transnacionálnej rodiny
Family on the Edge: Current Contexts of Vulnerability and Transnational Family Transformations
Grant Scheme: APVV
Project Number: VV-MVP-24-0203
Project Title: Family on the Edge: Current Contexts of Vulnerability and Transnational Family Transformations
Acronym: RONARO
Duration: March 1, 2025 – December 31, 2028
Partner Institution: The Institute for Research in Social Communication at SAS
Principal Investigator: Mgr. Martina Wilsch, PhD.
Project Team: Mgr. Soňa Gyárfáš Lutherová, PhD., Mgr. Ľubica Voľanská, PhD., Mgr. Miroslava Hlinčíková, PhD., Mgr. Zuzana Očenášová, PhD., Mgr. Magdaléna Petrjánošová, PhD., doc. Mgr. Miroslav Popper, CSc.
The research project’s central theme is the family’s vulnerability in the wake of societal transformations and their manifold impacts on family structures today. The research team will focus on selected family practices with a cross – cutting consideration of contexts of care and transnationality. The main aim is to deepen understanding of different forms of vulnerability (i.e., the capacity of individuals or groups to withstand risks (Albris, 2022)), explored across individuals’ life situations, life course, and structural disadvantage. Individuals and family members increasingly find themselves moving abroad temporarily or long-term, voluntarily or involuntarily. However, they are still linked to their birthplace by living ties, whether in terms of social and emotional relationships, material goods, or other objective or subjective contexts (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002).
However, those who remain in their country of origin (left behind) are also part of the transnational family. These often fall into an imaginary “grey zone” in which society does not always consider their vulnerability or reflect their needs (Cienfuegos-Illanesy&Brandhorst, 2023; Giada Meda&Crespi, 2018). The project intends to focus on both groups of this current phenomenon, which has not received sufficient attention in the current social science discourse in Slovakia and is, therefore, not adequately empirically grounded.
Through in-depth qualitative research, the project thematizes selected aspects of the social practices of transnational families in Slovakia:
- Families of Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia, particularly lone-parent households, with attention to their housing trajectories and the broader implications for care and social reproduction;
- Slovak older adults whose adult children live abroad;
- Spouses/partners of Slovak care workers working abroad.
The research is interdisciplinary, and through participatory and innovative methodological approaches, it allows for a deeper understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by transnational families in various contexts. The project not only maps the current form of family dynamics but also contributes to the broader scientific discussion on vulnerability in changing social and family structures.
Details about the Project Implementation
Project Management and Coordiation
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.
Ongoing Outputs and Results of the Project
The special issue is collectively organized by COST Action CA21143 Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe (TraFaDy) and also supported by the APVV project VV-MVP-24-0203 Family on the Edge: Current Contexts of Vulnerability and Transnational Family Transformations.
Guest editors:
Esra Demirkol Colosio (ORCID: 0000-0003-2349-2389), Sociology Department at Çankırı Karatekin University, Turkey
Jelena Predojević-Despić (ORCID: 0000-0002-3947-9974), Institute of Social Sciences, Serbia
Martina Wilsch (ORCID: 0000-0002-6502-5503), Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia
Special issue of Slovak Ethnology critically examines the challenges of conducting qualitative research on transnational families and invites authors to methodologically contribute to the topic by addressing various aspects of this relationship, including the needs of research subjects, researchers’ subjectivities, research ethics, the positionality of researchers, and the specific research contexts surrounding transnational families, while also calling for innovative methodological contributions.
Deadline for abstract submissions is June 30, 2025. The final manuscripts will be expected no later than January 31, 2026.
Read all details about Special Issue HERE.
On 24 April 2025, an international methodological expert workshop entitled Beyond Translation: Reflexivity, Ethics, and the Role of Interpreters in Migration Research was held within the framework of the project RONARO – Family at the Crossroads: Contemporary Contexts of Vulnerability and Transformations of the Transnational Family. The event was organised by Mgr. Martina Wilsch, PhD, the principal investigator of the project.
The aim of the workshop was to critically examine the complexity of research involving interpreters in the study of transnational families. Through interactive and experiential methods, the workshop guided project team members as well as other participants towards a deeper understanding of ethical, reflexive, and contextually sensitive approaches to working with interpreters. At the same time, it contributed to the strengthening of the methodological skills of researchers focusing on transnational families.
The workshop addressed not only the methodological implications of involving interpreters in qualitative research, but also highlighted ethical dilemmas and the imperative of reflexivity. The event brought together 22 researchers from various European countries, all actively engaged in research on transnational families. The workshop was expertly led by Mgr. Helena Tužinská, PhD, a cultural and linguistic anthropologist from the Department of Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology at Comenius University, specialising in interpretation in migration research and institutional procedures (including asylum proceedings).
Participants were introduced to key theoretical and practical perspectives on interpretation in research, including:
- interlingual, intralingual, and intersemiotic dimensions of interpretation (Jakobson, 1959),
- narrative regimes and their influence on meaning-making in research (Spotti, 2019),
- the interpreter’s impact on data transmission and the positionality of the researcher,
- the role of interpreters as co-creators of cultural meaning, rather than passive intermediaries,
- ethical dilemmas, power dynamics, and the phenomenon of “interpreter invisibility” in the research process,
- strategies of dialogical communication and cultural mediation to uphold research integrity.
The structure of the workshop consisted of two 60-minute participatory sessions, including practical activities, discussions, and case study analyses, followed by a concluding lecture. The afternoon session was dedicated to an interactive methodological reflection on participants’ own research, as well as a discussion of opportunities for further collaboration.
Participants took away from the workshop:
- a deeper understanding of the methodological challenges of interpreter-mediated research,
- a reflexive awareness of their own positionality, power relations, and cultural interpretation in research interactions,
- skills for effective collaboration with interpreters,
- an appreciation of the active role of interpreters as co-creators of knowledge,
- a critical analysis of their own ethical principles in research.
The workshop provided a unique platform for critical discussion, networking activities, practical learning, and ethical reflection on the role of interpreters in qualitative research on transnational families. It also enhanced the methodological capacity of the RONARO project team in preparing the project’s research methodology.
The event was held in collaboration with COST Action CA21143 Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe and its Working Group on Qualitative Research (WG5Qual), co-led by Mgr. Martina Wilsch, PhD, and Esra Dermikol Colosio (Sociology Department, Çankırı Karatekin University).
Pictures from the workshop
Picture 1: Participatory Workshop (M. Wilsch)
Picture 2: Lecture H. Tužinská (M. Wilsch)
Picture 3: Discussions (M. Wilsch)
Picture 4: Participants of the workshop (H. Tužinská)
