migration', which is supported by the Russian Science Foundation.
Young research fellows in CYS Ekaterina Bemler and Anastasiia Andreeva came back to Stavropol to present the summary of the fieldwork and to meet again with the participants of the research. Research fellow Dmitrii Omelchenko continued filming in Stavropol for the new sociological documentary and recorded the project participants’ post-research reflections on camera.
On the 15th of May in North Caucassu Federal University (NCFU) was held the presentation of the results itself. It was a final meeting in series of discussions around the project in North Caucasus cities, that allowed the team to talk over preliminary findings with the representatives of the university's environment.
This was my second trip to Stavropol after the three-week expedition which we concluded last year. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, the students could not attend the presentation in NCFU. But what is important the event participants were university staff, teachers, heads of educational work and heads of research centers. They asked very valuable questions which showed their deep interest in the life of students, their migrational intentions. Participants propted us to think of the future directions for the research. We are very grateful for the warm welcome from the NCFU administration. They always provided support and collaboration for us, that undoubtedly affected the quality of our research.
The bad weather did not prevent us from filming the material on rock-scene of Stavropol. We were pleased to attend several rehearsals of the bands that participated in the last year’s research. They not only performed their repertoire but also told us a lot of interesting things and supplemented our research. The informants were glad to see us and invited us to come again to explore the city. Stavropol left an even more pleasant impression than on our first visit, even though that seemed impossible.
The trip gave the researchers an opportunity to return to the people and places with which they had formed a special connection during the project. The team met again with the participants from last year’s field, saw new city initiatives, and continued the conversation about how local creative practices are emerging and developing in Stavropol.
Центр молодежных исследований: Младший научный сотрудник
For me Stavropol has become the city I want to coming back to. The fieldwork could be very different: it happens that the recruting is hard, that we are met with misunderstanding, that obstacles are piling up. But in Stavropol there are incredibly responsive people who welcome guests with joy and take them under their wing. On this trip we were returning to old acquaintances, and were welcomed as old friends. Year ago I heard from my tour guide-interviewee about her simply wishing to reincarnate the 'meetings of noble assembley'. This year we took part in a traditional Russian tea party with a side of local history lecture from her. We visited places in the city that we would never have found on our own – we even snuck into garages for a rock band’s rehearsal (that’s where local creativity comes to life!). That was an interesting contrast with the 'School Spring' [festival] for which in the city centre was set up huge scene with projectors and LED-screens. The presentation of our project's results met a lively response from NCFU staff, which then prompted the vivid discussion – a very good sign which means we do have something to discuss.
