Leadership and Narratives In Regional Development
Youth migration has been affecting rural areas and small cities in Quebec for several decades—especially in the 1990s, following long periods of low birth rates. In efforts to counteract youth migration, social movements and other types of mobilizations have formed in many regions, in particular Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean. Among these is Regroupement Action Jeunesse (RAJ 02), a Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean-based movement that has supervised many initiatives. One prominent initiative of RAJ 02 is MigrAction, a development strategy that evolved through networking with a large number of actors for more than a decade. In our research, we seek to demonstrate that development is generally the result of the formation of social networks and coalitions through the building of collective naratives. We are particularly interested in two elements: leadership and discourse. In terms of methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with local and regional actors and also did press reviews. The research revealed that the implementation of empowerment strategies in peripheral regions gave rise to an intersubjective community which contributes to individual identity building. In addition, the research allowed to identify the roles of leadership and narratives within those strategies.