On Tuesday 2 February we welcome you to join our webinar to hear from representatives of Lebanon, Mexico and Moldova on the role of homeland governments in diaspora engagement.

We are delighted to welcome three government representatives from Lebanon, Mexico and Moldova to share their insights on institutionalising and enabling diaspora engagement during our second public webinar on global diaspora engagement.

If you have already registered, you will have automatically received a Zoom link to join the event. A reminder will be sent one hour before the event too. Interpretation is available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Romanian. Feel free to ask questions to the panel via the Q&A function, and to socialise with other participants in the chat box.

For any technical difficulties in advance of the event, please email eu-diaspora@icmpd.org . Technical support will be available live during the webinar.

Not yet registered? Don’t miss out…

At the first webinar in July 2020, we discussed the initial findings of our global diaspora engagement mapping, with regional experts for Africa, Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Pacific. This time round, we are hosting a panel discussion between three countries that have different diaspora profiles and approaches to engagement, to learn directly from the governments about their experiences over the years.

The panel:

Ambassador Vazken Kavlakian is the acting Director of Diaspora Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon since September 2020. Ambassador Kavlakian joined the Directorate of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in 2018 and was previously Ambassador to Kazakhstan for over a decade. He is an experienced ambassador with a wealth of experience working in government administration.

Nadejda Zubco is Head of Moldova’s Bureau for Diaspora Relations, Moldova where she works to coordinate policy elaboration by central and local public authorities, evaluation and monitoring of public policies in the field of diaspora, migration and development. She also leads the management of governmental programmes implemented by the Diaspora Relations Bureau. Prior to the Bureau for Diaspora relations, Ms. Zubco was Deputy Head of Migration Policy Directorate at the Moldovan Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family, and has served as the Main Specialist on the Migration Policy Section in the Moldovan Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

Ambassador Iván Sierra Medel is Executive Director at Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (Mexico’s Institute for Mexicans Abroad).

Read the factsheets:

The event will be hosted by ICMPD’s Head of Global Initiatives, Oleg Chirita. Oleg is a member of the Moldovan diaspora himself. He has considerable experience in migration and development, and a passion for asking questions.

Oleg will be joined in questioning the panel by Professor Jennifer Brinkerhoff who will act as our discussant. Dr Brinkerhoff is Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research Initiatives at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. She has researched and written extensively on diaspora; and has consulted for government agencies, multilateral development banks, bilateral assistance agencies, NGOs, and foundations.