The main sites of data gathering were the media clubs set up during the project in each
participating country. The clubs were designed more as case studies working in parallel rather than as comparable sites. Each club comprised between 10 – 12 children between the ages of 10 – 14 years old. The children came from many different countries and spoke a correspondingly wide range of languages. Clearly, since refugees and migrants enter Europe from well recognised international trouble zones, there were children from similar countries in several of the clubs. For example, in more than two of the clubs there were children from Somalia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Columbia, Turkey and Afghanistan. However, due to the location of some of the clubs there was a predominance of one or another ethnic group in some clubs. In Sweden, for example, nearly all the children were from Kosovo. We were therefore operating with many different variables (language, age, religion, gender, migration experience and status, country of origin and media experience). This decision was made on the basis that we wished the club
groups to be as representative of the location and that location’s migration community as possible. Nevertheless, it is clear from the reports that many problems and experiences the children
explored in the course of their media productions were shared across the clubs despite their differences and this makes the research findings and policy recommendations particularly pertinent.
However, the children in the CHICAM clubs also had very different needs when they entered the clubs, as they represented different categories of immigrants and refugees. Some were seeking asylum, having either arrived recently or already experienced a long period of temporary permits or living in reception centres. Clearly, these children had different needs from those whose families had been granted asylum. Thus, for some children, life in the new country was unsafe and fragile, whereas for others the situation was more secure as their families had started a new life and were planning for the future. Naturally, such different conditions affect how children establish bonds and ties with others (Black, 1994; Virta and Westin, 1999; Fedeli, 1998). The CHICAM clubs functioned partly as arenas of social interaction and identity formation. We were able to observe dimensions such as self-representation and identity, and the formation and organization of peer relations. We were able to study how the children's notions of friendship are expressed in the new country in addition to how children conceive of their friendship relations with their country of origin. We also had the opportunity to explore friendship relations in media productions, as specific tasks focussed on explicitly visualizing or dramatising friendship. We observed that when children were negotiating and discussing their friendships and peer relations, they were inspired by popular media such as Reality TV – a format that invites children and teenagers to talk about their affectionate relations with friends, love affairs and so on (Hill, 2004).
The concept of “difference” is ubiquitous, permeating language, appearance, education, social status, parental employment status, clothing (dress codes), religion and social codes (Hargreaves, 2001). To use French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s terminology, we could say that the ‘habitus’ (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977) of these children does not always match that of the predominant culture. In addition, there might be cultural differences within an immigrant group in terms of status and prestige, creating feelings of inferiority, insecurity and confusion at a stage in life when it is so important to feel equal to others.
The level of group consciousness and the sense of belonging to a group (in this instance, the CHICAM club itself) built up slowly but steadily. Inside the clubs, we tried to foster this with various activities and 'symbols' such as cups or T-shirts. We further encouraged the creation of as free a space as possible inside the clubs, trying to make the children set their own rules and perceive it as an open, warm and comfortable space. From the children's side too, interest in ‘doing things together’ at CHICAM was expressed (e.g. going on an excursion, having a party etc.). Yet, the infrastructure was already there: some groups were pre-formed through different channels of acquaintance and/or affiliation, and in most cases the children were members of the same school community.
The groups started bonding slowly. Different roles and personalities developed from the very beginning and changed over time while different skills and characteristics surfaced. During the club, work sub-groups were formed, and alliances were created. The latter were certainly not static at all, but shifting and dynamic. There were also cases of children who remained relatively marginal to the group. The researchers and the media educators needed to ensure that this did not become destructive. In one case in the Greek club, a girl preferred to remain as an observer to the group. In Sweden, the researcher needed to intervene actively to bring the children together. In the UK club, it was agreed that one of the children would prefer to do other activities and left the club. These processes of affiliation and disaffiliation from the group also formed part of the research data. The children saw the clubs as an opportunity to create their own, identifiable space, where things that could not be articulated elsewhere, could be brought up and discussed. The CHICAM clubs functioned as alternative spaces and as grounds for socialisation where differences were accepted and respected.
In summary, the children had different needs, which related to their individual circumstances. The clubs functioned as spaces for social interaction and identity formation. Researchers and media educators tried to foster a sense of belonging to a group, and were able to focus extensively on what ‘friendship’ meant and entailed for the children. While working with media was the main activity it was clear that the social dimension of the clubs was of primary importance for the children. Meanwhile talk about media (television and films) was an important platform on which these social relationships were negotiated.