On 29-30 April and 4-5 May 2020, EUDiF held its second diaspora consultation split into two language editions with diaspora organisations based in seven western European countries.

Twenty-three diaspora organisations with roots in various countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central Asia and Eastern Europe joined to discuss interests, needs, opportunities and challenges as development actors in their countries and regions of heritage. We also included a special session to explore on how the global health pandemic, Covid-19, had effected diaspora communities in western Europe and share examples of action taken by diaspora organisations and authorities to support diaspora communities, countries of residence and regions of heritage during the pandemic.

Given the restrictions on travel and group meetings, the consultation was held online – quite the change from the first in the series, which was held in Lisbon in November 2019 as an interactive workshop involving lots of movement, world cafés and sticky notes! Whilst the online format may have prevented us having the full group together due to interpretation challenges, the discussions were incredibly lively and the work presented by participants demonstrated that neither distance nor travel restrictions can stop diaspora action for development!

Read the full consultation report to learn about the participants, the shared interests and challenges identified and the co-developed recommendations in detail. The combined executive summary and recommendations make for a great handout to share and start conversations.