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Strategies for Mobilizing the Diaspora Community in National Economic Development

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Title: Strategies for Mobilizing the Diaspora Community in National Economic Development


1
Strategies for Mobilizing the Diaspora
Community in National Economic Development
  • Talk presented at Town Hall Meeting of Nigerians
    in the Americas on November 20, 2004, Washington,
    DC Sponsored by NIDO Americas and Nigerian
    Embassy by
  • Dr. Ola Kassim, NIDO-A Chairman

2
Objectives of Town Hall Meeting
  • Meet with a Diversity of Stakeholders Engage the
    leadership of Nigerian organizations across the
    Americas
  • Generate Input Listen to your perspective and
    insights. Critical inputs from the Nigerian
    community to better define and address challenges
    and opportunities ahead are needed.
  • Build Bridges Work with various Nigerian
    organizations in the Americas to better organize
    the community and realize shared opportunities in
    home country, as well as host countries.
  • Invite Others Work to increase interest and
    participation, and build a critical mass of
    support among Nigerian professionals.

3
Forum Process
  • Introduction of Discussion Topic Moderators
    frame topic, and open up interactive discussion
    among participants.
  • Discuss Challenges Articulate and define
    challenges and issues related to forum topic.
    These represent opportunities for action.
  • Propose Actions and Prioritize Focus How can WE
    respond to the challenges identified? What are
    the most practical solutions to address them?
    Which are the most important among these?
  • Identify Opportunities for Collaboration What
    actions are YOU willing to commit to and champion
    with the Embassy, NIDO, and other Nigerians and
    Nigerian organizations?

4
Mission and Objectives of NIDO
  • Accelerate Knowledge and Skills Repatriation
    Harness Diaspora skills and expertise for
    Nigerias development to turn Brain Drain into
    Brain Gain
  • Build Infostructure for Skills Pipeline Build
    and operate database of skilled Nigerians for
    benefit of public and private sectors in Nigeria
  • Strengthen Collectiveness Mobilize vast support,
    and promote cooperation and networking among
    Nigerians in Diaspora
  • Promote Opportunities in Nigeria Enhance image
    of Nigeria to strengthen business, travel, and
    investment opportunities

5
Strategies for Mobilizing the Diaspora Community
in National Economic Development
  • Definition of DIASPORA (G. Scheffer)
  • Modern Diasporas are ethnic minority groups of
    migrant origins residing and acting in host
    countries but maintaining strong sentimental and
    material links with their countries of
    origin-their HOMELANDS.
  • The term Diaspora comes from the Greek words to
    sow and over, as in the scattering of seed,
    and for them it meant the seeding of Greek
    colonies in distant lands.
  • Diaspora implies a settled community, rather than
    a group of temporary immigrants with the
    intention and ability to return to their country
    of origin.

6
8 Major Impacts of Diaspora on Home Countries
Identified
  • Remittances
  • Foreign Direct Investment
  • Market Development (including outsourcing
    production)
  • Technology Transfer
  • Philanthropy
  • Tourism
  • Political Contributions
  • Intangible Flows
  • Knowledge
  • New attitudes
  • Cultural Influence
  • NB The quality of information, much less data,
    about Diaspora influences in these dimensions is
    in general very poor, posing a serious challenge
    to policy development.

7
Generalizations about Diaspora are perilous given
the variation in
  • Historical Experience
  • Relations with Authorities in their Home Country
  • Levels of Prosperity and Education
  • Religious background and Ethnicity both within
    and among Diaspora Communities

8
Overview of Home Country Policies and Practices
Toward Diaspora
  • Varying Attitudes
  • Warmly Embracing to Coolly instrumental
  • Active Engagement to Indifference
  • Mobilization to Hostility
  • Increasing Courting Trend The policies and
    practices of countries of origin reflect these
    diverse views, but the clear trend is for
    homeland states to court their nationals who are
    living abroad.
  • Countries that actively court their Diasporas do
    so in a variety of ways and with different
    priorities China, India, the Philippines,
    Mexico, Eritrea, Taiwan, Argentina and Ghana
    illustrate eight contrasting patterns.

9
China
  • Strong Diaspora, Most Economically Thriving
    Today, overseas Chinese communities exist in
    virtually every country in the world at an
    estimated strength of 35 million people.
  • Focus on Diaspora Investments The Peoples
    Republic of China relies less on encouraging
    remittances from its Diaspora and focuses more on
    encouraging investments from her citizens who
    live abroad.
  • Since the start of economic reform and adoption
    of capitalism, the boom in Chinas economy has
    been led mainly by peoples of Chinese descent
    living in Hong Kong, Taiwan and its Diaspora from
    the Mainland.
  • The volume of remittances into China is small in
    relation to the size of the Diaspora---8 billion
    (1991-98)which is only 1/7th the volume of
    remittance from Indias 20 million strong
    Diaspora.
  • According to You-tien Hsing the campaign of
    attracting overseas Chinese capital escalated
    after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, when many
    non-Chinese foreign firms led China.

10
China
  • Other Key Highlights
  • It is estimated that about half of the 48
    billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that
    flowed into China in 2002 originated with the
    Chinese Diaspora.
  • Ethnic Chinese also have an impact on the volume
    of bilateral trade between the PRC and their
    countries of settlement.
  • Chief motive for Diaspora investment in China
    PROFIT

11
India
     
  • Embracing an Open-Door Policy India has moved
    from a position of somewhat disapproving
    indifference toward the worldwide Indian Diaspora
    to one of actively seeking their involvement in
    the nations development.
  • Resurgent India Bonds (1998) Launch of a huge
    sale of 5 year bonds guaranteed by the State Bank
    of India and available only to non-resident
    Indians (NRIs) immediately after the Indias
    first nuclear tests.
  • The aim of the bond which was launched with
    patriotic fervor was to help offset the impact
    of economic sanctions imposed immediately after
    the nuclear tests.
  • The bonds were set at 2 above the US bond market
    rates!

12
India
   
  • Diaspora Identification Initiative
  • September 2000 High Level Committee on the
    Indian Diaspora was tasked with the
    responsibility of analyzing the location,
    situation and potential development role of the
    estimated 20 million non-resident Indians (NRIs)
    and Peoples of Indian Origin (PIOs).
  • The report was released with fanfare in January
    2002 with one key recommendation a new
    framework for creating a more conducive
    environment in India to leverage these invaluable
    human resources.
  • The analysis reflected in the Report looks at the
    question why FDI from the Indian Diaspora have
    been low relative to the Chinese. The 20 million
    Indians abroad generate an annual income equal to
    35 of Indias GDP, yet have generated less than
    10 of Indias rather modest 4.4 billion of FDI
    in contrast to the Chinese who have contributed
    half of Chinas 52 billion.

13
Mexico
  • Top Remittances Destination Mexico is the second
    largest recipient of remittances in the world.
    Mexicos Diaspora is unusual in that it is
    heavily concentrated in one country, the United
    States.
  • Enhancing Homecoming Launch of Paisano Program
    and the Program for Mexican Communities Living
    abroad (PCMLA) in 1990 focusing on improving the
    treatment of returning migrants at the hands of
    Mexican border and customs officials and on
    improving services to Mexicans in the United
    States.
  • The PCMLA also helps channel remittances to local
    development projects in Mexico

14
Mexico
  • Supportive Government In 2000, President
    Vincente Fox referred to Mexican migrants as
    HEROES and in 2001 established a Presidential
    Office for Mexicans Abroad
  • Innovative Action Initiatives 2002 Launch of 3
    for 1 program. Every dollar remitted by Mexican
    Home Town Associations (HTAs) is matched with one
    dollar from the federal government, one dollar
    from the state government and one dollar from the
    local government, thus providing considerable
    leverage to Diaspora fund raising efforts.
  • Strong Outcomes Mexicos Diasporas relations
    have been developed from the bottom up with
    individual migrants continuing to support their
    families with the worlds second largest stream
    of remittances. The volume of individual
    remittances still dwarfs by a large measure the
    remittances from collective efforts of the HTAs.

15
Taiwan
  • Leveraging Skills and Knowledge Capital to
    Address Skills Gap Taiwan has focused less on
    attracting investment from its Diaspora than on
    making use of their skills acquired abroad
    through networking and through migration.
  • Strong Government Commitment Examples of this
    commitment include
  • The government established a database that
    tracked skilled migrants and matched them with
    job opportunities in Taiwan
  • The government systematically invited scientists,
    professionals and highly skilled technicians back
    to Taiwan to teach and to network with Taiwanese
    counterparts.
  • Government-sponsored national development
    conferences bring many overseas Taiwanese to
    participate at government expense and contribute
    to the formation of multinational networks
    oriented toward building Taiwans business and
    technological advantages.

16
Philippines
  • Leading the World in Remittances The Philippines
    is the number one per capita recipient of
    Diaspora remittances in the world. Approximately
    17 of Philippine families receive remittances
    from abroad.
  • Human Capital as Export Commodity The government
    of the Philippines has institutionalized the
    training of skilled and semi-skilled workers such
    as nurses, physicians, nannies specifically aimed
    for export to different regions of the world.

17
Argentina
  • Towards a Knowledge Economy The government of
    Argentina has focused largely at mobilizing its
    highly skilled Diaspora towards the development
    of a Knowledge Economy in its efforts to
    diversify its resource intensive mainly agrarian
    economy.
  • Recent Survey Aimed at Assessing Opportunities
    In 2003, the government sponsored a poll of 200
    Argentinean professional Diaspora with a view to
    answering the following questions
  • What lessons can one learn from other Diaspora's
    experiences?
  • Is it possible to utilize the Argentinean
    professional Diaspora as a key resource to
    develop knowledge based economy in Argentina?
  • What are the conditions for that to happen?
  • How interested is the Argentinean Diaspora in
    playing an active role? What is its potential?
  • What are the main problems for the Argentinean
    Diaspora?

18
Developments in Africa
 
  • Eritrea. The government of Eritrea has been
    encouraging its Diaspora to increase remittances
    back to the homeland. However recent steps by the
    government enforcing direct investment of a
    proportion of remittances are viewed with
    suspicion by its Diaspora.
  • GHANA. In 2002 Conference of Diaspora based
    Organizations (DBOs) held in Accra aimed at
    organizing and mobilizing the economic might of
    the Ghanaian Diaspora.

19
TRANSNATIONAL NETWORKS OF EXPATRIATE PROFESSIONALS
 
  • Virtual Global Network A number of schemes and
    types of transnational networks of expatriate
    professionals have emerged that can be tapped to
    enable their effective and productive role in a
    home countrys developmenteven without any
    physical temporary or permanent return.
  • Illustration The United Nations Development
    Program supports major initiative in this field
    called TOKTEN (Transfer of Knowledge Through
    Expatriate Nationals).
  • Country Specific TOKTENS involve databases of
    people and assisted visits of skilled expatriates
    to engage in various development projects in
    their countries of origin.
  • TOKTEN---A Possible Opportunity for NIDO
    Americas?

20
Clearly, Broad Forum Topic with Many Possible
Areas to Explore
  • Best Practices
  • China, Israel, India and their DiasporasWhat can
    Nigeria and Diaspora Nigerians learn from them?
  • Partnerships
  • Database
  • Resource Pooling
  • Business/Policy Climate in Nigeria
  • Others

21
For more information, please visit
http//www.nidoamericas.org
Email manager_at_nidoamericas.org
or callTel 202-986-8400 Ext 1023
Fax202-273-1078
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