On 9 and 10 November 2019, EUDiF held its first diaspora consultation in Lisbon with diaspora organisations based in Portugal and Spain.

Fourteen diaspora organisations with roots in nine different countries in Africa and Latin America participated to discuss their interests, needs, opportunities and challenges as development actors in their countries and regions of heritage.

During the event, participants shared stories about their work in both their country of origin and in the EU, ranging from the creation of networks and the promotion of alliances to the protection of women’s rights or humanitarian support to targeted local groups. Together, the group identified common interests, needs, opportunities and challenges and developed recommendations on how to maximise the potential of diaspora as development actors.

Vasco Malta, Director of Department of Migration Policy, International Relations and Enrolment of Migrants of the Portuguese High Commission for Migration opened the diaspora consultation with Ron Hendrix representing the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). ICMPD’s Head of Programme Global Initiatives, Oleg Chirita, presented on diaspora and the global development agenda and Senior Project Manager Aurélie Sgro introduced the EUDiF initiative. The consultation was held at the National Immigrant Support Centre (CNAI).

The Lisbon event is the first in a series of consultations across Europe which bring together diaspora organisations with heritage in all regions of the world. Results of of the consultations feed into other EUDiF activities, including capacity building and meetings with partner countries.