"It wasn't just a job": research on the motivation of social facilitators in crisis situations

This thesis explores the motivation of Ukrainian mediators working in the Czech- Ukrainian project "Health Support Mediator for Ukraine" (MPZU) in the Czech Republic. It aims to find out how the motivation of MPZU mediators is formed in the crisis conditions of forced migration and how it changes during their participation in the project. The theoretical and methodological framework is based on H. Blumer's symbolic interactionism and H. Becker's epistemological position. The qualitative research combines autoethnography and semi-structured interviews. An analytical structure for examining motivation was created for the analysis. The results show that the motivation of mediators is dynamic in nature: the motives of participants change, modify, and evolve during their participation in the MPZU, and the trajectory of this dynamic differs between refugees and migrants. The interpretation of the results includes a comparison with empirical research on the motivation of helping professionals in crisis and migration contexts, which makes it possible to identify both recurring motives and conditions of engagement, as well as specific features related to the context of the MPZU. The practical significance of the work is evident on several levels: the results can be used to understand and support the...