Summary of second annual conference: Who moves back and why that matters

2025 May 06

The second PREMIUM_EU digital conference drew in nearly 500 registrants and a highly active audience of researchers, policymakers, and regional practitioners eager to exchange ideas around a growing demographic puzzle: why do so few people move back to the regions they left?

Broadcast live from the Nordregio studio in Stockholm with speakers tuning in from Italy to the Faroe Islands, the conference titled "Rural repopulation: attracting skilled migrants" took participants on a knowledge trip through migrant motivations, policy gaps and structural barriers that determine whether rural regions can remain, or once again become places to stay, return to, or move to.

 

Migration isn’t just about people. It’s about systems

The PREMIUM_EU conference on rural repopulation opened with a compelling deep-dive into the data behind Europe’s vulnerable regions. Led by researchers Dr. Peter Meister-Broekema (Hanze University of Applied Sciences) and Dr. Becky Arnold (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute), the session examined how we understand population decline—and how that understanding can shape smarter regional policies.

 

From Spiral of Decline to Systems of Potential

“Population decline doesn’t have to be a death sentence,” said Peter, challenging the dominant narrative of inevitable deterioration. While many regional planning discussions begin with deficit thinking, fewer people, fewer services, lower quality of life. Peter argued this framing risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Livability doesn’t always follow population,” he explained. “People might lose a supermarket, but gain more green space, quiet, or cultural life.”

Instead of focusing solely on attracting newcomers, Peter suggested that regions could also respond by reorganising local infrastructure, combining services, rethinking mobility, or using digital tools to bridge gaps. “We need to start seeing people and places as dynamic agents, not static inputs in a model,” he said.

 

What Drives Migration? A Data-Driven View

Becky Arnold followed with headline findings from PREMIUM_EU’s mobility analysis. “The simple question is why people move, but the answer is complex,” she noted. Drawing on harmonised regional data from across Europe, Becky demonstrated how migration priorities shift with age and education:

• People in their 20s and early 30s prioritise economic opportunity: jobs, salaries, career growth.


• From their mid-30s onwards, social and environmental dimensions (safety, air quality, health care) become more important.


• Highly educated individuals care significantly more about social infrastructure like equality and access to culture—than the living environment.

These insights challenge one-size-fits-all policies. “You can’t attract remote workers the same way you attract returning families or early retirees,” Becky said. “Each group is looking for a different version of a better life.”

 

The migrant perspective: why come, and why leave again?

In a session that brought depth and personal perspective to the day’s policy discussions, a group interview followed the presentation, with three researchers conducting fieldwork in regions marked by return migration. Moderated by PREMIUM_EU Communications Manager Anne Katrine Ebbesen, the conversation explored the nuanced realities behind why migrants choose to settle, return or move on.

The speakers: Dr. Hilal Arslan (Hacettepe University), Dr. Michal Wanke (Cracow University of Economics), and Dr. Claudius Stroehle (IIASA), shared findings from their ethnographic and interview-based research in Turkey, Poland, and Austria.

 

Gender, Power, and the Decision to Return

Hilal Arslan offered striking observations from Turkish regions with high return migration from Austria. Her findings highlighted how return decisions are often shaped by deeply embedded gender roles. “In many cases, women weren’t consulted about leaving or returning,” she said, describing how migration decisions were frequently made by male heads of household.

One case study illustrated how a man destroyed his wife’s passport to prevent her from re-migrating - a clear example of what Hilal described as “involuntary immobility.” Despite this, she also presented a powerful counterexample: a woman who returned to Turkey and started a cleaning business, creating jobs for local women and promoting driver’s license training. “Her return had economic, social and symbolic impact. It shifted local norms,” Hilal noted.

 

Unrecognised Potential in Rural Regions

Michal Wanke focused on Polish migrants returning from Western Europe. While the phenomenon of de-skilling abroad is well-known, he pointed out that returnees also bring intangible “migration capital.” “They gain skills in adaptability, communication, cultural awareness,” he said, traits often overlooked by policymakers. Yet, as he illustrated with the example of a tunnel engineer returning to a region without tunnels, these skills can remain untapped. Michal emphasised how family considerations, especially children reaching school age, often trigger return. However, local systems rarely adapt. “The schools aren’t ready for bilingual children, and there’s little recognition of the diverse experiences returnees bring.”

 

Integration Isn’t Just Arrival. It’s Belonging

Claudius Stroehle spoke about migrants arriving in rural Austria through labour market schemes. Despite successful recruitment from Spain and Colombia, many newcomers soon moved on to cities. Why? “Because we forget that attraction isn’t the same as retention,” he said. His fieldwork showed how social onboarding efforts - language classes, nature hikes, and community-building activities - were essential to help migrants settle. “As one stakeholder put it, ‘In rural places, the noise starts in your head.’ We need to address isolation as much as employment.”

 

Reframing Value and Visibility

Across the discussion, a central theme emerged: migration policies often focus on numbers and deficits, while missing lived experiences and long-term integration. Hilal, Michal, and Claudius called for a more holistic view. One that accounts for family trajectories, gender dynamics, and the untapped social capital of both returnees and newcomers. As PREMIUM_EU builds its evidence-based dashboard, these narratives will be essential in shaping policies that don’t just move people, but help them stay, contribute, and feel at home.

 



 

Bridging the policy-practice divide

What makes a region resilient and attractive in the face of long-term population decline? This was the central question for the policymaker panel, which brought together voices from local and regional governments in Italy, Spain, and the Faroe Islands alongside project leadership.

Moderated by Anne Katrine Ebbesen (Nordregio), the discussion featured:

• Alessandra de Renzis, Cabinet Office of the President of Tuscany Region


• Símon Gullaksen, Mayor of Fugloyar Municipality, Faroe Islands


• Roger Barres, Regional Development Public Officer, Lleida Provincial Council, Spain


• Leo van Wissen, Professor and Head of the PREMIUM_EU project

Balancing Roots and Renewal

Alessandra de Renzis opened the debate with reflections from Tuscany. “The problem is both,” she said, when asked what hurts more, losing youth or failing to attract newcomers. Highlighting environmental pressures like recent floods, she argued that demographic decline in peripheral regions undermines both community and ecosystem resilience. Tuscany’s response, she explained, has focused on drawing in new families and ideas, aiming to “reignite the spiral upwards.”

Local Anchors and Global Ties

Símon Gullaksen offered a pragmatic perspective from the Faroe Islands, where job opportunities and lifestyle are increasingly shaped by the ability to work remotely. “Infrastructure and housing are crucial,” he said, “but people also want community.” He stressed the need for proactive municipal strategies and incentives that allow people to return or settle without compromising their careers or quality of life.

From Spain, Roger Barres pointed to the need for tailored approaches based on regional identity. “The challenge is not just numbers,” he noted, “but fit.” Matching incoming talent with the right opportunities, sectors, and social conditions is vital. Barres emphasized the importance of empowering municipalities and providing support beyond physical infrastructure, like cultural integration and language resources.

Framing Policy with Evidence

Throughout the panel, one theme was clear: resilience requires more than retaining the past—it demands reimagining the future. From flexible work policies and social infrastructure to strategic place branding and targeted incentives, the tactics vary, but the goal remains the same: creating regions that people choose to stay in, return to, or newly call home.

Leo van Wissen closed the discussion by linking these examples back to PREMIUM_EU’s wider evidence base. “We can now better distinguish which types of mobility bring which benefits to which kinds of regions,” he said. With tools like the upcoming migration policy dashboard, regions will soon be able to benchmark their attractiveness strategies and tailor interventions accordingly.

 

 

 

Fireside reflections: youth, tech, identity

As the digital conference drew to a close, the spotlight turned to emerging perspectives but in a informal “fireside chat” interview format, with external researchers focusing on youth, digital transitions, and the next chapter of mobility. Moderated by Peter Meister-Broekema, the closing session featured Dr. Hilma Salonen (Nordregio) and Dr. Anastasia Panori (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), who unpacked the intersections between digitalisation, youth aspirations, and regional policy gaps.

Youth Migration: A Matter of Futures, Not Just Economics

Hilma Salonen opened with a challenge to conventional wisdom. “Young people don’t only move for jobs,” she noted. “They move for identity, meaning, and the promise of a different kind of future.” Drawing on her research into Nordic remote regions, Hilma described how youth migration patterns often reflect larger lifestyle and value shifts, favouring experiences, networks, and flexibility over traditional stability.

Rather than framing youth outmigration as a ‘loss,’ she suggested rethinking how regions engage young people. “Attraction isn’t about luring people back with nostalgia,” she said. “It’s about offering them a role in shaping the place they might return to.”

Data for Decision-Makers: From Gaps to Action

Anastasia Panori, meanwhile, addressed a different gap between data availability and actual policymaking. As a regional policy analyst, she emphasised the need for timely, user-friendly, and sub-national data that reflects both socio-economic indicators and quality of life factors.

Her call to action? “We must equip local authorities with tools that allow them to make agile, informed decisions, especially in rapidly changing contexts.” She also pointed out the role of digital infrastructure as both a push and pull factor. “The presence or absence of digital accessibility strongly shapes where people believe they can build their lives.”

Concluding the Conversation

Moderator Peter Meister-Broekema closed the event by reflecting on the diversity of insights across the day from structural demographic models to deeply personal migration stories. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned,” he said, “it’s that no single solution will fit all regions. But what we can do is listen better, measure smarter, and design policy tools that meet regions where they are.”

The flood of audience questions in the chat underscored a hunger for more tools, better data, and flexible frameworks that can support local efforts to adapt. Attendees were invited to sign up to PREMIUM_EU’s Resilient Regions Expert Group to test the dashboard and co-develop future outputs.

 

Watch the recording and stay involved

Watch the full recording of the event HERE. Subscribe to the PREMIUM_EU newsletter for updates, access to the upcoming policy dashboard, and invitations to future webinars and the final conference in March 2026.

Rural repopulation isn’t only about halting decline. It’s about enabling choice, supporting return, and rethinking what makes a place feel like home.