Global Diaspora Week presented by International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA)
Published Date: Sunday, Oct 12, 2014
Washington, DC – From October 12-18, recognising the significance of the global presence of diasporas, the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) presents the 2014 Global Diaspora Week (GDW), with over 65 events hosted throughout the United States and around the world by independent organizations and governments.
This is an unque event where an organisation will dedicate the event to diaspora communities and their contributions to global development. The main objective of this event is create awareness, enable collaboration, and enhance learning among those working on behalf of and with diaspora communities. With more than 232 million people living outside their country of birth in 2013, and total global remittances expected to top $414 billion in 2014, the diaspora population worldwide has proven to be a powerful tool to strengthen our global community.
GDW builds on the success of the Global Diaspora Forum, which was held in Washington in 2011, 2012, and 2013. The new structure this year, an entire week of grassroots events, is a response to feedback from previous participants who suggested events outside of Washington that were more tailored to specific subjects, diaspora communities, and their needs and interests. The events registered through GDW are self-organized by diaspora communities and other interested groups, and will highlight the organizations and their work in their own communities.
Events throughout the week are all launched under the umbrella of IdEA, a partnership launched in 2011 between the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships (S/GP) at the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Calvert Foundation. The partnership’s mission is to harness the resources of diaspora communities to promote sustainable development and diplomacy in their countries of heritage, supporting initiatives in areas like investment and entrepreneurship, philanthropy and volunteerism, and innovation.
Andrew O’Brien, the Secretary of State’s Special Representative for Global Partnerships, has been leading a Diaspora Tour since June at universities around the United States to build support around diaspora engagement for development, the IdEA partnership, and GDW. O’Brien will cap his tour by providing remarks at various universities during GDW, including UCLA, UC San Diego, and Seattle Colleges.
The official launch of GDW will be the Global Diaspora Media Forum, a one-day conference in Washington, DC under the theme of “Engaging the Mobile Diaspora.” The event will feature Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs David Duckenfield, and will be the first of its kind focused uniquely on the interplay between mobile technologies and the growing diaspora communities in the United States. IdEA, The George Washington University School of Business, and AudioNow are co-sponsoring the Global Diaspora Media Forum, and more information with a full list of panelists and speakers for this marquis GDW event can be found here.