Strategic Solidarities: Cultural Festivals, Relational Encounters and Diasporic Youth Identities

ABSTRACT

Cultural festivals have grown in diversity, scale and popularity in many migrant-receiving societies in recent years and schools have increasingly become involved in supporting these for intercultural exchange and celebration. While prior research has found that cultural festivals play a significant role in maintaining and enhancing cultural traditions, much less research has focused on the role that festivals play as sites of conviviality, cross-cultural encounters and solidarity – especially for school-aged young people. In this paper we examine three school-focused cultural festivals held in Aotearoa New Zealand, paying particular attention to how the diverse relational solidarities encouraged through cultural festivals shaped the identities of diasporic youth. A theoretical lens of solidarity was used to analyse the relational bonds formed through festival attendance, and how these might foster new possibilities for identity formation in multicultural nations. Our study revealed how three forms of solidarities (ethnic, trans-ethnic and school-based) served to affirm traditional cultural practices and identities, as well as strategically craft new, often plural identities. We reflect on the productive and inventive nature of such solidarities and how festivals provided a space to articulate counter-narratives about diasporic youth and assertions of status, belonging and citizenship.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural festivals
• solidarity
• identity
• conviviality
• migrant youth
• counter-narratives
• diaspora

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the support of the cultural festival directors who gave permission for our attendance and research at the festivals and for our university which supported our research at the Diversity Stage 2018.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Palagi: Samoan language – people of White European origin.

2 Haka is the Māori word for a traditional ceremonial dance and in this case, a haka tautoko is done to answer to, honour, and support the previous performance.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund [Grant number E3012, Award 3648].

Notes on contributors

Bronwyn E. Wood

Bronwyn E. Wood is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research interests lie at the intersection of sociology, geography and education and centre on issues relating to youth participation, citizenship and education.

Milica Homolja

Milica Homolja graduated with a Masters from Victoria University of Wellington. Her research focuses on the experiences of ethnic minority youth in New Zealand, paying particular attention to their engagement with cultural festivals and cultural performance as sites of citizenship-making, identity and belonging.