Realising People

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Realising Peoples Potential Inclusion,
opportunity and social capital

• November 2008
• Bala Thakrar

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Brief........

• How nations are able to be inclusive and build on
  the opportunities and utilise the human potential
  of Diaspora for their social and economic
  advantage

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Focus

• Diaspora in the UK
• Advantages Challenges for host country
• Diaspora Value for Home country

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Definition of Diaspora

• Population of migrant origin who are scattered
  among two or more destinations.
• Currently much more than in the past, Diaspora
  made up from complex mixes of people who arrived
  at different times, through different channels
  (eg labour migration, asylum, family union, for
  education, for professional advancement)

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• Through different means (legal entry, illegal
  entry, smuggling, overstaying etc)
• And with very different statuses (citizen,
  resident, student, visitor, humanitarian
  protection, indefinite leave to remain etc)

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The true Diaspora

• Maintain ties (economic, political, social,
• cultural and emotional) with their homeland
• may or may not be a citizen
• retains level of identity
• adopts customs of new home
• succeeding generations

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Background to UK Diaspora community

• 10 (6m) of UKs population represents ethnic
  minorities/Diaspora
• South Asian Diaspora 2.5million which make up 4
  of UK population
• South Asian Diaspora accounts for 10 per cent of
  UKs economic output
• 71 Asian millionaires - 47 under age of 40
  (2002/3 Rich List)

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Opportunities......

• Economic
• Thriving entrepreneurship driving force in
  small and medium enterprise business development.
  
• There are 250,000 ethnic minority enterprises in
  UK, contributing 13 billion a year to the
  British economy.

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Continue.......

• Diverse skills manual to highly professional
  (Health Service, IT industry, public
• Diversification Creativity ie new markets
  within and beyond the Diaspora for homeland
  products and services eg Indian and Chinese
  Diaspora traders that span countries, regions and
  continents

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• Political
• Value diasporas as source of information or to
  support policy decisions eg British Embassy staff
  kidnapped in Addis Ababa, UK govt sought info
  from Ethiopian community in UK which led to quick
  effective action.
• Diaspora to participate in political system

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• Government to explore constructive
  conversation/engagement with the Diaspora to
  realise their potential in development, poverty
  reduction and peace building.
• Globalisation Development AFFORDs
  submission(in response to the UK Govts White
  Paper on Globalisation Development, 2000)

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• Social/Cultural
• Music diverse music festivals
• Arts eg Refugee Arts Exhibition
• Cultural programmes concerts, theatre, films
• Culture plays an important role in bridging gaps
  between diasporas and the host country artistic
  outputs of diasporas can often help to open minds
  and increase tolerance where there is otherwise
  resistance.

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Challenges.......

• Government Policy
• Citizenship British identity. Definition and
  testing of cultural or national identity may
  sometimes exclude diasporas and make it harder
  for them to integrate.
• Govt keen to promote diversity and inclusive
  policy v. national identity and integration??

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• Terrorism the present debate on terrorism has
  raised awareness of the connections between
  international and domestic events and the role of
  diasporas is seen as influential.

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Conclusion

• As with any community, Diasporas are complex and
  contradictory.
• To have a formalised process for engagement eg
  DFID have funded Connections for Development

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Continue

• Govts need to be proactive in understanding what
  it means to be part of diasporic community, how
  migration occurred, the inter-action within
  Diaspora and between different groups and how
  people can be supported to participate fully in
  the host community. There is much to be gained
  from understanding and engaging with the
  Diasporas and assisting people to realise their
  full potential.

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Host countries....

• Financial remittances to home country more than
  aid.
• Home countries eg India, Ghana, have recognised
  value of its Diaspora. PVD annual conference
• Business investments
• Brain drain v Brain gain (I.T - knowledge
  transfer, Diaspora volunteering)
• Diaspora - international voice for locally
  marginalised community (Burma, Jagruti)
• a

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Age of Diaspora

• We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful
  mosaic. Different people, different beliefs,
  different yearnings, different hopes, different
  dreams
• Jimmy Carter