 Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for joining today's session on diaspora engagement I'm very excited to to be here with you also to share the best experiences and best practices that we have collected in the past year But first of all, let me welcome our distinguished panelists excellencies partners It's really a pleasure to have you here Today, we're going to discuss diaspora engagement and the next steps that we will take together Towards the constitution of the global diaspora diaspora policy alliance First of all, I would like to welcome Monica Gorace for ION his Excellency Ambassador Noel White from the Government of Ireland and Dr. Charles Sennessey from the Afro-European Medical and Research Network So today as you can see, we are going to have a multi-stakeholder consultation, which is important for The diaspora engagement agenda to keep on running. So it's a pleasure to have both our representatives from diaspora and the government and also international organizations So we all are considering this ecosystem Before starting the session, I just want to go through the agenda very quickly today We will have three sessions the opening remarks then a technical presentation and then the discussion We where we will invite you to be really active and Participative because the idea of this consultation is to have as many feedback as we can to make this alliance as reasonable for everyone and with the collective thoughts of everyone involved in this process so what you will see up for our partners and attendees online you have also available translations in English in Spanish and in French also for the people here in the room So without any further ado, I would give the floor to Monica Gorace for IOM for her welcoming remarks. Thank you Thank you Let is excellent seas distinguished guests. Good morning from Geneva. I know we have Some Online it's a great honor for me to welcome you here today both in the room and Online to this multi stakeholder consultation on the creation of the future global diaspora policy alliance The aim of our meeting today will be to discuss the establishment the structure and The scope of the global diaspora policy alliance in what we hope will be a open discussion With governments diasporas experts other international organizations, you and agencies and key partners including the private sector and civil society Last year the government of Ireland and IOM co-hosted the first global diaspora summit Which was a unique event that brought together member states diaspora organizations and partners to discuss and set out Future global agenda for action to support and strengthen the positive role that the expert communities play for development and humanitarianism The Dublin declaration unanimously adopted last year's identifies a path to maximizing diaspora engagement across the humanitarian development and peace nexus and more importantly It recognizes that policies and programs to maximize Diaspora engagement must be people-centered and implemented through a multi stakeholder approach During the Dublin summit we also learned that most successful successful diaspora engagement programs have a sectoral focus and ensure sustained engagement over time During the global diaspora summit a commitment was made to create a global diaspora policy alliance as a means of cultivating an inclusive ecosystem of collaboration across governments and key stakeholders to empower diasporas to be able to fully contribute to sustainable development and it is hoped that the alliance can really serve as a vehicle for diasporas and partners in the acceleration of the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development which aims to stimulate action over this decade in areas of critical importance for humanity on the planet IOM and its partners we stand ready to act as the secretariat and to facilitate the global diaspora policy alliance whose purpose will really be to create a networked tool of expertise and exchange to complement existing facilities prioritizing diaspora engagement in global development policy frameworks through high-level technical dialogue and exchange the alliance will also serve as a very important platform to consolidate achievements reached under gcm the global compact migration objective 19 leading up to a future second global diaspora summit So today we're here to also look at what has been achieved since the global diaspora summit and what we need to do to ensure that we co-create an environment where governments and partners can share best practices and targeted programs to accelerating the implementation of agenda 2030 IOM has had the privilege over the years of working with key diaspora organizations and leaders and to witness really their potential and unique talent developing and implementing since national initiatives for several decades since the 1970s IOM has been implementing return of qualified national programs that serve to transfer the skills and the knowledge acquired by diaspora members abroad back to their countries of origin this program then subsequently transformed in the early 2000s in migration in the migrations with development in Africa the media initiative and the temporary return of qualified national programs which have evolved into multifaceted models that enable diaspora members to invest their skills and resources back home in their countries in their countries Unfortunately, the time doesn't allow me to recognize each and every one of our partners across the globe or all the initiatives that are underway but I would like to share with you just some of our most recent partnerships to demonstrate that diaspora contributes substantially to the acceleration of SDGs for example in the context of SDG3 on good health and well-being IOM has partnered with the Syrian American Medical Society providing medical relief to the Syrian diaspora needs the SANS creates partnerships and collaborations with other organizations to provide humanitarian response save lives and alleviate suffering and by delivering life-saving services revitalizing health systems during crisis and promoting medical education in Syria and beyond the SANS has supported over 110 medical facilities and more than 3000 medical personnel Recognizing the SDG5 on gender equality I would like to share the example of almas negash the CEO of the African diaspora network an organization whose mission is to channel Capital from the African diaspora into development through philanthropy investment and innovation almas has worked tirelessly to connect diaspora entrepreneurs living in the united states with their homelands through mentorship programs access to financing and training and by inspiring young girls and women from the diaspora and demonstrating that through the diversity and uniqueness diasporas drive innovation almas work is promoting the empowerment of women for the past 13 years the African diaspora network has successfully developed and implemented entrepreneurship and health initiatives from silicon valley to the african continent thanks to very key partnerships exchange of best practices and strong global networks of passionate people move by their common heritage and sense of responsibility to give back And and finally I would like to share some insights regarding SDG 13 focusing on climate action By 2030 an estimated 700 million people will be at risk of displacement by drought alone and about one third of global land areas will suffer at least moderate drought by 2100 2100 2100 2100 it's so it's so far away So taking urgent action to combat climate change and integrate diaspora as actors in mitigation and adaptation of transnational Strategies is therefore imperative to save lives and livelihood the purpose for Unconditional service to others P. U. S. O foundation a filipino diaspora organization working with key partners including IOM to rebuild shelters for families and response to the effect of climate change The organization has provided direct relief programs to communities in the filipines affected by super typhoon odette Including water food and non-food items such as shelter kits So these are just a few examples of what we hope to build together and through the global diaspora policy alliance We aim to strengthen the dialogue between diasporas governments and relevant stakeholders And as as an initial point of action Let's support diasporas and transnational communities to be fully recognized as development actors in the 2023 sustainable development summit reaffirming the commitment towards a just Equitable sustainable inclusive and prosperous world by 2030 So today we have the opportunity to discuss how you envisage the structure and the scope of the alliance And together we will begin to pave the way for its establishment So this is just the beginning of a long term exciting and participatory mechanism That will continue to build together. So thank you very much for being part of the process and we look forward to the next steps Thank you. Thank you, Monica. Thank you very much And now I would like to pass the word to his excellency ambassador noel white from the government of ireland Larissa, thank you very much. Monica. Thank you also ladies and gentlemen excellencies Good morning. It's it's good to be here. Thank you for this kind invitation to to be with you today When when ireland was Approached By iom last year with the proposal to co-host the summit On empowering diasporas to contribute to development As is called for of course in in objective 19 of the global compact on migration The theme was one which resonated very deeply for us ireland Is deeply attached to its diaspora? A diaspora that is not only significantly out numbers The population on our island and has done for some time But one also that has made a major contribution to our development and to the welfare of our people and continues to do so ireland has has changed it has changed and developed significantly In recent years and our diaspora has played a crucial role in that in in many respects For example through investment in business Through engagement in peace building and indeed through the promotion of Irish culture and in many other ways ireland has developed in fact To the extent now that it is a country of net inward migration Having for a century having been for an over a century and a half Country that people left in massive numbers to seek a better life around the world So all of that to say by way of introduction that the global summit the global diaspora summit Was a very good fit for ireland and I think the the Dublin declaration if you can call it that Which has emerged from the summit offers an agenda For action to which certainly ireland is deeply committed and we look forward to taking this work forward with you and with iom But when we met last year We were very much at the start of a process and this is reflected in Monica's remarks this morning So now a little over a year later. We're at a point where we take that process To the next stage With the global diaspora policy alliance or gdpa as it is inevitably going to become known around Geneva This alliance as Monica has said it'll be a forum for governments and partners In academia and civil society and the private sector to collaborate In the longer term beyond the summit on diaspora policy and action in countries of origin and countries of destination I think it's important timely in that context to recall objective 19 of the global compact Which refers to countries of origin countries of destination members of diasporas and the communities in which they live Recent arrivals and more established descendants of earlier arrivals This is the platform in which we are operating So we believe that the alliance will allow us to exchange best practices To co to co create to co learn from each other about what works well Or works less well to try out ideas and crucially to forge relationships I think it's entirely appropriate in that context that this morning's Event is a multi-stake a multi stakeholder consultation And this multi stakeholder inclusive approach is very much part of the dna of the alliance and should remain so So while for now, nothing is set in stone at this stage in terms of the overall structures Of the alliance and I I think or I hope we would agree That overall we would want to keep things relatively light and flexible but structured nonetheless and we can We can find the common ground between these two things But i'm already happy to announce that This morning that ireland has had the honor of being asked by IOM thank you monica To take on the role Of the first chair of the alliance's institutional steering committee This is an opportunity that we welcome It's when we look forward to working on it's a logical continuation in our view of the role we played in co-hosting last year's Global diaspora summit, so we look forward to doing that with you I don't want to detain you too much But just so just to say finally one of the most important lessons that that we have learned which might seem obvious But nonetheless it bears repeating From our own experience in ireland in engaging with our own diaspora Is that countries of origin should not just see their diasporas as a resource to be drawn upon But also as a source as to be drawn upon as a source of remittances or investments or skills or other things And it is many of these things and that is important But we must also remember That the links that bind them to us are essentially Links of loyalty and affection And that affection is not something that we take for granted So it's essential in our view that our relationship with our diasporas should not only be one of partnership But also a supportive relationship This is reflected and recognized in the Dublin Declaration In which we committed to support and nurture our diasporas Particularly the more vulnerable members Recognizing their needs as well as their potential to contribute to development So that's the essence of true partnership. I suppose a relationship from which all parties gain ireland is committed to playing its role in making this alliance work And we look forward to working with you and with IOM to that end Thank you very much Thank you ambassador for those remarks. Now I will give the floor to Our special guest today and hopefully partner in all the next meetings that we have Dr. Charles Sennesy representing a diaspora organization. Thank you Thank you very much, madam chairlady I'm director of programs from IOM. It's excellent ambassador to Ireland And distinguished ladies and gentlemen fellow diasporas online and in the room I stand on existing protocols I'm specifically honored to be here today to add my voice And to support this initiative of this partnership of diaspora initiatives And I represent the AFU European Medical Research Network a network of professionals Supporting health In their countries or continents of origin And I've had a long time work with IOM since 2008 when I first met them and In Geneva to a doctor called Anita Davis And since then we'll be working together as colleagues as partners And then we in the diaspora We are very much passionate about giving back to our countries or continents of origin But it suffices to say that in most instances There is a reason why we took up these challenges At times we are pushed into action either by Personal circumstances or by just the passion to help Or just Being there to make a change in the lives of people And then I like to share my story of why I took up this challenge It's a unique day for me because on this day 42 years ago. I lost somebody very close in the family Due to obstetric complications And I decided that was 17th of May 1981 young boy I decided to become a medical doctor and to Wing change the lives of people not only as a doctor but around the globe And my story is not more different from others in this room. I can see Mary from Rwanda Who was pushed into action in 1994 after Some approval in Rwanda. She formed the Rwanda women's network And as a diaspora, she left here Switzerland to go back to Rwanda and I visited the project last year It's running very well, especially in the health sector, which we are bound to support And then I can see also dr. Ola BC I did by also who's also found from Nigeria the bridge in the development gaps So as to support the sustainable development goals and we have a lot of engagement this week Which means that It's good of the world of our own diaspora organization together. We can make it happen which means Like the boobab in Africa if you want to go far You go as a group if you want to go fast you go alone So we all believe in the in the in the vision that together we can make it happen and back to our arm when We run a lot of of of programs as a diaspora and our basic vision is to Generate knowledge sharing and exchange, which means we run conferences symposia And other things here in the high level countries at the united nations where we are accredited etc We sort of walk the talk by taking this our initiative onto the field As diaspora in the form of diaspora medical mission with more by clinics, which is what the arm when has become very very very famous for well known for and We we'll be doing it all over the country. I've been in this game for about 30 years now Even as the medical students pushed by my passion of what I saw and along the way We also will look at issues that we can actually home in on for instance couple of weeks ago I originally from Sierra Leone 20 years in Switzerland Um, we have a small community farm. We are one of our workers Develops can glitter honey or something that should not kill anybody We ended up losing the demand with the diasporas came together We have a colleague called james brunson working for to you touchy bolter in in the uk We decided to see we cannot allow Any more person to die in this village because of harness triangulation So we went to screen the entire village of course 10 or 15 more villages came together and as I was talking now Those patients have been operated at the kenyan by government hospital in eastern sierra leone Just to see how much where we diasporas come together We can bring positive changes in the lives of people for those of who know hania Hania is like a stigma in most low and middle income countries Because when was they have this hania, which is like a defects in the in the in the in the stomach That causes the gods to go down. They cannot do their normal farming They cannot do their it's a stigma. And so when once you cure that will you you operate on them You become you make the economy very viable. You make big bring back their respect in their lives So last night about the first 10 of them who sent an ambulance They are happily be operated today. That's the power of the diaspora coming together as a team Which is where we very much support these sorts of alliances that together We can synergize our efforts to really sub-maximize our output and we very much support this initiative and indeed Even when we go down to the low and middle income countries We believe in building alliances because we nobody has got the magic bullet It's where you come together as a team, which is what I call of the diaspora Hundreds of them are logging to the listing to what we are seeing here to join this alliance So that we can strengthen in what we do we can actually reach out a lot of things That we can do where we go down to the mobile clinics. We join hands with the local minister of health We are there to complement their efforts We are there to complement the efforts of international organization in In achieving the universal health coverage. We leave no one behind So our mobile clinic is not only giving medications. We actually increase health awareness We bring the younger colleagues on board. We improve on research We bring the diaspora to collaborate to introduce them back to the countries or continents of origin So that slowly they can go and come go and come and by then we have introduced so many people Last year I was in Rwanda with a colleague who's known me to Africa for 35 years And then he's back in Rwanda He's coming back to middle Sierra Leone another lady from Zambia was also for 33 years not not being back to her continent of origin. So which means we sought Evidences pieces of evidence of working together as a group We very much support this particular initiative and I'll be very very much parcel of it to bring Together a lot of experience with a lot of colleagues who are logging today to join this alliance and then we can go on and on and on But in short, we very much support this this creative alliance And we hope that member states that I mean non-state actors that everybody can actually home in In the true spirit that together we can make it happen Nobody's got a magic bullet to solve all the problems of low and middle income countries We share the same identity So we we need to come together in this sort of alliances. So at least we can maximize whatever we can do for the future generations to come I thank you very much Thank you very much. Dr. Charles I think it was a wonderful example Of what diasporas can do and the power of connections and working as a team as you were mentioning So we will just take one minute because We will change the setting for the next session, which will be the technical one But please stay with us for those connected and also the ones here in the room. Thank you So good morning ladies and gentlemen My name is elizabeth warn. I'm the head of the labor mobility and social inclusion division with iom's hq It is a very great pleasure for me to be here with you today Before we move into the next segment, which is the technical discussion I would just to go like to go through a few logistical points with you Um We have a coffee stand that you are welcome to bring your coffee into the room After this session, we will have a short break before we move to the consultations So you are also very welcome to do that at that point um I am Very delighted to let you know that we have a photo exhibition outside of the room Where the results of successful partnerships with 22 representatives and iberautas shows the winners of photos Taken by professionals to show the ways in which diaspora have adapted when they leave their countries of origin And set up new relationships in their transnational lives And I would urge you to take a look After this session at the photo wonderful photos that we've had from our panelists For those of you in the room Uh at the end of this session We would like to welcome you for a lunch that will be held in the wangari mathai Room on the second floor and we will accompany you to that room at the lunch break For those of you online apologies that you will not join us for lunch But we very much look forward to your active participation Through the next two sessions Uh, you are very welcome to leave comments in the chat. These will be Reviewed as the two sessions go through I imagine that we will get many comments and so we may not have the opportunity to respond to all of them But please know that we Consider them as being very very important to us and they will Very much be part of the discussions and reflections that we have after the session And then Not only after this first session where we will talk through the outcomes and milestones since the global diaspora summit Which is excellency referred to But we will also have a questions and answers session in the last session, which is the consultation itself where we will discuss And have your feedback on what the gdpa should look like Who should participate and on what basis? So at this point, I would like to welcome to the floor my colleague Larissa dr. Larissa Lara She is the trans national communities and digital communications officer Who will walk us through what has happened since doubling and what are the major milestones that we have achieved together Since that point of departure Over to you Larissa. Thank you It's a pleasure to share what we have really done together so IOM is Welcoming all the remarks and everything we have done together and hopefully we can discuss it in the in the next session too So yesterday when I was preparing also for this presentation, I thought of Starting it in a different way So today we have already listened to wonderful welcoming remarks But basically I really wanted to come up with a very tangible concise image of what diasporas are and what they really bring to societies So if we think about a bridge and I really want you to visualize that bridge and keep it until the end of the session And also in the next discussions on how to build the global diaspora policy alliance because I think We we can really learn from from this image So what do diaspora brings bring to societies not only of origin but also of destination First of all, they reduce gaps and shorten distances And if you think about it is just not from one point to the other But diasporas have this potential unique potential to actually connect many countries They are point a but they can lead to many points on the other side of the bridge The second idea that I thought would be very important to highlight Is that diasporas and thinking about that bridge? They maximize strategic connections Once again, if you think about the bridge, they help us to connect people to connect merchandise to keep flows movement So that's very very true also for diasporas And the third point is to escalate partnerships and reduce Um and resource mobilization. Sorry. So again with this idea of the bridges. I think diasporas really connect and help Really be that vehicle that connect countries of origin and countries of destination and even third countries So Now we're going back to the normal slides. I just wanted to share with you that visual image also Considering that we're having the exhibition Because I think it would be very nice to to keep it while we're discussing the next steps So very concretely today, I will share with you some key frameworks that are um Basically framing all the work that we do from IOM and also together with partners Then we're going to talk about some key resources that we have developed A little bit more about the global diaspora summit and finally the next steps that we'll We'll lead us to the Towards the the global diaspora policy alliance Of course, we have already heard from the opening remarks that one of the key points that we have to consider While developing and enabling diasporas to connect with the home countries and host countries Is objective 19 of the gcm Create conditions for migrants and diaspora to fully contribute to sustainable development in all countries And diasporas have the potential to contribute to each of the SDGs And we have seen it from today from dr. Charles example. He's really focusing on SDG three Uh, it's health and well-being diasporas have the opportunity with the With the correct resources to actually collaborate with us in all of them In IOM we're very, um happy to share with you this This approach on diaspora engagement, which we think It's really holistic because we consider diaspora capital in all of its ways So social human economic and cultural diasporas have a lot to give And we have to recognize all of that. So that's why we are always Thinking about this holistic approach to diaspora engagement We have a three-year strategy that we call the first step to really engage with diasporas It's the the pillar that we call engage Which is to understand and align their needs This is very important because from the beginning we need to collect data that will allow us to develop specific programs and specific policies We have different tools. Um, we have for instance, the diaspora mapping toolkit, but we have also developed a specific strategic communications And outreach for diasporas And we have a platform where we try to to create those spaces of collaboration Um, the second pillar it's to enable By enabling we mean concretely formalize and structure the relationship with diasporas How can they participate in a more integrative way? And how can we recognize them as development actors? This is important because when we do things in a structured manner as was highlighted by ambassador from ireland today We can really um target our audience and go create things more concretely together Finally empower. This is the final stage. And what does it mean to collaborate and implement? Activities together with the diaspora. So in order to do this We have different tools and materials that focus on capacity building from a sectoral engagement Here are uh in a in a very quick summary some of the key tools that we have developed and methodologies at iom The first one is targeting states So this is very important for me to to actually share with you when when you have all of these materials You have to think of the end user. So Some of these are really For governments some of them are for diaspora. Some of them are also for academics So this is um something that really leads our work as iom that multi stakeholder approach And i'm very happy to announce that even some of them have been developed hand in hand with diasporas For instance, the third one, which is build trust mobilizing resources and insurance sustainability This was coordinated with multiple diaspora organizations and even with academics So that multi stakeholder approach is possible um, and i'm and this this particular publications, uh, all of them are accessible in iDiaspora But this particular publication was to really come up with concrete solutions of self identified problems by diasporas When we engage with diasporas, they always say there is a matter of trust that we sometimes Trust element is not there. We don't have resources And we cannot ensure our sustainability in the long time So that's why we decided to focus specifically on this On these topics listening to those voices of the diasporas Finally, just one comment on the two last resources that you see on screen contributions and counting is one guidance that we have developed together with uh experts To measure the contributions of diasporas beyond remittances So diasporas are great in terms of investing trade tourism. And how do we measure that? Contributions and counting it's a guidance that helps governments to do that The diaspora mapping toolkit. It's the final resource that I will introduce. It's an holistic Mapping tool that really guides a step by step any user to conduct their own diaspora mapping Again with that holistic approach. It really Accentuates the need to contextualize mappings. So these are the the tools that we have produced at IOM Together with different partners again, we have developed three courses online that are available for everyone The diaspora mapping toolkit the diaspora empowerment from a gender perspective view And finally the diaspora module in the global migration media academy Finally, uh, one of the most exciting things I would say in our job at least from from my really personal perspective is the way to do innovative things So last year we had the Yes, I would say even the lock to to be able to work with young diaspora leaders So we outreach these 10 diaspora leaders that are really contributing to specific sustainable development goals and they are contributing to The development in the countries of origin and in the countries of destination. So there are key leaders That can be outreached and we need to maximize what they are doing and reach out to to other partners to really see the impact of their initiatives then we have also Had the chance to do a third virtual exchange to see how um diasporas can Actually communicate in a strategic way in the project cycle So from the idea to the pitching to the implementation and also monitoring and evaluation So it's important to start, uh considering diasporas as partners And that's why we decided to focus on these specific areas I will go quickly on this slide just to show you some of the key results that we have been able to To do it together with partners from the iDiaspora platform some webinars, high level events and publications now We're going to discuss what happened at Dublin last year and the global diaspora summit specifically The global diaspora summit Was a unique event in the sense that for the first time diasporas with their governments Hand in hand had the chance to talk on the same table and discuss the necessities And also the worries the opportunities and what they could do to enhance and maximize their Their collaboration basically So we held three regional consultations 14 sessions online and seven parallel events where un agencies and other stakeholders Had the chance to also participate and organize their own events We had more than 700 participants and we also had the opportunity to discuss specific sessions and cross thematic areas such as data Humanitarianism youth digitalization gender and climate change So in this unique space of collaboration, we had the chance to discuss very openly what's What needs to be done to engage diasporas at different levels from the local to the global level And i'm going to share with you key Conclusions from the Dublin declaration, but I I would invite you to to also Have a look at it in the sense that it's a very specific document. It really has Key messages, but also concrete steps that we need to take to construct the global diaspora policy alliance The first point would be to institutionalize diaspora participation in policies and programs from the global to the local level In in in my time at iOM it has been really fruitful and honestly It's one of the passions that really drive me to see how how local communities Communicate with rigid with the regional level and then we're able to do global tools So this is something we're also focusing on The second point would be to recognize diasporas as partners in addressing social and humanitarian challenges and also to boost their capacities Diasporas can help as we have seen already in across the sdgs But also in humanitarian settings and we need to be prepared to mobilize them when that's needed their support is needed Their expertise is needed The fourth point would be to keep a strengthening the protection of rights of migrants and access to services As well as to keep strengthening and digitize diaspora networks Finally one of the key conclusions of the doubling declaration is to launch the global diaspora policy alliance and that's why we are here today so Just to give you a very quick recap of of what has been achieved since doubling Together with partners and specifically with the government of ireland that have they have been very supportive in this process First of all the global diaspora summit in april last year. Then we had the chance to do Assa to organ to co-organize a side event at the imrf Then a side event at the united general assembly In september last year and today we're here to discuss the global diaspora alliance So with this i will give the floor to um to lice again That she will guide us through the consultation. Thank you Thank you so much lirisa and before we move to that last section Um, I will open the floor very briefly for any questions or comments on the presentation that lirisa has given so far And again if there are questions that you have Germany you have your hand up. Thank you. Thank you very much. I I would like to take this opportunity to first of all Thank you for organizing this very important meeting Uh on the role of the diaspora and on the creation of the global policy alliance for diaspora Germany welcomes very much that idea of the creation of the global policy alliance. I think it's important Um farce and for everyone here to integrate the valuable contributions of diaspora organizations into the Formats of global migration management and cooperation We are all aware that The diaspora organizations are important partners when it comes to the integration of refugees and migrants in the countries of destination But also with regard to the transfer of the skills and achievements of migrants to their countries of origin German government has established many venues of cooperation with many organizations of diaspora Which exist today in germany they are important partners when it comes to implement programs of integration But also concerning the implementation of projects in the field of development cooperation with countries of origin And against this background. I would just like to reiterate that we welcome the creation today of the global diaspora alliance Which should help to implement the objectives of the dublin declaration and to give To the future cooperation between all relevant stakeholders in that field a very solid basis and structure. Thank you very much Thank you so much germany for your commitment to dublin And to the recommendations for the creation of a global diaspora policy alliance Um, do we have any more interventions before we pass to our consultations? Um, we have one question online. So I'll read it to you Do we have a draft vision and mission statement for the global diaspora policy alliance? So I think this is a good segment into our last session where we start the consultations and in few seconds I will bring up the uh proposed scope but beforehand we have a Few inspirational words from our deputy director A general Ugochi Daniels who would like to say a few words on behalf of the organization She has uh developed a video message. So we will project this short message now Good afternoon distinguished guests Diaspora are at the heart of iom And iom has been working with member states diaspora and other partners for several decades To ensure that migration can benefit all Today, we're working towards instituting and reinforcing collaborative effort Where the diaspora can gain access to the necessary resources networks and partnerships To fully contribute to sustainable development in 2022 iom in cooperation with the government of ireland Supported the first global diaspora summit This was a seminal moment which brought together government diaspora representative international organizations the private sector academic and key experts to discuss how together we can cultivate An inclusive ecosystem of collaboration across governments and key stakeholders To empower diaspora to be able to fully contribute to sustainable development The outcome of this global summit was the dublin declaration which provided a series of recommendations For states diaspora and partners including the creation of the global diaspora policy alliance To create this sustainable and structured ecosystem in dublin 29 governments and the african union Express their support of the dublin declaration that identifies a path to maximizing diaspora engagement And specific solutions to well-known challenges in diaspora engagement such as data collection Trust building and capacity development Today we're here at this technical consultation to reaffirm the commitment made in dublin To establish the global diaspora policy alliance To discuss how we can collectively establish the alliance including its scope instruction In doing so, we will reflect on the progress made since the summit last year And seek your support for the recommendations made in the dublin I'm therefore delighted to welcome you To this multi stakeholder The future global diaspora policy alliance in order to have an effective and inclusive alliance We must ensure That it is based on a multi stakeholder people centered and sectoral approach These are the principles set out in the dublin declaration and have been articulated Through numerous consultations. I've had the pleasure of attending Including most recently the global african diaspora symposium held in abuja this april Co-organized by the organization of african caribbean and pacific states The nigerians in diaspora commission The directorate of technical co-operation in africa and the african diaspora alliance I invite you to be open and frank on how you envision the establishment of the alliance We're here to learn from your experience Listen to your suggestions and together Lay the foundation for the first global structure that truly recognizes diaspora as partners Thank you for your continued commitment interest and most important of all action So as we heard from our deputy director general in her Words of welcome today is the point of having that open and frank discussion And in many ways we are not here To tell you how we want to create this but really to have a process of co-creation on what this alliance should look like Now the previous comment was what is the objective and expected outcomes? Well the expected outcomes we are here to co-discuss and so I will not present that per se But going to the core of what the objectives of the global alliance are They derive from what was committed to and discussed and co-created at dublin And what we see in the dublin declaration There is a recommendation and I will read this to facilitate the launch of a global diaspora policy alliance That will deliver an inclusive ecosystem of collaboration across governments in partners in academia civil society in the private sector To prioritise diaspora engagement policymaking and action in countries of origin and destination This will further recognize and include diaspora engagement across local national regional and global policy agendas relating to all forms of development Next slide please So what I would like to present to you very briefly and then I will set out The suggested modalities for our consultation is very briefly what we foresee Now the ambassador mentioned this morning that he welcomes the role of island as the first chair of the institutional committee And this will be It is suggested as the body that will take strategic and technical advice on the structure of activities of the global policy alliance Including commit recommendations to a tech to technical working groups And the potential organization of ad hoc meetings and events to maximize the impact of the gtba So what we are proposing is a structure Where governments come together with partners to set the direction over the next few years of how we take forward the Recommend the sdg objectives particularly with reference to the gcm objective 19 In a way that can be done in this collective manner reflecting global regional and national priorities That institutional steering committee will be supported By some form of stakeholder advisory group that can include a broad range of different partners academia experts diaspora members And other entities that wish to be part of this process And then we would suggest the inclusion of observers technical experts and guests based on the priorities set by the steering committee Now at this stage We would really appreciate your reflections on the overall structure And particularly on the areas of intervention that the global diaspora policy alliance should focus on In the intervention from monica gaurachi She mentioned three areas that are echoed from the first consultations in dublin which could be climate action a particular global of particular global interest at present giving the Significant impacts of climate change across the board and on achieving the sdgs We hear heard this morning about the importance of health from our First intervention from chasna sea um, and we also talk to the points of the importance of Transversalizing gender and youth However, as the ambassador also indicated um This is a consultation So we would like to hear from you where you see the priorities being And whether the proposed structure meets those expectations As I said, this is a consultation So we welcome your inputs Now the proposed suggestions of how we move forward with the consultation Is really to hear from you And therefore as I said what we're presenting to you today is the early conceptualization Of what the gdpa could look like It is a draft that's been prepared with the feedback and strategic conclusions of events and conferences That have taken place across the world and our deputy director general referred to A tiny percent of what those consultations have been all those discussions have been and obviously there are very significant discussions happening at different levels What we also heard is that diasporas can act as an accelerator for the achievement of the sdgs And this is where we would ask for your Feedback on where the most effective and impactful transnational initiatives are from a sectorial perspective Focusing as I said potentially on the three themes we would like to bring to the table health and well-being climate change and gender But we also aim to use this as the process of co-creation So in doing so what we would like to have in this discussion is a series of questions that we will ask to you And then in order to be as inclusive as possible We're asking participants to be brief concise and to the point We will ask the interventions be limited to no more than two minutes To give the opportunity to all express all stakeholders to express your views and to ensure a wide diversity of participants here to present your inputs Now we also appreciate for the governments in the room That this is a consultation that you have been part of from Dublin But for many of you this is also a point of reflection and that we appreciate That you may not be in the position to give official statements or feedback at this point To indicate as I will do later the next steps will be to Take the contributions that you have made today and then to make a proposal concretely of what the gdpa would look like But we welcome even questions and comments on where you see the global discussion going Perhaps with reflections from your own national experiences And perhaps with reflections also from how you see regional other regional processes contributing to this discussion So what we shall do and I appreciate that we are running quite late So apologies for that As we will project some questions We will take a few Comments and questions and then we will move to the next question And once again, I appreciate what we are presenting to you is a very initial consultation So please also ask questions to us Now as this is a co-creation process It may not be at this point that we will answer those questions because we will bring together the different thoughts of opinion And suggestions coming from the room and coming from online and from other processes But we will document everything that comes in for a more in-depth reflection So at this point I will start with the first we have I think six questions The first of six questions and again, you are very welcome to add in the chat or from the room additional questions that you would like us To address as part of the broader consultation leading to the GDP a formulation So I will start with the first question What would be your expectations for the global diaspora policy alliance and the benefits it will provide And here understanding as we heard earlier that this Can be a forum as the ambassador said to share ideas best practices lessons learned Elements that perhaps have not worked so well But also potentially as a forum for exchange networking And for building partnerships So I open the question out. What would be your expectations for the GDP a and what benefits Can it provide? I see there is one hand up from the audience online So when it's hybrid, it's also a little bit complex to to make and ensure that everyone has a voice But marisa tomata Please can you Can you tell us What would be your your thoughts in this and apologies marisa before you do so if you could please introduce yourself briefly tell us where you are from and also explain very briefly your background and rationale for participating in this consultation. Thank you Seems like we have a technical glitch So perhaps marisa if I can ask you to write your question and we can read it out Thank you. We have a hand up from rwanda in the room. Thank you So while our participants can write the question in the chat I'm just going to read the comments that we got apologies. We have rwanda in the room and we will ask States in the room first, thank you Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much and thank you for Having given us this opportunity to be in a in such a kind of conversation My name is mary but it can get it. I come from rwanda And for many years I've lived here Then got an opportunity of going back home to give back What I find very interesting here Is this opportunity to now allow diaspora To really be able into conversation with the governments It's very very very important and I congratulate w in the summit and the iom that has brought this up But my question to this conversation is Having lived in diaspora one of the experiences that have failed Is we are caught up in our own cages when we are here I'm wondering how this policy Is going to begin from that route of engaging mobilizing the immigrants Who are in this kind of circle to really get them into the feel of what we are feeling in this room So how is the awareness going to be able to prickle down like here in switzerland? Migrants I can't see some of them really seeing themselves here So how do we bring about the mobilization their awareness for them to feel that they can engage With their governments on issues that really concern them And that's where they get into the thinking that they also matter To the policy the global policy to their governments policies And also to allow them to Have the opportunities to engage with their governments because some of the governments might never want to engage with the diaspora I'm fortunate coming from rwanda is our diaspora is extremely active and the government Policy is to want to engage them meaningfully. So how do we what kind of Mobilization are we going to take back to the ground? Especially in these countries where we are as migrants. Thank you so much Thank you very much for rwanda namibia Good morning My name is mariam nicodemus. I'm responsible for the iom desk at the mission of namibia I have just arrived recently in cheneva a few months ago My question is on the consultation First of all, I would like to thank iom relief for organizing these consultations But my question is since that we are getting the questions now in terms of the consultation Will we be able to be given some opportunity to reflect on them and then submit our feedback after the session? Thank you Thank you. Namibia. Are there further questions in the room before I I will not attempt to answer everything as I said. This is a consultation, but a few reflections Apologies, nigeria. Thank you. Good morning everyone. My name is watam From the permanent mission of nigeria. I would like to take this opportunity to thank iom for organizing this very important meeting this very important consultation Um, as you know that nigeria, we have a large number of nigerian diasporas around the world I think we have an estimate of more than 17 million So this uh diaspora engagement is really important to us um And just as ddd daddels also mentioned nigeria hosted a uh recently an african diaspora symposium which um brought stakeholders from across the globe. So this is a very important subject to us um One of the the comments I would like to make Regarding what we expect to see I think it should be Inclusive the diasporas themselves should be included in the conversation I think that that is how we can clearly um Figure out and identify what their specific needs and concerns are and then that is how also we would chart a way to address those issues I think also it is important that in creating this um diaspora alliance policy that um due cognizance is taken to exist in national and regional policies because um, I think that There already exists in national policies and regional policies in on this subject and it would be Ideal to take that into consideration um, I think also it is important that we had we have uh a wide thematic area um so that um In our discussions and our policy framing we can take into consideration various aspects like you mentioned earlier The climate action it would be good to also have In Africa we have a very large youth um population You know, if we're if we're going to have an inclusive conversation then we need to have cross-cutting and wide thematic areas to include um I think I will stop there for now. Thank you Agira, thank you so much. We also have a participant from the back of the room. I apologize. I'm not sure from which Entity or state you are from. Thank you. Thank you. I'll introduce myself My name is BC Adebayo and I am um, I run an organization here called bridging development gaps I'm also a director with them afro european medical research network of dr senesi I would like to commend IOM for this Brilliant initiative It's a known fact that diasporas have really contributed a lot to the development of our countries of origin so But coming here this morning. I you know would have expected a wider network, you know of Angels that are already working in this space, you know contributing to development and the furtherance of SDGs back in their countries So what are the plans? I I you know, I already got the feeling of what the Dublin policy is all about, you know, very good initiative For networking and sharing of ideas and all that too. How do you intend to broaden the network? to get more Organizations involved So like like, you know, this kind of event today will have more participation. Thank you Thank you very much and before we move to our colleagues who are online Just a few reflections on the questions are so far and I will start with the feedback from Rwanda And the excellent point about how to raise awareness now clearly. This is very much how Something that we will have to do collectively together Once the package is put together, but I think it raises a fundamental point about How the different levels of Interventions will work and the same point came from Nigeria about how do we link to national regional policies? The global network is to will complement and build on those existing networks so it will not replace or Or or create any additional structures of either of those levels It will be for the national and regional process to feed into the gdpa How we do that we will have to look into more detail But we certainly recognize and appreciate the numerous states that have put into place diaspora policies or have transversalized issues of diaspora migration Across the different policy areas and have mainstreamed migration across the board So all this to say absolutely that this will be done We recognize that there will be cross sectionality between different areas I think we will have to be realistic in terms of the different areas sectorial areas that we focus in on we had suggested three because They seem to come from previous discussions as being those where Most of the actors are saying we need transformative change, but there can certainly be others And so we very much take note of that point from Nigeria and Appreciate your feedback that both climate and youth are critical And indeed would suggest indeed that these areas be very much reflected into the gdpa To the feedback from Namibia, you are absolutely right This was to come into next steps But what we foresee and I will say this already now is that after the consultation we share with you a package of information The presentations from day to day the Dublin declaration the questions themselves And we will create a mechanism of feedback to take this forward And this mechanism to take it forward will then be the basis for the gdpa Proposal itself What we would aim to do is to use the summer months to create this And then we will revert to you on the next steps of how this will be finalized and then launched And then to our colleague from NGO. Yes, you will see that we have networks of organization online The identification of those organizations was done based on the Participants from Dublin itself, but also from a really wide range of partner organizations that we work with already And here it's important to underscore The importance of ideaspera network There is a website where diasperas continuously and other organizations can contribute to the dialogue That's online and continuously monitored So that already exists and how we bring in other actors will be part of the conversation moving forward I see that we have two representatives online Aya Kassasa If you could please raise your question or comment Yes, hello, I don't know if you can hear me Yes, we can hear you Hello, thank you very much for giving me the floor And then I would like to begin by Thank you very much for the International Organization for Migration for this invitation And then for this occasion Unique to be able to express and exchange in this framework I would like to thank Director General Adjoint who referred to the world symposium on African diaspora Who has just joined Abuja in Nigeria on April 27th and 28th To whom the OEM has contributed with the OECP and the Nigerian authorities And who has made the conclusions in a communication that I will share with you online Regarding this first question on the consultation that you have asked What would be our expectations? I think it is important for the OECP to represent that 79 is a member And divided into three continents, that is to say diasporas very different from each other So it is also this idea not to avoid the redundancies That the Alliance can really be a resonance box of the existence It exists, as you have very well noticed, a lot of initiatives already in progress A lot of governments already working on these questions Well, if the Alliance could contribute to make it better known to the existence And then the question, one of the questions that he was Who has animated the exchanges in Abuja It is a lot of this idea to build trust between diasporas and their country of origin How can this Alliance support the construction, the consolidation of this trust And then I take again, I seize the opportunity of representatives of the diaspora who have spoken since the very beginning How to make sure that our Alliance can come out of institutional circles And from those who know them, those who are there, those who know our institutional circles There will be an effort to be able to join these associations And these formations that do not yet know us And who will be able to contribute valuable to this Alliance Thank you Thank you very much, Madame Hayakasa, it is a pleasure to have your comments And of course, we are very aware of all the efforts that have already been made And we would also like to thank you for the IEM And in terms of your questions, I think that we will continue to work together Especially for the implementation of the platform on the internet That you are building And I think we can directly create synergies with this platform And about the trust I have forgotten the moment in French now, but the trust with the relationship between the diasporas I think it is an effort that must be made all the time It is not just between the government and the diasporas But there are also several organizations from the United Nations, the IEM And many more from other partners, even in the private sector and the private sector There are people who are diasporic So really, we can build, by touching on these people Much more dynamic, trust and real partnerships So I think your reflections are absolutely correct And we will take them into account for the steps that follow for the construction of the Alliance Thank you very much And now I will give the floor to Paddy Siyanga, joining also online Thank you very much Paddy, we could not hear you If you have technical difficulties, you are very welcome to leave your comments online Or your question online Hello, can you hear me? I can, yes. If you could keep your intervention very short Absolutely, thank you I couldn't see that I was asked to unmute from my screen Thank you so much, Paddy Siyanga Knudsen from the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism And I would also say I signed myself as part of the African Diaspora belonging to Zambia And joining you here from Kosovo Thank you so much for the opportunity for us to be here I just wanted to really maybe join my voice in terms of also reflecting into the points on an inclusive process And maybe just to go very directly to a proposal that I think that while this consultation here has been very useful in getting an introduction to what the aspirations for the Global Diaspora Policy Alliance would be What would even be much more critical is to have a very dedicated session with diaspora organization and the diversity of diaspora actors And I say this with a lot of due respect and both Larissa sitting there knows the important work that we have done together I'm glad to have seen most of it also being shown visibly on the screen and throughout the presentation But I think we cannot take for granted the fact that you need a dedicated session with diaspora Because nothing can happen nothing can nothing nothing much more effective and productive would happen without the diaspora and speaking on behalf of the wide diversity And here I think that it's very important for us to look at diversity beyond remittances diversity also beyond the sort of natural partners that we have but also thinking about the youth, the women and other groups that form the wider diversity on diaspora I also wanted to bring in points I think that are related to which diaspora we're talking about, and specifically when we talk about the African continent, I think in a lot of senses, we often speak about a diaspora that we see away from the continent. So how in terms of you know when you talk about benefits and opportunities, how do you sort of see this Alliance really positioning that diversity in terms of representation as well. So how do we talk about diasporas that are present on the continents, as well as we know in most regions for Africa for instance, a lot of movement or those who are living diasporas will probably predominantly be around in the in the region itself, apart from the vast amount that is also away from the continent. So what space do we see in engaging with these and I think the examples that have also been given of platforms that have been created are very important. Very lastly, I think that it's also very important for us to look at regional initiatives, but also to understand that as we are drawing in regional national initiatives. I think we go back into thinking, how is this platform going to be important for us to move some of the very difficult discussions that that diaspora cannot have with the variety of partners whether we're talking about private sector or whether we're talking about, you know, building better relations with the with the diversity of governments that are there in terms of implementation of global compact for migration objectives that are specific to the diaspora, but also particularly in terms of priorities that are being raised in other platforms such as the priority for diaspora under the global forum on migration and development, where France has put the discussion on diaspora as a priority as well. Where do we sort of see that alliance also with the work that is already happening under the UN migration network. So in short, an additional platform is always very useful. But I think it says it should be very useful in terms of driving already some very specific agendas that are placed out, both looking at the grassroots organizations and that is the diaspora themselves and the actors, and what is really important and to move forward, but also in terms of what is happening on the globe on the global platform as well. Thank you so much and looking forward to dedicated sessions where we can share a little bit more on how the diaspora can support this alliance so that it's much more representative of the of the actors on the ground. Thank you. Thank you so much. I will not attempt to answer the questions but just to flag the points you have raised which is a dedicated session with diaspora to look at diaspora and how they position on the continent the African continent, and how we address difficult discussions that they cannot be had in the forums that exist, and then finally the link to the UN and then I'm very mindful of your precious time. And as I had indicated this is the start of a process so we will very much appreciate feedback coming in what I would suggest we do we have three more questions from participants online. I would ask the participants online right their questions into the chat, and we will move to the next question what I will aim to do is to close indeed at 1230 but I would like to go through as many of the questions as we have. And then to solicitate further feedback after this process as a next step so apologies to those colleagues who had their hands up we will now move to the next question. And again I would very much invite both participants in the room but also online to raise your questions and your comments. And if I am unable to select you please do put those comments in the chat, and we will provide you links afterwards to provide further feedback. And now we will give the floor to Paolo Correira next. Okay. Sorry. Next question. Yeah apologies Paolo we what I was saying was we will go through the questions and then for those those that in order that we have as many questions posed as possible we will go through two or three questions. And then for others that are not able to respond or raise the intervention now we will take them online, simply to allow as many questions as possible to be raised. Next question is what is the best way to ensure a multi stakeholder approach to the global diaspora policy Alliance. Now I appreciate that several of these questions these comments have already made another questions. So I think what we can do for this one is perhaps go to our colleagues who already on first in the room and then go to colleagues online to see if we can reflect on this question as well. We have comments from the room first from our states. Okay in which case let's go to our comments online first to Paolo Correira if you can please introduce yourself and to raise your feedback please. Well hello there, Paolo Correira here I am a member of an association which is called the Council of the Brazilian representatives living abroad. And in order to address this question, I'd like to point out the role of the civil society in the multi stakeholder approach. Of course, associations are institutions that are in constant contact with the ground, and obviously they are capable as well of embracing not only relationships with the public administration but also with a small entrepreneurs and citizens as well. And there is another point that I'd like to raise here is about the international cooperation and the participation of the diaspora in those processes. And most recently here in Italy we have been seeing a change in the normatives that states specifically the importance of the diaspora members in the development of their countries of origin which leads also to their participation into processes of international cooperation. And one modality in particular that is interesting is the decentralized cooperation which involves the local public administration and then is a way to strengthen the role of those associations at the local level as well. So this is just a reflection that I believe that can give a very good example of how a multi stakeholder approach can be done, which includes the local administration, the associations working locally and their participation in a relationship with the local institutions of their country of origin as well. So that's all I'd like to conclude thanking all the members of the organization for this opportunity and wish good luck on the works here today. Thank you. Thank you so much noting your points around civil society and also the very useful reflection on the on the ways of which you can engage at decentralized level through decentralized cooperation and agree indeed bringing that in subnational perspective will be very critical will be critically important. We have two further interventions I believe, we had two interventions that they have no longer got their hands up. So perhaps we can do is move to the next question. So I briefly mentioned a proposed structure for the Alliance and as we heard the government of Ireland have put their hands up to be the chair of the institutional committee steering committee. We have suggested the three working groups around sectorial areas of intervention, noting that we also had the request from Nigeria to broaden the thematic scope, and the need for cross fertilization across potential working groups. So the question to you is, where do you feel it would be important to include participation from members of the diaspora and other relevant partners. And here I would like to bring in the reflection from the previous point about the role of the unmn. Indeed, I am as the convener of the United Nations migration network has invited a broader range of UN agencies to this consultation online, and it would be excellent to hear from those invited house they see themselves, but also reflecting on the broad rate of stakeholders that were participants of Dublin from academia to civil society private sector diaspora organizations and other actors. So it would be great here to hear your feedback on the participation of the members of diaspora and other relevant partners who they should be particularly what role they can play and how we link the different levels of the Alliance together. And here also would be fantastic to hear from your own national or regional reflections practices that we can build on hearing already that we have significant experience at national and regional level. So I turn first to the floor if we have further feedback from states. Israel. Thank you very much. I will take the chance of a was asked before to then provide further information but as a first reflection I think that they should be everywhere. And I think that that's that that's important even if you are trying to do an institutional framework that is important they have to be a partner. It shouldn't be only I am only UN entities only states. And one of the colleagues before also mentioned the importance of having the variety of representation of the diaspora but not only on national origins and I think that that's important as well. And those, for example, who have disabilities or different ages, or things that are important to be addressed as problems and that they can bring their voices to the discussion I think that it's very important that, you know, we give them a seat at the table we have that expression when we're talking about certain issues I think that it's important to make sure that they have a seat at the table and that they can be heard. I wouldn't say where we're to put it but everywhere even at the expert level because sometimes, at least here in Geneva we, we end up kind of in a bubble, talking to each other, and it will be important to to hear those voices as well. They are to bring us back to reality, just initial thoughts thank you. Thank you so much Israel and indeed diaspora will be everywhere. The modalities will need to be worked through. And very much here your point about not just origin countries or national origins, but these different levels, ages and the importance of addressing problems and I think that comes to the core of what we have discussed so far so very well noted. In the room we also have Charles, our previous speaker. Sorry, apologies Germany and then Charles from the AEM. Just very briefly, I would just like to to echo and underline what my colleague from Israel has said I think we cannot do this kind of worked without the voices of the diaspora organizations and I think for for the details of their future involvement and and integration into the to the policy dialogue we will see but I think it's it's it's absolutely necessary that the voices of the diaspora organizations will be heard and and they should be part of the process. Thank you. Thank you Germany. I will pass to Charles and then we have two reflections online and then we can move to the next question. And I think for questions of time we will take one more question. And then we will move towards the conclusions and next step so over to you and thank you Charles for your patience. Thank you very much. And indeed, Billy number one my colleague said diasporas are everywhere and we're already somewhere with this initiative. I think there's a lot we have achieved over the years because I can reflect upon how much support we got from the diaspora mission we led in Sierra Leone. When the Mr Sanusis Savage was head of the IEM and we were able to bring the huge amount of biggest amount of diaspora team in Sierra Leone for short term and medium term project. This data could be very useful to us in terms of mapping the way forward. And then that has even led to the creation of the office of the diaspora in the Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone, which is really really something very good. And we have had mapping of diaspora in in around the world that we can build upon. And coming back to my host country in Switzerland, there's a lot of initiative we can build upon. The Swiss government will be very supportive of the African diaspora council. Next week we have a presentation I'll be sharing with this member of the Swiss government and private sector as well. And a week later also we have the Swiss African Forum, which is a huge diaspora organization in Switzerland, we can build upon these initiatives to mark the way forward. And then around the globe also we have in Rwanda we have a diaspora organization they have very interesting friends of Rwanda, which means you don't need to come from Rwanda to be part of the Rwanda diaspora. So those are initiatives that we can actually build upon in mapping the way forward, so as to complement for the effort so that we don't reinvent the wheel or build upon what is already be done. Thank you. Thank you so much Charles and like the point about bringing the diaspora in to map the diaspora and I think this reflects on the tools that we already have, but also the experiences through long standing programming to identify those diaspora including the examples you brought from Somalia and from Rwanda. So, thank you so much for that. And we have two colleagues online we had Sardar Aftab apologies if my name is, if I have mispronounced your name, and yes Mina Ben Slimane. So we'll start with Sardar please. Good morning, good morning, good morning in England. And so I'm after Khan from Kashmir Development Foundation based in England. For this particular question I echo what the colleagues from Israel and Germany said before, but more importantly, the, the capacity of the diaspora to engage different diasporas to engage at this level and their organization. And recognize those capacity shoes for diaspora organizations, and also, where they are based and in different countries, the policies of the countries of the host countries of the diasporas currently live. Especially where the discrimination racism and other impacts experienced by the diaspora, and how can we ensure that those countries policies also recognize the need for diaspora engagement and in terms of their integration in the society, and link with their international development objectives and how they be part of through IOM at this policy dialogue for their countries of origin and how we can link those priorities of that particular country, international development priorities in the countries of origin of those diasporas. Thank you so much Sardar and I think you made some very important there about the cooperation, the capacity of diaspora to engage I think that's a very useful reflection. I'll take one more comment from Yasmina Ben-Slimane. We have two other colleagues online who have feedback but as I mentioned before we will go to a last question and hopefully those two colleagues can also integrate their comments into the last question. So over to you Yasmina. Hello everyone, thank you so much for giving me the floor so I stand before you today as the gender specialist at the migration youth and children platform, as well as a young migrant from the global south living as ended as a diaspora. My experiences professional personal and academic have shaped the understanding of the pressing issues faced by young people, and the importance of engaging with the diaspora through a youth and gender lens within the migration context. We must not turn a blind eye to the injustices and inequities that persist that are perpetrated by systemic racism, sexism, ageism and neocolonial structures within the humanitarian system. And we must confront these challenges and works and work towards a world where youth, regardless of their gender and origin can migrate with dignity safety and opportunity. So today I call upon member states and stakeholders to take action with three key points for the global diaspora policy islands. Firstly, we must amplify the voices of youth and ensure the meaningful participation in all decision making processes, and we must create safe spaces for them so that they can express themselves there are aspirations there lived experiences and contribute with their innovative ideas. And secondly, adopting a gender lens is not an option. It is an absolute necessity. We must dismantle the barriers that hinder the progress of women and girls in migration. We must work towards eliminating gender based violence, and also safeguarding the rights of migrant women and girls by doing so we create a world where gender equality is not just an aspiration, but a lived reality for all. And lastly, engaging with the diaspora is not just about acknowledging their potential contributions, but it is about recognizing their humanity and addressing the injustices that they face. So again, we must dismantle those barriers that prevent diaspora youth and especially young women from fully participating in their community and ensure their voices are heard and valued. Together, we can build a future where the migration journey becomes a beacon of hope, resilience and justice and but for that to be happened, youth and gender perspectives must be at the forefront of our policies and actions by engaging the diaspora with the youth and gender lens. We can challenge injustices and other barriers that affect their lives of young people. And it is through a collaborative efforts that we can truly unleash the full potential of our global community. Thank you. Yes, Mina. Thank you so much for your intervention and for your strong call to address the dimensions of youth and gender and particularly to address injustice. I think that was well heard. We have two other colleagues online. As I said, I could, it will ask if you could please combine your intervention with the last question that we will raise now. We will then also open the floor for any other interventions or comments that go beyond the questions posed so far, so you are free to comment. And this last question is reflecting on the 2023 Sustainable Development Summit, which takes place this year. So the question here is, how do we envisage the role of diasporas in accelerating the implementation of the SDGs? And how can the Global Diaspora Policy Alliance support the global community to achieve impactful, transformative and inclusive initiatives. And I will turn to our colleagues online. And again, please do share your experiences, your reflections and also welcome feedback from the floor and from our member states here as well. So in which case I turn to Luis Gutierrez online. Luis, if you can please open your microphone and I would very much welcome a combined answer to both questions. Thank you. Do you hear me? Hello. We can hear you loud and clear. Okay, thank you. I'm Luis Gutierrez, head of the Institute of the Mexicas Abroad of the Foreign Minister of Mexico. So Mexico welcomes a selection of these consultation mechanisms for the design of the Global Alliance for the Future of the Diaspora, and we are ready to participate actively by sharing best practices. So let me share one. Next September, we will launch the fourth edition of our Consular Entrepreneurship Program for Mexican Women Abroad. With the objective to train and provide tools to entrepreneur women to create and strengthen a business in their place of residence, in addition to promoting the empowerment of women in the economy and business. Past three editions had more than 1200 migrant women from 40 Mexico representations in the US, two from Canada, two from Europe and one from the Middle East. So I think we could share this initiative with you and we also want to see on the platform, on the Global Alliance, some tools for giving best practices to the entrepreneurship for women. We have this alliance with universities and with our diaspora organizations all over the world. And we want to see on the building of this diaspora alliance. I think two goals or two, we need to work on the mental health initiatives. We have seen the big impact of the pandemic on the mental health issues. We are deploying the networks in Europe, in America, with some universities to provide some consultation or remote consultation for our diaspora. So we have to think in building something more powerful tools to give this help to the diaspora. And the third one, we are having problems for high education diaspora. So we are looking to have a conversation with the organizations on our diaspora of individuals and high educated living abroad to share the knowledge with the communities of the origin. So I think these three aspects we have to include on this Global Alliance. Thank you so much to the representative of Mexico and a very welcome your proposed role and the three points that you have raised. And very much looking forward to working with you more closely on all of these areas, including the requests made for further tools to ensure empowerment. So thank you so much for that. We also have, I think, two more colleagues online. We have Ilona Tair. Ilona, if you can unmute and ask your question. Ilona, if you can hear us, if you can please unmute your mic. You may be having difficulties Ilona, so please do feel free to leave your feedback into the chat. We will go to our last colleague online who is Aya Kasasa. Aya, if you can please open your microphone and ask your question. Yes, thank you very much. This is not a question, but rather a sharing of information. I thank you for your indulgence in giving me the floor once again. Simply to inform you that we have a parliamentary assembly, a parliamentary assembly in CP, which represents the parliamentarians of our 79 states, and a parliamentary parliamentary assembly in Paris with our partner of the European Union and that we propose to carry out this information and this question of the World diaspora alliance that in the debate of our parliamentarians, which will also serve to consult our partners in the countries of origin, but also in other countries. Thank you very much Aya. We certainly welcome the collaboration with the OACPS and the collaboration that you have mentioned with us and we certainly look forward to taking that forward. We have a final comment and question from Juan Pio, who is also online joining us, and then we will move to a broader comments and questions. Thank you Juan. Hello, good morning. I'm here calling from Ecuador. Juan Pio Hernandez based in DC. I represent Blanpaís, a Venezuelan diaspora organization. We also, the organizers and one of the coordinators of the Red Global de la Viaspora Venezuela, a global network, I think a very important issue to put into the conversation is the issue of youth and how this developed. As you all know, like a lot of the concerns out of diasporas that some countries might be losing their demographic bonus, and here at Blanpaís we just published a study on the perspectives of Venezuelan youth and found that not only are these demographic bonus a part of the development for the host countries, but through diasporas and the power of them, if we keep the diasporas linked with the country of origin and continuously building networks, it's something that they could provide to the development of the country of origin. So I just want to commend all this group, and I'm really happy to be part of this conversation. And really I'm really inspired to, with all the experiences that I heard from the African countries, from Mexico, from Brazil, and the Middle East, and all the other very successful or very building diasporas groups are in there. So just wanted to bring the issue of youth, and I think they got to be central to the SDGs and the summit. So thank you very much, and I'm glad to hear for next steps. Thank you so much Juan, and thank you for bringing your experience from Venezuela and to touch upon the importance of youth and the link to the SDG summit. And indeed, the demographic dimensions are incredibly important and particularly in the context running up to the SDG summit. So that's very much appreciated. At this point, before we move to next steps and conclusions, again, I would welcome broader feedback or comments, inputs, ideas, suggestions from the floor and also online. And to reiterate, there have been many colleagues who have put their hands up and some who have asked for the floor and then have not been able to or have not appeared again online. So apologies colleagues, whether that's been the case. There will be further opportunities for you to provide inputs, and this is the start of the process. I believe we have one comment online, one feedback online from a colleague called Paddy. Paddy, if you would like to open your microphone, please. Thank you again. So Paddy, Paddy Cianca-Kristian from the Global Research Forum on the Esperant Transparency. I think we've put some comments there in terms of the leadership around and I thought that I should just echo that one again. As we conclude, I think it's very important as we move forward to ensure that we have, for lack of a better word, a balanced narrative and a balanced representation as well. So while we do appreciate the hand up that has been raised by Island, I think it's very important that we could also work around the advocacy. To ensure that we have, because of a lot of the things that we have raised today and the things that we have discussed today, go into recognizing diaspora beyond remittances, but the issue of the youth that has been raised. I also just wanted maybe to bring that across as well that in terms of being very intentional in what we see as the role of the youth, it would probably be advisable to have a youth representation also on the leadership for the Alliance itself. As to your question, I think in terms of the very immediate steps that you would see for the STD summit, I mean it's coming up in the next couple of months and we still seem to be in a formulation stage here today, only hearing more details of course in the next couple of months. But I wonder whether we could also just be very concrete in terms of bringing out what are the very concrete things that we haven't been able to tackle on the national and on the regional, but also amplifying what these voices look like, but amplifying what the different issues like. I think that would be quite useful for STD summit coming forward and particularly looking that we have even now less than 10 years for the kind of actions that we've committed to as countries for the STDs. Thank you. Hadi, thank you so much and thank you for reinforcing the dimension of bringing in youth and echoing the need to make sure that youth are brought in throughout the process. I take your points about the immediate steps to the STD summit and the need to be more concrete and we will revert on that, of course. And I think your point is very well taken about the amplification requirements here as well. At this point, again, open to any final comments before we move to next steps. I'm just looking around the room to see if anyone else would like to speak and also to check online once again. At this point before we move to closing remarks and I pass the floor to my colleague, Monica, to come and deliver those remarks just to briefly talk about what our next steps will be. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the first step will be to share with you all the materials from today, including the PowerPoint presentations, the Dublin Declaration, the questions that we have asked you, the overview of the structure that we have presented to you. The step after that, as I mentioned, will be to communicate with you likely after the summer with a proposal. There will be steps in between in terms of consultations, no doubt, and for further feedback to see how that can be incorporated into those proposals, and we will come back also with a proposal on how that might look, whether it be the portal, whether we harness IDASPR as the modus operandi, or whether there's another platform beyond the email communication you can use. And then once the proposal has been put together, there will be a formal launch, there will be ongoing consultations and we will be bringing in the different perspectives, and therefore, at that point, the structures will be put in place and more information will be given on what that will look like. But as I said, for the moment, we are very much in the consultation phase, so please do reach out with any comments or questions that you have or any suggestions, and we very much welcome them. And at this point, I would like to... Just one more thing. Thank you so much, Liz. Thank you for your questions online in a written form, and we will address those. I have tried to address them as they come, but be sure that your comments will also feed this consultation. I just wanted to mention that and thank all the participants online also. Thank you. Thank you, Liz and Larissa, and thanks to all who have joined us today, both in the room and online. I think that what we heard is encouraging. It's certainly a momentum and a need. And as I said in the Irish ambassador said as well, this morning, this is just the beginning of a process. And I think that it shows that it is an inclusive process. It is a multi-stakeholder process, and we count on all of you to help us bringing the right people into the room, the room here, the virtual room. I think what happens often with these hybrid meetings, there's a lot of people online, but there is no faces. And so it's difficult to see who's online. And I would suggest that in addition to the notes of this meeting and the presentations, we also share a list of participants to just for you in the room, understand who all has been online. Just to reiterate that for the director general and also for the DDG Daniels diaspora is very important. They just came from a round of regional policy coordination committee meetings in the different regional offices. And in each of them diaspora was mentioned as a key area of work, a transversal area of work rather than a vertical one. Seeing diasporas as partners in all the different thematic area. So we want to engage also with our own structure that they can reach out to their counterparts at regional level, at country level to really ensure that we have a participation that is truly global and inclusive. And we look forward to the next steps to engaging with all of you to getting your comments and feedbacks and to launch the global policy diaspora alliance with its best structure. So thank you very much and have a nice lunch. Those who are having it here and those online or breakfast or dinner. Thank you.