Browsing by Author "Miettinen, Nina"

This master’s thesis is a case study about the perspectives that the mobile youth in the Nairobi region have in their roles in the changing world. The study begins with an assumption that the hegemonic narrative of the modern nation-state is being challenged in the globalizing world. It focuses on the worldviews and identities of the youth who have previously been awarded with a scholarship in the United States via Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program and currently influence in the Nairobi region. Place and citizenship are used as central theoretical concepts in the study. A multimethod design of qualitative approaches was used to conduct the empirical part of the research. The primary data was collected from the Nairobi region YES alumni by semi-structured interviews, observation and a focus group session. In addition, an expert interview was conducted and public reports regarding the subject of the research were used as secondary data. The data was analyzed with Atlas.ti software, combining coding and qualitative content analysis. The main findings of the study state that the YES alumni are globally oriented mobile and flexible citizens who identify with multiple groups and places. They sense belonging to Kenya but also identify as global citizens. Values that emerge during the research are especially related to learning and experiencing, benevolence and being successful. The youth aim to develop skills that respond to the challenges presented by globalization. In addition, the participants describe the exchange experience in the United States as an important factor that has changed the course of their lives in one way or another. As a conclusion it can be summed that the Nairobi region YES alumni are in a position where adjusting to to the changing world is possible especially due to tertiary education and possessing skills that maybe be applied in transnational expert careers. In the end of the research it is suggested that the groups who do not adjust to the changes as flexibly or whose worldviews and identities do not match in the narratives of globalization and mobility should be acknowledged next.