Transnational communities and change in rural Victoria
The purpose of this research, which was conducted over 12 months from mid-2004, was to investigate the nature and impacts of transnationalism in rural Victoria. In this context, transnationalism denotes the social networks and two-way flows of people, resources and culture established by migrants between their places of origin and settlement. The research was intended to provide the first step to developing a broader, in-depth research project on transnational communities in rural Australia with a view to informing government policy on regional development.
The research built on the data, research experience, and institutional and community linkages developed by the Immigrant Communities Project (ICP), carried out by Monash Regional Australia Project in 2002-03 in north-western Victoria. This research revealed that all of the immigrant farming communities who formed the focus of the ICP study - Albanian, Greek, Italian, Turkish and Punjabi - maintain connections to their places of origin, and these transnational connections have economic, social and cultural significance for migrant communities in rural Victoria.
To further investigate the significance of transnational connections, the Monash Institute for Global Movements granted the primary funding for a pilot research project, and additional funding was received from the Faculty of Arts Monash Small Grant awards. The research involved a case study of two immigrant communities - Albanian and Turkish - living in the Goulburn Valley and around Mildura in Northern Victoria. The preliminary study investigated:
- The transnational links between sending and receiving societies and how they are created and sustained.
- The impacts of transnational flows on settlement processes and demographic change.
- How transnational practices affect the economic, social and cultural capital that migrants bring to their communities.
- The meanings and significance to immigrant communities of notions of place, home, family, identity, community and citizenship.
Research team
Chief Investigators:
- Professor Chris Cocklin, Head of Monash Regional Australia Project and Head of the School of Geography and Environmental Science.
- Dr Bruce Missingham, Lecturer in the International Development and Environmental Analysis Program, School of Geography and Environmental Science.
- Dr Jacqui Dibden, Research Fellow, Monash Regional Australia Project.
Project Officer:
- Dr Sue Carswell, Research Associate, Monash Regional Australia Project
Further information about the project may be obtained from:
Dr Jacqui Dibden
(Monash Regional Australia Project)
Phone:
9905 2162; mobile 0429 864 684;
Email:
Jacqui.Dibden@arts.monash.edu.au