CIDO holds the 1st Continental Workshop for Diaspora Focal Points of AU Member states

13-15 December 2016 – Cairo, Egypt – The Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) held a three-day workshop for Diaspora Focal Points of AU Member States in Cairo, Egypt. The workshop harnessed efforts geared towards building the capacity of AU Member States in the field of Diaspora engagement by connecting them with technical resources from AU Commission, RECS, Diaspora and other AU Member States.

In his remarks during the opening session, Ahmed El-Basheer A. El-Madani, Acting Director of CIDO emphasized that for Africa to achieve its long-term goals, for Africa to turn its developmental visions into tangible fruits, and for the African Union to see the bold Agenda 2063 fully implemented, it is time for people to start talking less and working more. “We do not want to come out of this workshop with just empty words but solutions and realistic work-plans that will help individual member states and Africa as a whole”, he said.

During the workshop, senior policy makers and heads of Diaspora units and departments established by governments of respective AU Member States shared successful Diaspora engagement models and interacted on various initiatives among them Diaspora for Development (D4D) Initiatives & Innovations, Capacity-Building Modules and in conclusion, they developed an Action plan for Implementation.

The workshop was organized on the back of the Consultative act of the African Union which declares that it shall “invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent, in the building of the African Union”. It was also in line with the First 10-year Implementation plan of the Agenda 2063 which realizes the full potential of the African Diaspora as key drivers of the Continent’s development as stipulated in the roadmap. An expert from Strategic Planning Department was on hand to walk the participants through the role of the Diaspora towards assuring the attainment of Agenda 2063.

This Diaspora Focal point workshop is the first since the Global Diaspora Summit of 2012 which was held in 2012. CIDO leadership intends to make the workshop annual to ensure easier follow-ups and accountability on targets set per workshop.

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For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ernest Kaliza; EKaliza@africa-union.org
Ms. Sarah Abdel-Mohsen Elsayed; ElsayedS@africa-union.org
cido@africa-union.org

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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