Context  

What does the future hold for diaspora engagement? At a time where our present efforts are still focused on coping with the continuing immediate and longer-terms impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears critical to turn our attention towards harnessing emerging opportunities and identifying and mitigating future risks to be able to design effective potential responses and seek the contributions of key actors.   

The Future of Diasporas project was born out of the realization that reflections around diaspora engagement all too often come down to States of play and lacked much-needed forward-looking vision. This publication contains 12 thought-provoking articles written by global experts who have  devoted their careers to  better understanding  diaspora engagement and creating conditions for  transnational communities to contribute to sustainable development.    

The Future of Diaspora crystalizes successful collaboration across disciplines, areas of expertise and geographic regions to shed light on the potential of diasporas for development and the need to keep investing in and calling upon these communities, which have invaluable potential for both countries of origin and residence.  

During this event, the authors will present their insights on how they foresee diaspora engagement in the next 10 to 20 years. The conversation will focus on four key areas of diaspora engagement directly related to the topics addressed in the 12 articles: (i) Diaspora policy; (ii) Social capital, belonging, and diplomacy; (iii) Economic capital and entrepreneurship;  (iv) Human capital and innovation.