Freedom dilation
‘Freedom dilation’, by Evanz, June 2026. Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License. GRABS in collaboration with Halifax Refugee Clinic, K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada.
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ERC-GRABS
Depuis 2015, plus de 5 millions de personnes sont arrivées ou ont tenté d’arriver dans l’Union européenne pour y trouver refuge. D’autres pays d’accueil de réfugiés sont confrontés à des situations similaires. Beaucoup de ces réfugié.es sont des jeunes. Mais alors que de nombreux articles ont été écrits sur les expériences des réfugié.es adultes et, dans une moindre mesure, sur celles des mineur.es non accompagné.es, très peu de recherches ont été menées sur les expériences des jeunes réfugié.es qui ne sont pas (ou ne sont pas reconnu.es comme) « non accompagné.es », et plus particulièrement sur l’impact de ces expériences sur leur parcours vers l’âge adulte, à l’intérieur ou à l’extérieur des frontières. Cela conduit à l’absence de politiques efficaces pour protéger les jeunes et leur garantir l’accès aux services essentiels à leur bien-être, tant dans leur jeunesse que dans leur vie d’adulte.
Histoires de jeunes
Cet espace est réservé aux jeunes avec lesquel.les nous travaillons afin qu’elles et qu’ils puissent partager leurs expériences et créations, notamment : essaies, manifestes, poèmes, dessins, et photographies. Certaines de ces créations ont été réalisées lors de nos ateliers de recherche, d’autres à l’initiative des jeunes. Lisez les dernières histories et contributions de jeunes ici
6ft Apart. Stay Away!! Stay Safe
6ft Apart. Stay Away!! Stay Safe So I picked some words of how it felt moving countries and like my experience in isolation was one of the ones that stood up the most because of COVID, the different languages and everything. So it was a whole process of first how it felt of being alone…
Untitled
Untitled For this comic, I chose to tell the story of my father’s immigration journey and the sacrifices he made for our family. Before coming to Canada, my dad worked as a pharmacist in Palestine for over 20 years. Although he had a successful career and years of experience, continuing in the same profession in…
What document papers do I need? I guess to be safe, pack all of them.
‘What document papers do I need? I guess to be safe, pack all of them’, by Bible, May 2026. Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License. GRABS in collaboration with Youth Outreach Team, YMCA Centre for Immigrant Programmes, K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada.
Le GRABS Podcast
Le GRABS Podcast
Grandir Aux Frontières, Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS), est un projet de cinq ans financé par le Conseil européen de la recherche (ERC) dans le cadre duquel nous explorons les expériences vécues par des jeunes qui grandissent aux frontières dans des situations de migration forcée et d’immobilité ou de mobilité réduite. En développant et en utilisant conjointement des méthodes de recherche participatives créatives, nous cherchons à mieux comprendre comment les connaissances, les expériences vécues, l’autonomie et les idées des jeunes façonnent leur parcours vers l’âge adulte aux frontières. Ce podcast fait partie de ce voyage. C’est un espace pour documenter, exprimer et imaginer. Fondé sur des histoires, des réflexions et des expériences vécues fortes, il capture non seulement les voix des jeunes, mais aussi les contributions de l’équipe de recherche et de nos partenaires dans les cinq pays où nous travaillons. Épisodes du podcast
Episode 29 : Stories of Arrival in Canada by Noor & Hekmat
Episode 29: Stories of arrival in Canada by Noor & Hekmat. Episode recorded and edited at the YMCA of Greater Halifax & Dartmouth, Center for Immigrant Programmes, Youth Outreach, K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada. June 2026
Episode 28 : Cultural shock experiences of living in Canada by Mercy, Evanz, Fatime and Karolay
Episode 28: Cultural shock experiences of living in Canada by Mercy, Evanz, Fatime & Karolay. Episode recorded and edited at the Halifax Refugee Clinic, K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada. June 2026
Episode 27 : Story of young Ethiopians who migrate to South Africa by Tofik Nasir (Original Amharic, interviewer Aron Tesfai, English Version available )
Episode 27 : Story of young Ethiopians who migrate to South Africa by Tofik Nasir (Original Amharic, interviewer Aron Tesfai) épisode 27 : Story of young Ethiopians who migrate to South Africa by Tofik Nasir (English Version translated by Aron Tesfai)
Episode 26 : Gender Inequality by Mohammed, Yusuf, Asra & Nancy
Episode 26 : Gender Inequality by Mohammed, Yusuf, Asra & Nancy
Blog
Ces articles de blog sont rédigés par les membres de l’équipe GRABS, ses partenaires et ses collaborateur.rices. Leur contenu reflète donc différents points de vue et opinions, tant au sein du projet qu’au-delà. Nous souhaitons faire de ce blog et du site web GRABS un espace ouvert d’échange et de discussion avec toutes les personnes qui travaillent avec nous dans le cadre du projet. Si vous souhaitez contribuer sous quelque forme que ce soit, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter. Il peut s’agir d’un article, d’un commentaire ou d’un éditorial, d’un compte rendu d’événement, d’un reportage photo, d’une illustration ou de tout autre support audiovisuel. Bonne lecture ! L’équipe GRABS Lisez les derniers articles du blog ici
When Excellence Is Not Enough: Experiences of Accessing Higher Education for Youth with forced migration backgrounds in South Africa
By Aron Tesfai Neighbourhoods such as Yeoville, Rosettenville, and Hillbrow—dense inner-city areas in Johannesburg—are often described through a language of deficit: crime, poverty, overcrowding, and deteriorating infrastructure. Yet for thousands of migrants and refugees, these places are home. It is a place of survival, community, and aspiration, particularly for young people who have grown up…
Fieldwork and scoping visit to K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada: A Comics-based essay
Fieldwork and scoping visit to K’jipuktuk-Halifax, NS, Canada: A Comics-based essay This comics-based essay is both a report and a methodological exploration produced during my fieldwork and scoping visit to K’jipuktuk-Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, between 18 July and 4 August 2025 K’jipuktuk, which means « Great Harbour » in Mi’kmaw language, forms part of Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral…
“As soon as they see our name they block us!”: Hospital blockades and the impacts on forced migrants in South Africa
By Glenda and Jane “One of my clients is 9 months and one week pregnant. She was turned away from her local hospital. I’ve been worried all weekend about her and her baby” These are the words of a social worker at Refugee Social Services, a GRABS partner, and one of the only organisations providing support…
Borders Crafted With Care
Borders Crafted with Care: Biscuits, Trains and Little Ships The title of this piece is inspired by the packaging of the biscuits provided to our team while staying in Dover during a scoping trip in the UK. The biscuits were called “Borders” with the tagline: “crafted with care”. Besides the irony of biscuits in Dover…
Acualités et événements du projet GRABS
GRABS Presentation at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria
On June 11, 2026, the GRABS team were invited to present their research by the IRD–CNRS–CIRAD joint office in Southern Africa and the Future Africa campus at the University of Pretoria. Jane Freedman, Glenda Santana de Andrade and Aron Tesfai gave a presentation entitled The Architecture of ‘Stoppedness’. Focused on participatory research methods and the dynamics…
GRABS at the 2026 CSA Annual Conference
This work could not be done without the generous and courageous participation of all the young people that joined the various research activities and the amazing support of our community-based and local academic partners in K’jipuktuk-Halifax (Halifax Refugee Clinic, the YMCA Centre for Immigrant Programmes Youth Outreach team of Greater Halifax and Dartmouth, and Saint…
Project Activities in South Africa: Exhibitions, Workshops & Community Engagement
At the heart of the GRABS Project (Grandir aux frontières)—funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and Université Paris 8—lies a deep commitment to collaboration, participatory research, and elevating community voices. Moving away from extractivist academic models, our recent activities in South Africa used creative methodologies—specifically photography and youth-led podcasts—to allow young people to narrate their…
Building Future Collaboration on Migration, Youth and Young People and Health
Workshop at the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 20 May 2026 The GRABS team was invited to participate in a day long workshop at the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg We were delighted to engage with colleagues from the GEMMS and…
Publications Académiques
Perspectives on participatory research: An attempt at cowriting with young people in situations of forced migration
By Alex Japonais, Jorojina Elishal, Israel Wabikamb’, Rammy Sadat, Jay, Aron Tesfai, Glenda Santana de Andrade, Jane Freedman AbstractThis article emerges from a series of participatory and creativeresearch workshops that we participated in as organisers/researchersand participants/co-researchers. The workshops were part of anongoing research project on young people’s experiences of migrationand (im) mobility across borders. Research…
Discussing the use of participatory methods with young people on the move
We are pleased to share the first peer-reviewed academic publication from the ERC-funded project Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS). Authored by Glenda Santana de Andrade, Jane Freedman and Isabel Morrell, this open-access article has been published in Frontiers in Human Dynamics and reflects on the use of participatory methods with young people on the move. Drawing on early empirical and methodological insights from…
L’équipe GRABS
