Culture, religion, ethnicity : notions of identity amongst young Turks in Australia

In order to understand the nature of identity formation amongst second generation migrant youth in Australia, a recent research project has been investigating identity amongst young Australians of Turkish background. In particular the project has focussed on how both tradition and new forms of media are impacting on the way these young people see their place in an increasingly globalised society. Migrant youth of Islamic background face a particular challenge in maintaining their cultural heritage in the face of an increasingly hostile public and media discourse. Their experience in the real world of geographical location and in the mainstream of Australian media sometimes positions these young second generation migrants as separate or different, but within their own personally constructed media worlds they move comfortably within a globally connected youth culture