The 2nd DFPW is a follow up from the 1st workshop held in December 2016, in Cairo in accordance with Article 3(q) of the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which gives primacy to diaspora engagement. Stakeholders in attendance included representatives of different diaspora organisations, Regional Economic Communities, Civil Society Organisations, individual experts on diaspora engagement, programme practitioners in diaspora matters, Members of Parliaments and high-ranking Government Officials from Member States and the Focal points of Member States’ diaspora units Member States.

The objectives of the workshop were three-pronged: (1) map the current continental participation of the diaspora in the different Member States and create proposals leading to the development of a legal framework on the participation of the diaspora (Politically, Socially and Economically) in the AU; (2) Development of an African diaspora score card which will help amongst other things to measure performance, identify the appropriate capacity-building support, based on outcomes of the institutional capacity-building assessment and help define and strengthen the relationship between the AU, the MS, and the diasporas and; (3) Election of the new steering committee.

The outcomes are:

1. Member States made a series of proposals on political, economic and social participation of the diaspora in the AU as well as feedback on CIDO’s proposed legal framework for diaspora participation;
2. The diaspora scorecard development in the form of detailed questionnaire, this scorecard will enable the AU and Member States measure progress – what has been done, where we are and what needs to be done. This will help define and strengthen the relationship between the AU and the diaspora focal points, and;
3. The election of a new 6+2 Steering committee.