Day 3 of the Future Forum on Thursday 24 June looks at Youth Drive – the inspirational power and potential of youth diaspora as actors of sustainable development. We explore the interests of younger diasporans, asking how to support their drive and transnational interests, because the younger generations are the #diaspora4future
Young people are the leaders of tomorrow and so it is essential for a sustainable future that all young people are acknowledged for the present and future role in society at all levels, from local to global. With transnational connections, young diasporans are often seen as having the potential to play a role in more than one community or society. Is this a privilege or pressure? The answer, of course, depends on the individual. Yet what is clear from our global mapping on diaspora engagement is that engaging the younger generation is a long-term interest for countries around the world and desired by many living in the diaspora. New generations, however, have different interests and needs in terms of engagement.
On the third day of the Future Forum we delve into a few of the emerging trends for youth engagement in an era when young people are connected like never before. We’ll look at different angles of entrepreneurship – linking with innovation, heritage tourism and local development – as well as the burning issue of trust-building between and along the generations.
Morning sessions
10:15 – 10:45 Kick off: We start the day with what is certain to be a dynamic discussion on the potential of youth engagement between DG International Partnership‘s Agata Sobiech, Global Focal Point for the Migration Children and Youth Platform (MGCY) Elana Wong, and European Youth Ambassador, Adel Ramdani. They will discuss engagement and involvement of youth generally and diaspora specifically, from local to global level.
11:00 – 12:30 Youth entrepreneurship & heritage tourism: Looking to generation 1.5, 2 and beyond, here we explore the potential and practices of youth entrepreneurship, highlighting digital heritage tourism as a fascinating growth trend. This session introduces an upcoming research project between EUDiF and the University of Winchester, join it to help set the agenda.
11:30 – 12:30 Enabling youth innovation – a question for the ages: Youth are the future, so how can systems and structures better help, motivate and work with youth actors to co-create an environment of creativity and collaboration? Join this inter-generational exchange with speakers from the African Union’s Citizens and Diaspora Directorate, the Africa Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe (ADYFE), Jammatiming (a crowdtiming platform!) and a Young Georgian Youth Ambassador to explore motivations and modalities for enabling youth diaspora to innovate solutions for a sustainable future.
Afternoon sessions
13:30 -15:00 Youth entrepreneurship & local development: Along with Réseau des Entrepreneurs de la Diaspora Africaine (REDA), MEET Africa, ADYFE and Dooke Corporation we will zone in on youth diaspora entrepreneurship and local development, when business means more than just profit. The panelists will share their experiences of everything from handling perceptions and challenges to success stories and aspirations.
13:30 – 15:00 Between heritage country and home” – Building identity & trust: Generational differences take on new meaning and importance in diaspora engagement. Our brilliant Diaspora Youth Interns Gia and Naomi have prepared an inter-generational exchange on identity building, communicating and understanding one another – the building blocks of trust and the future of multi-generational diaspora engagement. They will be joined by European Network of Filipino Diaspora (ENFiD), Fijian Youth UK and a representative of the Agence Française de Développement, with moderation by Jenny Mushegera, Deputy Secretary General of AU Diaspora Youth & President of Congoexcellence.
The Youth Drive day is the perfect wrap up to the Future Forum, with its emphasis on the younger generation and striving to better understand how systems can adapt to make more of youth momentum and youth diaspora’s unique transnational interests.
On Wednesday 22 June, the day before the official youth day, we are hosting an experimental online networking session from 15:30 (CEST) with our partner the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY). There are a number of special youth guests attending. Join the session to connect informally with them and other participants.