1. Presentation of the Diaspora Youth Talks
Like others, the Europe-based African diaspora youth are mobile, tech-savvy, multilingual and have developed networks across Europe and beyond. Many of them such as the youth organisations ADYFE and ACP YPN are willing to positively impact Africa’s socioeconomic development through the implementation of projects in different sectors or through advocacy activities focussing, among others, on the European Union (EU) and African Union relations.
Interactions among the African Diaspora youth and with various (inter)national actors are critical for development due to importance of :
– Sharing practices, knowledge and experience: (Inter) national and local actors can increase their impact by working with African diaspora youth and building concrete partnerships – enabling thus the youth to gain experience and resources. Challenges faced by African diaspora youth as regards their development projects also need to be highlighted in order for them to be addressed.
– Showcasing the success stories of diaspora youth living in the EU and intervening in African countries
– Creating a common ground: Highlighting the similarities of the situations experienced by the African diaspora and other diasporas.
– Ensuring inclusion: Young people are eager to be involved in different processes such as policy-making and decision-making.
– Leveraging a globalised world: with limited experience, the diaspora youth are still learning to navigate a rapidly changing world.
2. Context and objectives of the 1st Diaspora Youth Talk
On Friday 26 November, ADEPT will organise its first ever edition of the Diaspora Youth Talk. An event during which 18 to 30 year-old diaspora actors will be at the centre of all conversations. In two quality and interactive panels, participants will discuss the challenges they face and added value they bring in improving development of their own communities through collaborations and partnerships. Organised during the “Diaspora Impact on Africa’s development”, an ADEPT month-long event, the Diaspora Youth Talk will focus on the importance of enabling successful partnerships involving African youth diaspora to ensure more significant impact on the African continent’s development. The information gathered throughout the event will be presented in a knowledge product such as a compendium of good practices or lessons learned.
Objectives
– Provide African diaspora youth organisations and individuals with a platform for knowledge and experience sharing as regards partnerships for development
– Put the African diaspora youth concerns and perspectives in this regard under the spotlight.
– Identify challenges, discuss proven solutions and explore innovative ones for ensuring effective and sustainable partnerships involving the African diaspora youth
3. Agenda
Pitch Session (1h00 – 10am-11.00am CET)
Session 1 – Partnerships: dos and don’ts from a youth perspective (1h30 – 11am-12.30pm CET)
The discussion will revolve around the following questions :
– What do African diaspora youth organisations bring to a partnership for development?
– What are the difficulties faced by African diaspora youth organisations and individuals willing to engage in a partnership?
– Which obstacles are they confronted with once in a partnership and what are the tried and true solutions to overcome them?
– What are the levers for maximizing African diaspora youth organisation long-term collaborations and partnerships with established development actors?
Session 2 – diaspora youth engagement in Africa and the Caribbean: Time to cross-fertilize (1h30 – 1.30pm – 3pm CET)
The discussion will revolve around the following questions :
– What is the added value of collaborations and partnerships between Europe-based youth organisations originating from Africa and the Caribbean for Africa’s development?
– How to facilitate such arrangements? What challenges do these youth organisations face in this respect? Which solutions have so far been identified?
– What is needed to upscale and sustain existing collaborations and partnerships and for their results to be scaled up?
– Which strategy should be adopted to ensure systematic and ideally long-term cross-fertilization?
Pitch Award ceremony
Session 1 – Partnerships: dos and don’ts from a youth perspective (1h30 – 11am-12.30pm CET)
Session 2 – diaspora youth engagement in Africa and the Caribbean: Time to cross-fertilize
An event during which 18 to 30 year-old diaspora actors will be at the centre of all conversations.
