Family on the Edge: Current Contexts of Vulnerability and Transnational Family Transformations  

On Friday, 20 June 2025, a working meeting of the RONARO team at the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences was held. The objective of the meeting was to discuss specific aspects of the research designs of individual team members, with a particular focus on the participatory dimension.

In practice, selected elements were addressed in advance of a forthcoming series of capacity-building working sessions (three sessions/workshops with experts in 4Q2025), commencing in September 2025. These sessions are intended to strengthen and refine the methodological rigour of the research designs in preparation for the fieldwork phase, scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

On 19 June 2025, a working meeting took place between Martina Wilsch (Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Sciences) and Professor Majella Kilkey (Centre for Care, University of Sheffield, UK). The primary objective was to plan joint activities within the RONARO project.

The outcome of the meeting is a detailed plan for the second half of the first project’s implementation period, which includes:

• an intensive working meeting in October 2025 focused on participatory research in the field of transnational families, and
• a workshop in the first quarter of 2026 dedicated to critical reflection on the research designs of individual team members.

The activities are designed to reflect the research needs of individual members of the research team, including participatory research approaches, collaboration with community researchers, art-based participatory methods, and the strengthening of international cooperation between the institutions involved in the project.

The working meeting of the extended RONARO team, comprising researchers from the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚESA SAV, v. v. i.) and the Institute for Research in Social Communication of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚVSK SAV, v. v. i.), took place on 16 May 2025. The meeting focused on the coordination of ongoing activities within the project “Family on the Edge: Contemporary Contexts of Vulnerability and Transformations of the Transnational Family.” Participants included Martina Wilsch, Soňa G. Lutherová, Miroslava Hlinčíková, Miroslav Popper, Zuzana Očenášová, and Magdaléna Petrjánošová.

The meeting agenda addressed several key areas: the project’s visual identity (currently a work in progress), a recap of promised deliverables, the 2025 project timeline, participatory research approaches applied within individual teams, planning of workshops with external experts, and discussion around the thematic focus of the research teams. It also included administrative updates and a final open Q&A session.

The planned project outputs include the involvement of foreign institutions and experts in both research and educational formats, the implementation of interviews (both in-depth and participatory), the publication of peer-reviewed journal articles and a special journal issue, preparation of a monograph manuscript, organisation of an international conference and panel, as well as a roundtable for stakeholders and a scientific lecture for the professional public. Thematically, the research teams are focused on transnational family dynamics, vulnerability, and care. The meeting included reflection on the intersections between the various thematic strands, target groups, and theoretical backgrounds, with the aim of identifying conceptual and methodological synergies across the research components.

The 2025 timeline foresees literature review and methodological preparation during the first half of the year, followed by the implementation of three workshops between September and November 2025. These workshops will involve contributions from international experts and collaborators from the Centre for Care (University of Sheffield). The final part of the meeting was devoted to administrative matters, coordination, and outlining concrete next steps for the immediate future.

Picture: Team Meeting (M. Wilsch)

On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, a working meeting of the RONARO IESA SAS team was held at the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The meeting was attended by Martina Wilsch, Soňa G. Lutherová, Ľubica Voľanská, and Miroslava Hlinčíková.

The main focus of the meeting was the organizational preparation of three expert workshops planned for the first year of the APVV project implementation. These workshops will involve external experts specializing in participatory methods as well as representatives from the Centre for Care, Sheffield University. A separate item on the agenda was a discussion on selected methodological aspects of the research design proposed by the team members and on ways to incorporate participatory elements into these designs.

Photo: RONARO research team at IESA SAS (M. Wilsch)

On March 28, 2025, the first and introductory online kick-off meeting of the RONARO project team was held, involving members from the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚESA SAV, v. v. i.) as well as the Institute for Research in Social Communication of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ÚVSK SAV, v. v. i.). The aim of this meeting was to successfully launch the project and lay a solid foundation for its future implementation.

Meeting Agenda:

• Presentation of the project and its objectives – Participants were introduced to the main focus of the project, its significance, and the expected outcomes.
• Presentation of the timeline and tasks – A detailed time schedule with key milestones was presented, and responsibilities were distributed among the team members.
• Clarification of expectations and competences of team members – The discussion addressed the responsibilities and expectations for individual roles, ensuring clarity and transparency.
• Establishing a shared understanding of the work process – Basic methodological frameworks and standards to be applied during the project implementation were agreed upon.
• Presentation of planned activities for the near future – Participants were provided with an overview of the upcoming steps and activities scheduled for the initial months of the project.

This kick-off meeting represented an important step toward the successful implementation of the project, setting the fundamental pillars for effective teamwork and the joint achievement of project goals.