Enabling Diaspora Engagement in Africa

179 Pages·2007·0.99 MB·English

Enabling Diaspora
Engagement in Africa:
Resources, Mechanisms
and Gaps
Case Study: Ethiopia
A study by
The Association for Higher
Education and Development
(AHEAD)
May 2007 Ottawa, Canada
Study conducted by
Bathseba H. Belai

Enabling Diaspora En gagement in Africa:

Resources, Mechanisms and Gaps

Case Study: Ethiopia

A study by

The Association for Higher E ducation and Development

(AHEAD)

May 2007 – Ottawa, Canada

Study conducted by
Bathseba H. Belai
© 2007 – AHEAD

ISBN 978-0-9783113-0-8
Foreword

In introducing the Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD) to the
Ethiopian public through a communiqué published in Addis Tribune in 2000, we made the
following bold statement:

“The purpose of [our activities] is not about the past. It is about the future. It is
not about mistakes; it is about corrections. It is not about who is wrong and
who is right. It is about lessons learned. It is not about failed duties, it is about
paying back our country. It is not about brain drain, it is about reversing it.
Our long-term objective is to coordinate and channel the resources, expertise
and creativity of Ethiopians in the Diaspora toward development efforts in the
motherland.”

AHEAD was thus established to contribute towards development efforts in Ethiopia by
mobilizing, coordinating and channeling the necessary resources and relevant expertise to
Ethiopian higher academic institutions. In addition to the programs that it runs in support of
this mandate, AHEAD also seeks to mobilize Ethiopians in the diaspora and facilitate their
contributions to, and role in, development undertakings in Ethiopia.

One of the tools available to AHEAD to mobilize Ethiopians in the diaspora to contribute
to the capacity building efforts of the country is the conduct of studies and research work,
in order to identify how and where diaspora efforts could better contribute to Ethiopia's
development. To this end, it may be recalled that AHEAD, with the support of Canada’s
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), conducted a study (Semantics Aside:
The Role of the African Diaspora in Africa's Capacity Building. Case Study: Ethiopia
(October 2004)) inspired by the growing awareness among Ethiopian diaspora communities
of their role in the capacity building efforts of their country of origin – Ethiopia.

Not unexpectedly, the findings of our first research could be summarized into two
elements: that there was a role for the diaspora in the capacity building efforts of Africa;
and, that the diaspora was willing to play its role in this effort. To this, we were able to add
the willingness of the States in Africa to welcome the contribution of the diaspora in their
efforts for capacity building.

However encouraging the findings of the research were, they raised more questions than
that they could answer, including one lingering question: what mechanisms are available –
in both home and host countries – to facilitate diaspora engagement? Participants of an
AHEAD Stakeholders Roundtable held in November 2004, which included a number of
State Representatives from African States and scholars specializing in diaspora and
development issues, were unanimous on the need for a follow-up study which would seek
to answer the above. In response, AHEAD undertook the present research which aims to
provide a critical review of mechanisms that have been established to facilitate diaspora
engagement in African development in general, and Ethiopian development in particular.
The study, conducted by Bathseba H. Belai, was made possible through the financial
support of IDRC.

In presenting this research, which encompasses studies from a wide range of fields that
impact on diaspora engagement in home country capacity development, it is our hope that
diaspora members interested in contributing their skills, knowledge and remittances to their
country of origin will find valuable information that would help them to do so, as will the
Government of Ethiopia in its efforts to refine its diaspora engagement strategies and
activities. It is also our wish that Host States such as Canada will find valuable information
which would enable them to help facilitate the contribution of their diaspora citizens
towards the development of their countries of origin. The study, in our opinion, opens
avenues of cooperation for the common good between diaspora members, their home
countries and their countries of origin, with the support of relevant African and
international organizations.

AHEAD
May 2007
Ottawa, Canada
Research Participants

Funding Agency
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Research Organization
Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD)

Researcher
Bathseba H. Belai

Editor
Clyde Sanger

Collaborating Organization
Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA)

Logistical Support in Ethiopia
BT Costantinos and Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA)
Workneh Assefa, AHEAD representative in Ethiopia

Acknowledgements

This research project was made possible thanks to the generous support from the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) which has been a leading Canadian
institution in facilitating a serious dialogue about the African diaspora and its role in the
development efforts of Africa. A previous AHEAD study, Semantics Aside: the Role of the
African Diaspora in Africa’s Capacity Building (Case Study: Ethiopia), also supported by
IDRC, has made a considerable contribution in generating a dialogue on this subject at
different important forums.

It is, therefore, with special thanks, that we say IDRC has been behind the incremental
progress AHEAD has made in bringing forth this subject for serious discussion. Our
compliments go to IDRC for being a champion of an idea whose time has finally come.

Our very special thanks to Gisèle Morin-Labatut, Senior Program Specialist, Canadian
Partnerships, Program and Partnership Branch at IDRC. The role played by Gisèle in
bringing the diaspora voice to IDRC, and beyond, cannot be overstated. At a time when this
subject was almost unknown, we were lucky to have found Gisèle, an officer with insight,
integrity and full of challenging ideas.

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the researcher, Bathseba H. Belai, for a
study of remarkable quality.

We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Clyde Sanger for his kind assistance
in copy-editing this study under extremely tight time constraints.

We also wish to thank our partners, the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association
(NEWA) and the Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA), for the cooperation and support
provided to AHEAD and the researcher in carrying out the Ethiopian component of the
research.

AHEAD
Ottawa
May 2007
The researcher would also like to express her personal appreciation to the following
persons who have been instrumental to the successful conduct of the study.

First and foremost, I am most grateful to all AHEAD members for providing me the
opportunity to work on an issue as timely and important as is diaspora engagement in the
capacity development of the African continent in general and that of Ethiopia in particular.
Thank you for believing in me and for your unwavering support, patience and care
throughout the research.

I would also like to express my profound appreciation to Gisèle Morin-Labatut who has
consistently provided me support beyond the call of duty, taking great care to ensure that I
kept abreast of all developments relevant to the research and readily extending her
assistance every time I needed it.

I owe an immense debt of gratitude to Tsega Haile Belai whose moral and practical support
in the latter stages of the research was central to its good completion. Thank you for the
countless hours put in collecting and organizing information, your assistance with drafting
the paper, the invaluable insights shared as well as for your patience and steadfast support
throughout the entire process.

I would also like to thank Christopher Smart and Caroline Pestieau for the time taken to
help me clarify and strengthen the research proposal as well as for contacts and many
useful ideas and suggestions provided as the project progressed.

The key part of the research for this paper was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where
I benefited enormously from the time, openness and help of a number of people. In this
regard, I would especially like to thank BT Costantinos and Guebray Berhane for their kind
assistance and support in assembling relevant material, facilitating meetings with key
interviewees as well as for generously sharing their insights on diaspora-related issues in
the Ethiopian context.

I am particularly grateful to all those who participated in interviews and meetings, both in
Ethiopia and in Canada, and whose various perspectives on diaspora engagement in
national development efforts uniquely enriched the present study. The time that each
participant has taken to share thoughts and experiences on diaspora issues is greatly
appreciated. A special mention goes to various representatives of the Ethiopian government
for the genuine interest expressed in this study as well as for the candid views shared on
various matters related to Ethiopian development over many discussions.

Bathseba H. Belai
Montreal
May 2007