1.0 INTRODUCTION

Article 3(q) of the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, gives primacy to diaspora engagement. It invites and encourages the full participation of the African diaspora in the building of the African Union. Taking full advantage of migration and diaspora for development in the continent is increasingly becoming a key pillar of development policies in AU Member States. However, the upward trajectory in diaspora engagement continues to encounter a number of hurdles exemplified by capacity gaps in Members States to develop effective policies that will enable them to reap development benefits from such engagement. Importantly, different States are at different levels of success in respect to development of policy frameworks to anchor diaspora engagement.

To better understand and address the gaps in diaspora engagement, the Diaspora division of the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) of the African Union Commission organized a continental Diaspora Focal Points Workshop (DFPW) held in Cairo, Egypt from 13-15 December 2016. Other stakeholders present were representatives of Regional Economic Communities, Civil Society Organisations, the African Union Commission, the African diaspora, individual experts on diaspora engagement, program practitioners in diaspora matters, policy makers and Focal points of diaspora units in AU Member States. The overall aim of the workshop was to build the capacity of AU Member States to effectively engage the diaspora through linkages with technical resources from participating stakeholders.

2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE DIASPORA FOCAL POINTS WORKSHOP (DFPW)

The objectives of the workshop were three-pronged: (1) provide policy makers and representatives of diaspora units and departments a platform to convene, interact and establish viable networks and strategic partnerships (2) present and share successful diaspora engagement models with the aim of identifying key contributing factors to successful diaspora engagement and (3) provide an opportunity for national-level policy makers and program practitioners to understand the ecosystem of migration and development policies and programs at the level of the RECs and the AU.

3.0 OUTCOMES OF THE DFPW

See reports below