Thursday 5 March | 7:30pm | Online
An informal research presentation, open to all – 5th March 2026 at 7.30pm (UK time)
Join the Scottish Islands Federation for a talk by Dr Kirsten Gow about her PhD research into island connections and return migration and how this, and the lessons she has learnt about research in general, might be useful to communities and policy makers.
Living and working in the Isle of Jura, Kirsten’s PhD research focussed on the connections people maintain with island communities whilst living elsewhere, and the aspirations for / realities of return among this group.
The session will cover three key findings from the research:
– Those who don’t currently live in an island but who have an ongoing connection to an island community (the diaspora*) might be seen as a form of extended community who can (and do) support island life in a number of ways.
– A substantial proportion of those in the diaspora show some kind of desire to move ‘back’ to an island in the future. This might be important for islands whose populations are low and / or falling, especially when we consider that these people likely already possess existing stocks of local knowledge and networks which are known to be important to community resilience.
– For those who return, personal factors such as connection to place and people tend to outweigh economic and practical considerations, and there is evidence of returners ‘hitting the ground running’ in terms of community involvement.
A short presentation will be followed by a Q&A and discussion section where we will be keen to hear your thoughts on the research and how it might be further developed.
The session is free and open to all including those in communities and academia, but also for anyone with a general interest in this work.