Dr Elia Vitturini is a post-doctoral researcher, trained in socio-anthropology
at the University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy.

In this second episode of the Research Series podcast, Elia Vitturini speaks about the ethnographic fieldwork him and his team led in The Gambia. He explains the complex phenomenon called “The Backway” and how, when it comes to migration, the decision to  leave is rarely  perceived as an  individual driver. His research changes the focus from the individual to the family, the community, and beyond.

Elia’s research experience includes several fieldworks in Somaliland since 2011,
where he studied youth activism and political party members and their participation
in political processes related to state-building. After his Ph.D., he also extended his
research interests to the study of marginalized minorities and dynamics of social
stratification in Somali territories. 

As part of the MigChoice project, Elia Vitturini worked with Professor  
Alice Bellagamba and Doctor Ebrima Ceesay to better understand migration patterns in the Gambia linked to development interventions, through an historical perspective and in-depth observation of local development practices.