As summer turns to autumn in Europe and the ‘back to school’ feeling subsides, at EUDiF it is a moment to look ahead at what the new season has in store…

Firstly, good news: EUDiF has been extended until the end of 2023. The European Commission has approved the extension based on the success of the work so far. We thank all who have played a part in the EUDiF journey since its inception in June 2019, be that through our research and dialogue activities, or our technical support actions. For the next 15 months, EUDiF recommits to the goal of fostering an informed, inclusive and impactful diaspora-development ecosystem…

Informed

The last of our five case studies is soon to reach its conclusion and we are looking forward to sharing the results of the combined research-and-testing of our mapping and profiling methodology. As well as this, we will be sharing more and more practical lessons learned and thematic reflections coming out of our technical support actions. We hope that all actors in diaspora engagement will benefit from analysis of our road-tested approaches and can use this knowledge to inform ongoing or upcoming policy and operational initiatives.

The EUDiF website, which we see as a public knowledge hub, will continue to expand to include all these resources in an accessible manner and, of course, the annual update of the global mapping of diaspora engagement will be available soon.

Inclusive

Inclusivity is at the heart of EUDiF and best seen at the Future Forum which provides an open space for all participants in the diaspora-development ecosystem. With the second Future Forum now behind us, we are already starting to design the third edition, thinking how to make it as inclusive, interactive and forward-looking as possible. We hope to hold the conference in person in autumn 2023 – more information will follow in due course.

In the meantime, we are taking every opportunity to engage at European and international level to promote the potential of diaspora engagement for development, and explore practices from our facility and beyond. One such event is ICMPD’s very own Vienna Migration Conference at which EUDiF will be represented by our Senior Project Manager, Aurélie Sgro. For those wishing to attend virtually, registration is available here.

We are keen to continue all forms of collaboration and dialogue in the year ahead, so get in touch with any such opportunities.

As the Diaspora Youth Rapporteurs at the Future Forum proved, EUDiF benefits enormously from the insights of the young diasporans who join the team as interns. The next cycle will start in October for five months of mutual learning.

Impactful

At EUDiF-level we actively incorporate the results of all of our activities, allowing us to directly see how research and dialogue can feed and impact each other, as well as guide the implementation of our actions.

As it stands, we have a portfolio of 15 actions – or micro-projects. We wrapped one up earlier this year. There are 13 running at full-speed and two which wrapped up earlier this year. Between the actions there are dozens of activities planned, from peer learning exchanges, trainings of trainers, co-drafting workshops and much more besides. Each action tests an idea brought by the partner – a central or local authority, or diaspora organisation – to make the most of the potential impact of diaspora engagement on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is this potential impact which drives the EUDiF.

As the micro-projects advance, so too does our understanding of the processes and partnerships it takes to maximise impact. We will continue to reflect on, share and discuss this knowledge with the community to ensure diaspora engagement can continue going from strength to strength.

Thank you for staying with us on our journey to a less-fragmented, more informed diaspora-development ecosystem. Get in touch with the team via eu-diaspora@icmpd.org for any and all questions about our work or collaboration opportunities.

Cover photo, Chris Lawton via Unsplash.