Overview

Many global developmental agendas, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, have placed at the core of their visions an irremovable commitment so that issues of diversity and inclusion remain at the core of human development. Diaspora communities are central contributors to such visions given the social capital that their diasporic journey has created. Promoting diversity through diaspora communities creates momentum for positioning diaspora individuals as changemakers in advancing sustainable and inclusive societies.

Diaspora as Diversity: A New Framework for Innovating Diaspora Engagement

The unique position that diaspora communities occupy in terms of having multiple senses of belonging is at the centre of how they can contribute to progress on diversity, inclusivity, and belonging. The social capital that such belonging provides means that diasporas have become a conduit for building collaborative social and political outcomes that can contribute to development. The IOM defines social capital as the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. Diaspora social capital positions diasporas as bridge builders across communities. They are repositories of cultural, economic, social, and political cohesion that can promote cross-cultural leadership by aligning diverse belief systems and practices. This reveals how diaspora diplomacy, for example, can become an instrument of global geopolitical cooperation. Whilst the community-level social capital impact of diaspora communities is noteworthy, perhaps the most significant aspect at work in terms of how diasporas can contribute to diversity, inclusion, and belonging remains how it can empower diaspora individuals to create long-lasting change towards development. Diaspora individuals bring nuanced understanding of issues and have an ability to address complex problems from a variety of perspectives. For example, this ability has resulted in diaspora engagement contributing to social movements for the under-represented and marginalized in society. Therefore, promoting and advancing diaspora leaders – at an individual and institutional level – has become more prominent. Another important consideration in this area is how to strengthen inter-generational diaspora leadership to ensure longevity of belonging across generations of the diaspora. Whilst the immediate diaspora impact can be around the development of inclusive societies, the issue of belonging has also recently been elevated by other institutional actors as part of their stakeholder engagement strategies through the DIB framework – diversity, inclusivity, and belonging. A subtle new cohort of diaspora leadership is emerging across different sectors in this regard. This reflects the growing realization in these sectors that diaspora leaders bring familiarity of local and global cultures, markets, and procedures. In the networked age of economic, political, and social frameworks, diaspora leaders are positioning as one of the most attractive sources of leadership to address challenges in these sectors.

Institutions are increasingly embracing diaspora individuals as key enhancers of their competitiveness and competencies in ensuring diverse and inclusive workforces, leadership, and service delivery. They understand that the market expectations in these issues are now higher than ever, and diaspora engagement offers multiple mechanisms through which they can meet these demands whether through development of corporate social philanthropy, diversification of governance leadership, and advancing inclusive executive leadership.

Scope of Session

This session will explore some of the early innovators who have embraced this opportunity. It will provide reflection on the type of interventions and tools that align diaspora communities and leaders as communities of diversity. It will explore the intersection of diaspora engagement with current work to promote diversity, inclusion, and belonging to propose actionable outcomes to shape an inspirational call to action that educates and applies the capacities that diaspora engagement provides in the context of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. To achieve such outcomes, the following guiding questions will be discussed:

• What are the main forms of social capital that diaspora communities and individuals can provide to build sustainable societies?

• What are the ways in which diaspora engagement can contribute to the diversity, inclusivity, and belonging goals of the SDGs, the GCM or other global policy agenda?

• How can government and institutions/private sector create the conditions for diaspora to thrive in terms of diversity, inclusivity, and belonging?

• What is the best way to support next-generation diaspora leaders and promote intergenerational diaspora leadership?

• How can these generational shifts be served by different tools – digital and otherwise – to mobilize diaspora engagement in the context of diversity, inclusivity, and belonging?

• What is a preliminary agenda of action to amplify the intersections of diaspora, diversity, inclusivity, and belonging and who are the key actors required to achieve such an agenda?

Methodology of Session

The session will open with an input from the governmental host to share their diaspora engagement story, followed by an inspirational address from a global leader on the topic. The session will conclude with a showcasing of a diaspora organization exemplar and an interactive discussion with participants to help develop recommendations for the enhancement of diaspora engagement a vehicle of purpose within international development through the lens of belonging, diversity, and inclusion. In line with aims of the summit to provide peer-to-peer exchange and knowledge sharing, the digital platform also provides networking capacity throughout the session for participants to engage with each other. The final outcomes generated through the panellist and participant interventions will be reflected in the summit report and provide insight for the final ‘Outcome Document’ of the GDS. We look forward to welcoming you to this session to learn about your ideas and views on diaspora as diversity to create new markets for diaspora engagement!

Speakers

HOST - government OF MEXICO

Luis Gutiérrez-Reyes

Director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad

Luis Gutiérrez-Reyes is an Engineer and Master in Computer Science from the Higher Polytechnic Institute "José Antonio Echevarría", in Havana, Cuba.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the design and implementation of projects and strategies that use technology as a transversal tool to improve decision-making in a collective and efficient way.

On June 1, 2020, he was appointed Undersecretary for Responsibilities and the Fight against Impunity at the Ministry of Public Administration. He was charged with promoting actions, programs, and policies in matters of ethics, public integrity, prevention of conflicts of interest, and investigations and sanctions for administrative offenses committed by public servants and supplier companies for the Government of Mexico. From December 2018 to May 2020, he served as Director General of Information Technologies, a position in which he led the work on the Democratization of Technologies to combat corruption and impunity.

In the Ministry of Public Administration, he also participated in the construction of platforms that identify the new relationship of the agency with society and its alliance in the fight against impunity by encouraging citizen complaints. Among them: the Business Integrity Register, the Internal and External Citizen Alerts of Corruption program, the Transparent Payroll portal, as well as the Paisano denunciation platform.

Throughout his career he has also developed technological projects for media companies such as La Jornada, TeleSur and the Organización Editorial Mexicana, where he created systems for effective information management by organizations and for public use. Along with his professional activities, he has been a constant promoter of social transformation with a vision of social justice.

Moderator - Prof. Liesl Riddle, George Washington University

Liesl Riddle is the Vice Dean for Strategy and an Associate Professor of International Business and International Affairs at The George Washington University School of Business (GWSB).  She previously served as GWSB’s Associate Dean for Graduate Programs for seven years over two non-consecutive terms. With the faculty, Dr. Riddle designed the School’s Online MBA and MS Information Systems and Technology Management programs in 2012 and later built the School’s internal instructional design team and studio.  In 2018, Dr. Riddle spearheaded a comprehensive reimagination of GWSB’s graduate programs, which included revising the curricula for the School’s masters programs and graduate certificates as well as launching three business masters degrees, five STEM degrees (including a STEM MBA), nine additional graduate certificates, and 25 new “4+1” degrees.  These efforts expanded the market segments served by the School’s graduate portfolio, created a stackable system of graduate education, and catalyzed GWSB’s double-digit growth in graduate applications, enrollments, and rankings (for Global MBA and Online MBA) between 2018-2021.   

As a scholar, Dr. Riddle has published numerous articles about diasporas and development, international entrepreneurship, and trade and investment promotion.  Dr. Riddle conducts action research through diaspora engagement strategic consulting for international organizations and government agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the International Organization for Migration, and for private-sector clients including Charities of America Foundation and Western Union.   

She is a founding member and former director of GW’s Diaspora Research Program and a former faculty advisor for GW’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).  Dr. Riddle has received numerous teaching awards, including the prestigious university George Washington Award and the GW School of Business Teaching Excellence Award. She also serves on advisory boards for Pearson, the learning company, and Ablr360, a disability inclusion and digital accessibility company. 

Dr. Riddle holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies, a MBA in Marketing/International Business, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.  She graduated from Ursuline Academy. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia with her husband and two boys. 

KEYNOTE Speaker - Melek Pulatkonak, TurkishWIN

Melek Pulatkonak is a TEDster, entrepreneur, and change maker. Obsessed with diversity and inclusion, she founded the Turkish Women's International Network (TurkishWIN) in 2010. At TurkishWIN, we gather open-minded and open-hearted women with cultural, professional, and family ties to Turkey to build a legacy in supporting the next generation of Turkish women and to meet women with a passion to change the ratio to know she is no longer alone in this journey. Before becoming a full-time social entrepreneur, Melek Pulatkonak worked at Microsoft’s Global Startup Business Team. Before that, she was the Deputy GM at Microsoft Turkey responsible for the Developer and Platform Evangelism. Prior to moving back to Turkey for Microsoft, Melek was the President & COO of Hakia, a semantic technology company in New York where the company received $25 million in funding. Before her tech entrepreneurship journey, she held various roles in the finance sector in New York, ranging from advising the Chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange to ADR researcher as the Research Associate at the New York Stock Exchange. Melek Pulatkonak has an MBA from the Columbia Business School and a B.Sc. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

nodira abdulloeva

Nodira Abdulloeva is a lawyer and human rights activist from Tajikistan. She is a member of the Public Organization Human Rights Centre in Dushanbe.

Nodira implemented projects aimed to protect migrant workers  (women and men)  from Central Asia in Russia and Kazakhstan. She participated in different legal analyses on labour migration, laws and policies in Central Asia, drafting Law on Migration and two last national migration policies in Tajikistan. She also conducted advocacy to protect migrants' rights using UN mechanisms.

Currently, she provides consultancy services for UN agencies, INGOs and NGOs in Europe and Central Asia.