Over the last decade, there has been a surge of academic and policy interest in the role of ‘diasporas’ in the process of development. There have been many new initiatives from governments and development organisations to co-opt diasporas into existing development practice. However, these tend to assume that diasporas and the ‘development industry’ share a common set of interests and aspirations.
In challenging this assumption, Oliver Bakewell addresses the following questions:
- Who is included within these diasporas?
- Why should they be expected to contribute to development?
- What is the nature of this‘development’ in which diasporas now seen to play such a central role?
Program
08.30 Breakfast and Coffee
08.45 Welcome (Jørgen Carling)
08.50 Diaspora and development. A marriage of convenience or true love? (Oliver Bakewell)
09.15 Discussant (Cindy Horst)
09.30 Questions and Discussions
10.00 End of seminar
Oliver Bakewell is co-director of the International Migration Institute (IMI)at the University of Oxford. He holds a PhD and MSc in Development Studies from the University of Bath and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He has spent many years working with migrants and refugees both as a researcher and as a practitioner with a range of development and humanitarian NGOs. Prior to joining IMI, he was the Senior Researcher at INTRAC – the International NGO Training and Research Centre.
Cindy Horst, Senior Researcher at PRIO, will be discussant at this seminar.
