Young returning migrants as actors of social changes in Slovakia

Migration is a cyclical process which also involves a decision as to whether

to return. The situation in Slovakia is characterised by a high number of

young people studying abroad. Up to now, the process of their migration and

return has been studied frequently from an economic perspective. However,

the return migration also contributes to social changes in the home country

of the migrants. Therefore, the return migration opens new research, areas

and themes some of which we include in our paper. In contemporary migration

studies, the transfer of new ideas, practices and codes of behaviour between

the place of origin and destination covers the concept of social

remittances. The idea of social remittances focused sociological attention

on the tendencies of returning young migrants to become bearers of change

and development in their home country. In this paper, we are presenting

findings about practical aspects how young Slovak migrants become agents of

social change in their immediate circle, community and even society.