ABSTRACT

Motivations to participate in diaspora tourism ‘birthright’ programs have widely encompassed themes of heritage exploration, including a desire to develop personalised attachments to people, places, and memories connected to ancestral heritage or a ‘homeland’. Despite the popularity of such programs among young members from the diaspora, the additional role that life course positioning plays in structuring motivation is less understood. In this paper, I analyse the motivations shared through semi-structured interviews with a group of young Hungarian-Australians who attended a 10-month ‘birthright’ diaspora program in Hungary. By applying a rite of passage lens to their stories, I highlight that uncertainties about the future, escaping the mundanity of everyday life, and the burden of impending adult responsibilities, were strong factors shaping their gap year motivations and overall view of the program. The paper thus encourages a more nuanced interpretation of diaspora tourism motivation through a liminal and youth transition context. It also prompts further thinking toward the role and representation of such programs as alternate rite of passage events, representing a critical point of transition between life stage endings and beginnings.

摘要

参与侨民旅游“与生俱来的权利”计划的动机广泛涵盖遗产探索的主题，包括渴望发展对与祖先遗产或“家园”相关的人、地方和记忆的个性化依恋。尽管此类项目在海外年轻成员中很受欢迎，但生命历程定位在构建动机方面所发挥的额外作用却鲜为人知。在本文中，我通过半结构化访谈分析了一群年轻的匈牙利裔澳大利亚人的共同动机，他们参加了匈牙利为期 10 个月的“与生俱来的权利”侨民项目。通过将成人仪式的视角运用到他们的故事中，我强调了对未来的不确定性、逃避日常生活的平凡以及迫在眉睫的成人责任的负担，是影响他们间隔年动机和对该计划总体看法的重要因素。因此，本文鼓励通过阈值和青年过渡背景对侨民旅游动机进行更细致的解释。它还促使人们进一步思考诸如交替仪式事件等程序的作用和代表，代表生命阶段结束和开始之间过渡的关键点。