Repositioning UK Partnerships Post-Brexit

On such divisive issues as EU membership and, consequently, the post-Brexit relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, it is unsurprising that Theresa May’s government has been torn between a “hard” and a “soft” Brexit. As of June 2018, there is still no indication of which approach will prevail, putting at risk UK universities’ participation in the Erasmus+ program, which has provided, among other things, opportunities for over four million Europeans to study, train, and volunteer abroad since its inception. Full access to EU research funds is also at risk. Universities cannot depend on the UK government’s help in securing the frameworks allowing for continuity. In such a context, universities have started to use their limited resources to secure bilateral international and European links to foster research collaboration and staff and student mobility, post-Brexit.

Repositioning UK Partnerships Post-Brexit

On such divisive issues as EU membership and, consequently, the post-Brexit relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, it is unsurprising that Theresa May’s government has been torn between a “hard” and a “soft” Brexit. As of June 2018, there is still no indication of which approach will prevail, putting at risk UK universities’ participation in the Erasmus+ program, which has provided, among other things, opportunities for over four million Europeans to study, train, and volunteer abroad since its inception. Full access to EU research funds is also at risk. Universities cannot depend on the UK government’s help in securing the frameworks allowing for continuity. In such a context, universities have started to use their limited resources to secure bilateral international and European links to foster research collaboration and staff and student mobility, post-Brexit.

A Meaningful Break in a Flat Life

International Voluntary Service (IVS) is slowly becoming more popular as more and more people take breaks from their studies or careers to volunteer abroad. However, research on the motivation of volunteers is quite limited and mainly conducted by means of qualitative methods. This study attempts to analyze the motivations that prompt people to serve internationally. I used the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) plus some items that refer to specific motives gathered from literature. The results show multiple and mixed motivations that, according to the correlational analysis, can be grouped into two motivational patterns, one “outward focused” and the other “inward focused.” These patterns are variously associated with some perceived facets of the experience abroad. Finally, the importance of understanding the various motivations and how matching them to the sending program might enhance volunteer satisfaction is discussed.

Giving Back, Doing Good, Feeling Global: The Affective Flows of Family Voluntourism

Whereas research on volunteer tourism has tended to focus on college-aged individuals, this article focuses on families with young children who volunteer abroad together. The article engages with scholarly debates surrounding the emotional and affective dimensions of voluntourism to examine how volunteering experiences encourage children to “feel global.” Through a qualitative analysis of ethnographic stories about catharsis and comfort zones, the article illustrates how certain emotions are produced and managed in the context of family voluntourism in order to propel children toward global subjectivities. The analysis reveals that family voluntourism reflects a neoliberal logic that compels parents to prepare their children for an uncertain future by developing an emotional repertoire of adaptability, open-mindedness, compassion, and gratitude. Family voluntourism is therefore not necessarily about making a difference in poor communities, but rather about equipping middle-class children from the Global North with the emotional skills they will need to live in the uncertain and unequal world of neoliberal globalization.