Report on the African Diaspora Open House
The World Bank, Washington, DC
November 29, 2007
On November 29 the World Bank, at the urging of the Executive Council of the African Union, hosted an African Diaspora Open House where an estimated 2500 people of African origin came together to discuss mobilizing the African Diaspora for development. The African Diaspora Medical Project was invited to attend and was represented by board member Janet Yerokun and our CEO, Dr. Lenox Dingle. This was indeed an historic occasion and marks, we all hope, the beginning of a dedicated effort to reconnect our people in an effort to improve our circumstances everywhere.
Some of the highlights of this gathering were:
The African Union went on record as defining the African Diaspora – “the African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union”.
AU estimates of the African Diaspora population are about 169 million people living in USA, Canada, South America (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela) Caribbean and Europe.
The underlying assumption is that the hope for Africa is tied to the integration of the AD (African Diaspora) in its development.
In 2008, a Summit of African Heads of State and Caribbean Governments will be held in South Africa. The significance of this Summit and its program of action and activities were the main focus of the Open House. The six areas that the Summit will be focusing on are:
International Affairs, Peace and Security: - seeking a strategic response to globalization
Regional Development and Integration – creating mechanisms for joint projects aimed at infrastructure developments.
Economic Corporation - promoting mechanisms that transforms manufacturing industries and ensure Africa is a favored investment destination.
Historical, Socio-Cultural and Religious Commonalities – identifying concrete projects and areas of cooperation.
Women, Youth and Children – exploring initiatives to protect the vulnerable and people with disabilities.
Knowledge Sharing – driving ICT, research in energy, environment, agriculture, health and science & technology, emphasizing mathematics in education and increased trade.
In our opinion, the Open House provided a wonderful opportunity to network and hear about the concerns and difficulties other Diasporan organizations are facing; however, the question of what the World Bank is willing to offer in the way of assistance went unanswered. For now, there are no concrete plans for a follow-up meeting but we see a need for soon developing a coalition of Diasporan organizations.
The African Diaspora Medical Project, now in its third year, takes great pride in the realization that we are in step with a world-wide movement; that we have, through our work and efforts to reach out to one another, been contributors to the realization of this essential goal. It is our hope that all of us will dedicate ourselves to finding ways to come together; that we will develop our own agendas and initiatives; that we will commit the resources and the effort necessary to realize our goals; that we can do all of this as family. These are the keys to our future.
