Paper short abstract:

The presentation focus on the international migration of young people to the Westfjords, Iceland; a region previously affected by depopulation. The migration was often mobilized by idea of remoteness, imagined as small, intimate communities, proximity to nature, slow life away from the modern rush.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation builds on data from three-months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Westfjords in the North-West Iceland. The region is often described as one of the most remote parts of the country. It has suffered significant population loss in the last decades, while the share of immigrants in the total population of the region increased. In 2021, 18% of Westfjords inhabitants were of foreign origin compared to 15% in the country generally. In this presentation, we focus on the migration of young people, most of whom came to the Westfjords for the purpose of education. The majority studied at the local university centre that specializes in interdisciplinary sustainable development studies. In recent years, the university centre has become a transnational hub, attracting students from around the world. Although, most of them leave after completing their education, a considerable number prolong their stay. The decision is often motivated by specific qualities ascribed to the Westfjords that commonly signify rural areas – small, intimate communities, proximity to nature, slow life away from the modern rush – attributes typically associated with peripheral and distant communities. Our participants emphasise the unique conditions of the Westfjords that enable them to implement new knowledge and innovative technologies for sustainable development and future preservation of these places, directly addressing the current ecological emergency. Consequently, in migrants’ narratives, the Westfjords’ remoteness is represented simultaneously by notions of authenticity, lives in communion with nature and archaism, as well as ideas of progressive, mobile communities responding to global challenges.