*Cancelled!* Transnational Families - Research Network and Coaching & Counseling Affiliate

Transnational Families: Caring & Connecting Over Distance

** Please note this event has been cancelled, and will be rescheduled **

Date: Monday, July 26, 2021 8:30pm EDT (New York)

          Tuesday, July 27, 2021 8:30am AWST, SGT (Perth & Singapore)

          Tuesday, July 27, 2021 12:30pm AUK (Auckland)

          See here for other time zones.

Time: 90 minutes

Location: Online (via Zoom)

Cost: FREE. Open to all. 

“Transnational Families … are families whose members are separated by geographical distance but who strive to maintain their sense of familyhood, their emotional connection, despite that distance. Anyone who has a loved one living far away knows the heartache of longing to be together, the sense of obligation to give, but also the need to receive care and support, to‘be there’ for each other, despite the distance.”

Thus begins the beautiful foreword written by Professor Loretta Baldassar—the world’s leading anthropologist on transnational families—for Helen Ellis’ newly published book, Being a Distance Grandparent (Summertime Publishing).

This month, we will have the honor of having both scholars join the FIGT Research Network for a discussion about the impact of distance on internationally-mobile families. As Helen poignantly illustrates in her book, mobility affects families across generations – both those who move and those left behind.

This special event will be co-hosted by Dr. Danau Tanu, Co-Chair of the FIGT Research Network Affiliate, and Isabelle Min, coach and former public broadcaster and member of the FIGT Counseling and Coaching Affiliate, who will facilitate this interactive conversation with our guests speakers.

Loretta Baldassar is Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and Director of the UWA Social Care and Ageing (SAGE) Living Lab. She has published extensively on transnational mobility, with a particular focus on families and caregiving across the life course. Among them, Families Caring Across Borders (2007) was one of the first to document family life across distance and is frequently cited as foundational to the field. Transnational Families, Migration and the Circulation of Care (2014) builds on this work. Loretta is also author of the award-winning book Visits Home (2001) and a lead researcher of an Australian Research Council funded project on youth mobilities. Recently, she was named one of the top 30 Australian researchers in the Social Sciences, and Research Field Leader in Human Migration (The Australian).

Helen Ellis, M.A., is a New Zealand researcher, author, anthropologist and a veteran of Distance Grandparenting and the Founder of DistanceFamilies.com. Three of her four children and four of her six grandchildren live 16 to 30 flight hours away in America and England. In her research she asked the question: “How is distance grandparenting for you?” Her book, Being a Distance Grandparent – a Book for ALL Generations, combines that experience with her extensive global research. This is the first of a three-book series about distance families – each publication focusing on a different generation (grandparents, sons and daughters, and grandchildren). Her goal is to support each generation to understand “how it is” for the other and pass on some “how to do it” tips.

Isabelle Min is CEO and Founder of Transition Catalyst Korea (TCK) Institute and a former radio host and television broadcaster for KBS (Korean Broadcasting System). She is also one of the first generation of Koreans who grew up abroad (in six countries) as a child of diplomats before permanently settling in Seoul. Isabelle speaks five languages and currently combines her multicultural upbringing with her 30-year experience as a public broadcaster, adjunct professor, and intercultural trainer to coach and empower individuals and teams through their transitions. She is also the initiator and co-founder of TCKs of Asia.

Danau Tanu, Ph.D., is author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School, the first and only book on structural racism in international schools. She holds a PhD from The University of Western Australia and will join Waseda University in Japan as a Visiting Research Fellow in 2021. Danau has published anthropological studies on Third Culture Kids and mixed-race identities and is a contributing author to . She is Co-Chair of the FIGT Research Network and, along with Isabelle Min, a co-founder of TCKs of Asia.