Abstract
In 1991, a first editorial group formed the basis of Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research. It had six original members: Kirsten Drotner from Denmark, Gestur Gu∂mundsson from Iceland, Tommi Hoikkala from Finland, Monica Rudberg from Norway, the Swedish main editor Johan Fornäs and the editorial assistant Hillevi Ganetz. Many others have since then secured the continued success of this academic journal. First, Monica passed away (15 August 1950–30 May 2023), leaving the rest of us in mourning. And two years later, Gestur (28 October 1951–7 September 2025) was no longer among us.
Our vision of Young was to fill a scientific gap in the then existing academic journal landscape focusing on youth: to establish a forum of critical and contextualized interdisciplinary theoretical dialogue empirically rooted in the welfarist traditions of the Nordic countries of Europe. Monica and Gestur were both perfectly fit to help realize that vision. While Monica’s psychological training and Gestur’s sociological insights offered theoretical breadth, their most memorable contribution was their unusual intellectual curiosity and generosity in sharing, and testing, their research insights and experiences.
Monica and Gestur are sadly missed by the Nordic and international community of youth researchers, to which they have left such enormous contributions in Young and elsewhere. We who remain from the initial editorial group are deeply grateful for having had the luck to count them both as dear friends and as qualified colleagues.