'You can't limit yourself to one country': Mobility trajectories and transnational engagements of young Dutch-Ghanaians

Many young people in Europe with a migration background grow up regularly visiting their or their parents’ country of 'origin'. Although mobility is an intrinsic part of these young people’s lives, little is known about what transpires during their trips and how this affects them. Based on 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Netherlands and Ghana, this dissertation investigates how young Dutch-Ghanaians’ mobility trajectories shape their engagements with the country of ‘origin’ (i.e. transnational engagements). The concept of ‘mobility trajectories’ captures all the moves young people make over time and across geographically distinct localities, and the shifting family constellations that this entails. By looking at young people’s current trips (undertaken when they enter into adulthood) as they unfold and as part of broader trajectories, this dissertation reveals changes in terms of the people, practices and places that are important to young people during trips to Ghana throughout their life-course. More importantly, it captures the emotions and meaning-making processes underlying young people’s evolving transnational engagements. Ultimately, this dissertation provides a more nuanced understanding of the factors that shape young people’s connections to more than one country as they build a future for themselves.