June 28th was the mid-term elections in Argentina. From the estimated 1 million argentines abroad, sources mention just about 1% of these do vote in the elections at the consulates. Voting from overseas seem to be a cause that unifies many Diaspora and migrant communities: Indians (Kerala to press Centre for voting rights of Diaspora) and Dominicans (Calls for Diaspora to vote abroad) abroad are lobbying and working hard to conquer their voting rights. And the ones that can’t, travel back to do so. One of the examples of active voting by “going back home” is the Lebanese (From Brazil to Byblos, Lebanese diaspora pours in for vote). As argentines we have the right to vote from abroad as a given, and hardly embrace it neither implement it. In my case, I not only see voting as a citizen’s right and an obligation, but as a celebration of democracy. I still can feel the excitement of my parents and grandparents on elections’ day in the 80s when democracy returned to Argentina. However, having been a resident abroad for the past 8 years, many times I am confronted with exchanges about the legitimacy of our votes, the most common comment being: you are not there and have not enough information about what is going on, how would you dare to vote? The discussion may go on and on, covering a wide range of angles including psychological, economic, and certainly, political, not reaching much conclusions (to many argentines this may sound familiar for other topics as well). Nevertheless, a positive development has been a Presidential Decree in 2007 that created Provincia 25 (there are 24 territorial provinces in Argentina) with the purpose to “strengthen the linkages with the citizens abroad…and effectively develop their condition as citizens, promoting spaces for democratic participation and making it easier to exercise the right to vote.” In parallel, some initiatives to raise awareness about the right to vote from abroad and to inform about the elections were started, including Argentinos A Votar and Argentina Elections.
Unfortunately, two reasons made me not to be part of the about 1% voting on June 28th. First, the registration with the consulate in the Netherlands, which I did as soon as arrived in early 2008, seemed not to go through properly. I am expecting a better explanation of what happened when I visit next week. Secondly, after conflicted feelings (should I come back earlier to vote?) I ended up traveling with a return ticket on that date which had to be postponed due to a flue. Luckily, this turned out to be the best option, as would have been highly frustrating arriving on time to find out I was not in the voters’ list (I found out when called to justify my no-vote).
Reading what other communities are fighting for, following the initiatives of the argentine government and academic and civic groups, and from my personal exchanges and experience, several questions come up about the meaning, incentives and possibilities of voting from abroad. What makes the voting abroad numbers so low, and what would the most appropriate registration system be to facilitate voting? What voting system? And most importantly, what are the motivations, the incentives, that will bring us to the ballot box? Voting by mail? Campaigns by politicians abroad? Some representation?
It will be interesting to see whether within the current political reform the argentine government is currently putting forward, there will be implications in the way voting for citizens abroad takes shape.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thoughts from June 2009: diaspora conversations in Hilversum, Madrid and Córdoba (de la Nueva Andalucía)
June 2009 was an intense month with many Diaspora Cafes! It started with the fundraising cycling event organized by Fundacion Ombu in Hilversum, the Netherlands, which for the fourth consecutive year covers 100 kilometers with the objective to raise funds to support a project in Argentina. This year’s funds were for the Gabucha Project to support a hearing impaired children centre in Tigre, Buenos Aires. I did some training for it (cycling The Hague-Amsterdam and The Hague-Rotterdam port) and it definitely paid off! Cycling 100km was one of the best experiences for me in this country so far, bringing together the joy of cycling along the canals and small towns plus doing something for Argentina while learning of the Dutch solidarity, so present, so valuable and so invisible if you are not hanging out with them. The last 40 kilometers under the mostly heavy rain made me feel insanely strong, extremely happy, and worth the effort. Check the video here and here!
Further in June, I spent the Argentine flag’s day in Madrid participating at the First Argentine Migration in Europe meeting, organized by Fedear, the Federacion de Asociaciones Argentinas de España y Europa. It was an inspiring and emotive day as it brought together the three waves of migration from Argentina “back” to Europe. I knew of the theories, statistics and stories of argentines migrating to Europe, but meeting some of the people that have gone through it and listening to their reflections about the implications of migration for their identity and social, political and community life exceeded any expectations. From the ‘exiliados’ of the 70s to the job hunters of the millennium, Argentina keeps bringing us together, motivating us to not just share memories but also do something for our country of origin. There I presented about the challenges faced by the groups organizing voluntarily overseas, and the creation of these spaces as opportunities to extend Argentina’s civil society, its democratization, and the future possibilities for replication of virtual returns. There is work being done to publish the papers sometime later this year.
The last week of June found me in Argentina at the “V Congreso Internacional Cultura del Trabajo y Valores,” organized by Fundacion Inclusion Social Sutentable and that took place at the University of Cordoba, which focused on sharing and discussing about the public, private and civil society sectors’ approaches to youth and employment opportunities. I was part of a panel on Civil Society Approaches, presenting about the work we do with the International Institute for Communication and Development working with youth groups and information and communication technologies (ICT) in several countries. I introduced the Chawama Youth Project in the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, to illustrate how youth have taken on opportunities provided by ICT to produce their own music and business. I shared the panel with Gaston Pauls, the acclaimed argentine actor that runs Casa de la Cultura de la Calle, an organization that offers youth in the streets a chance to express, learn and create. Also was there Leonardo Bigi, from the Asociacion Pueblo Rugby, that trains kids and youth from one of the poorest areas of Cordoba, Villa El Libertador, to play rugby. All the initiatives shared working with youth in disadvantaged situations from an innovative, non traditional approach, bringing new opportunities through sports, art and technology.
How does the latter have to do with the Diaspora Café? The participation in the Congress was of immense significance, personally and professionally, meaning a welcome back from the University were I graduated from and from the organizers, a recognition of the common interest to exchange, learn from each other. This provided an opportunity not only to share my experiences with my work overseas, but also to connect it, share it, make it available and perhaps expand the possibilities for the local realities and approaches in Argentina which as a social worker I am daily committed and related to. Is this part of what we as Diaspora should/could do more of?
Further in June, I spent the Argentine flag’s day in Madrid participating at the First Argentine Migration in Europe meeting, organized by Fedear, the Federacion de Asociaciones Argentinas de España y Europa. It was an inspiring and emotive day as it brought together the three waves of migration from Argentina “back” to Europe. I knew of the theories, statistics and stories of argentines migrating to Europe, but meeting some of the people that have gone through it and listening to their reflections about the implications of migration for their identity and social, political and community life exceeded any expectations. From the ‘exiliados’ of the 70s to the job hunters of the millennium, Argentina keeps bringing us together, motivating us to not just share memories but also do something for our country of origin. There I presented about the challenges faced by the groups organizing voluntarily overseas, and the creation of these spaces as opportunities to extend Argentina’s civil society, its democratization, and the future possibilities for replication of virtual returns. There is work being done to publish the papers sometime later this year.
The last week of June found me in Argentina at the “V Congreso Internacional Cultura del Trabajo y Valores,” organized by Fundacion Inclusion Social Sutentable and that took place at the University of Cordoba, which focused on sharing and discussing about the public, private and civil society sectors’ approaches to youth and employment opportunities. I was part of a panel on Civil Society Approaches, presenting about the work we do with the International Institute for Communication and Development working with youth groups and information and communication technologies (ICT) in several countries. I introduced the Chawama Youth Project in the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, to illustrate how youth have taken on opportunities provided by ICT to produce their own music and business. I shared the panel with Gaston Pauls, the acclaimed argentine actor that runs Casa de la Cultura de la Calle, an organization that offers youth in the streets a chance to express, learn and create. Also was there Leonardo Bigi, from the Asociacion Pueblo Rugby, that trains kids and youth from one of the poorest areas of Cordoba, Villa El Libertador, to play rugby. All the initiatives shared working with youth in disadvantaged situations from an innovative, non traditional approach, bringing new opportunities through sports, art and technology.
How does the latter have to do with the Diaspora Café? The participation in the Congress was of immense significance, personally and professionally, meaning a welcome back from the University were I graduated from and from the organizers, a recognition of the common interest to exchange, learn from each other. This provided an opportunity not only to share my experiences with my work overseas, but also to connect it, share it, make it available and perhaps expand the possibilities for the local realities and approaches in Argentina which as a social worker I am daily committed and related to. Is this part of what we as Diaspora should/could do more of?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Summit of the Americas 2009 and Migration
The Follow-up and Implementation Mandates of the Summit 2009 on Migration includes "22.We recognize that remittances are an important source of capital in many countries of the Hemisphere. We commit to take concrete actions to promote the establishment, as soon as possible, of necessary conditions, in order to achieve the goal of reducing by at least half the regional average cost of these transfers no later than 2008 and report on progress achieved at the next Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005. We will adopt, as needed or appropriate, measures such as: the promotion of competition between the providers of these services, the elimination of regulatory obstacles and other restrictive measures that affect the cost of these transfers, as well as the use of new technologies, while maintaining effective financial oversight (Declaration of Nuevo León)."
The Action Plan also includes: "196.Create and harmonize statistical information systems and foster the sharing of information and best practices through the use of new information and communications technologies, with the aim of promoting the modernization of migration management;(Plan of Action Québec)."
Looking forward to learn of what steps are taken to follow up on this action plan!
The Action Plan also includes: "196.Create and harmonize statistical information systems and foster the sharing of information and best practices through the use of new information and communications technologies, with the aim of promoting the modernization of migration management;(Plan of Action Québec)."
Looking forward to learn of what steps are taken to follow up on this action plan!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Defining the state of the art on remittances and return, Maastricht University, May 15
On Friday May 15th I participated in the sessions of the second day of the event in Maastricht that focused on return migration policy (I could not attend the day on remittances). Return policy is defined by initiatives that give incentives to those who migrated from a country to come back.
The cases presented looked at the main issues related to return migration policy, and what particularly caught my attentions was the question of physical versus virtual return.
The lack of success of “physical” return policies has showed that the focus needs to shift from expecting to make people come back to finding ways to “cultivate migrants loyalty and interaction, as a resource to tap for cooperation and development purposes, even if physical return would never take place.” (From the presentation of Paolo Boccagni)
The main channel to do this are ICTs. Not only governments but also migrant groups are looking into how to use ICTs to strengthen and leverage their relationships.
Of particular interest is the case of Ecuador, where the government made a conscious decision to talk of the “fifth region” instead of emigrants, and not long ago launched “Plan retorno,” that offers many services for Ecuadorians overseas. It makes use of web2.0 to interact with users and provides a form to fill out to join the program. They also link to IICD’s supported project, Ciudadania Informada, as a source to be up to date on Ecuadorian news.
Other cases presented included the ones of Poland, that is also using ICT to connect with the Polish community overseas, as well as the ones of India, China, and Taiwan. Among the risks of these services is the positive discrimination of migrants with respect to non-migrants, offering them extra benefits and information that regular non-migrants may not have access to.
For what was presented, it can be said that ICT can be of significance as related to migration in advancing development through several areas:
• Remittances and development: money sent play an important role in development and in many countries equal or surpass foreign aid, being used for basic needs as well as for livelihoods improvement and investments. Specific ICT projects aim to facilitate migrants sending money back home. One example is for people from the Philippines abroad on using mobile phone to make quick and direct wire transfers. There interest to work on how to expand and promote those solutions among other migrant groups! There is currently a call from FAO (see below) for that purpose.
• E-government: ICT is allowing governments to communicate and interact with citizens abroad as never before. Local and regional governments could benefit by creating spaces in their online services targeted to these groups.
• E-society: ICT allow citizens abroad not only to come together and meet up. They also have a role in influencing their country of origin and making their voice heard, as well as work on knowledge transfer projects to ‘give back’
• E-business: ICT facilitates off-shoring and outsourcing of services, motivated in many cases by diaspora members.
In conclusion, the role of ICTs as the main venue to connect migrant communities among themselves and with their country of origin is just starting and it is expected to see it grow, with all the personal, professional and business opportunities that that will bring. I am experiencing it and look forward to see it flourish!
The cases presented looked at the main issues related to return migration policy, and what particularly caught my attentions was the question of physical versus virtual return.
The lack of success of “physical” return policies has showed that the focus needs to shift from expecting to make people come back to finding ways to “cultivate migrants loyalty and interaction, as a resource to tap for cooperation and development purposes, even if physical return would never take place.” (From the presentation of Paolo Boccagni)
The main channel to do this are ICTs. Not only governments but also migrant groups are looking into how to use ICTs to strengthen and leverage their relationships.
Of particular interest is the case of Ecuador, where the government made a conscious decision to talk of the “fifth region” instead of emigrants, and not long ago launched “Plan retorno,” that offers many services for Ecuadorians overseas. It makes use of web2.0 to interact with users and provides a form to fill out to join the program. They also link to IICD’s supported project, Ciudadania Informada, as a source to be up to date on Ecuadorian news.
Other cases presented included the ones of Poland, that is also using ICT to connect with the Polish community overseas, as well as the ones of India, China, and Taiwan. Among the risks of these services is the positive discrimination of migrants with respect to non-migrants, offering them extra benefits and information that regular non-migrants may not have access to.
For what was presented, it can be said that ICT can be of significance as related to migration in advancing development through several areas:
• Remittances and development: money sent play an important role in development and in many countries equal or surpass foreign aid, being used for basic needs as well as for livelihoods improvement and investments. Specific ICT projects aim to facilitate migrants sending money back home. One example is for people from the Philippines abroad on using mobile phone to make quick and direct wire transfers. There interest to work on how to expand and promote those solutions among other migrant groups! There is currently a call from FAO (see below) for that purpose.
• E-government: ICT is allowing governments to communicate and interact with citizens abroad as never before. Local and regional governments could benefit by creating spaces in their online services targeted to these groups.
• E-society: ICT allow citizens abroad not only to come together and meet up. They also have a role in influencing their country of origin and making their voice heard, as well as work on knowledge transfer projects to ‘give back’
• E-business: ICT facilitates off-shoring and outsourcing of services, motivated in many cases by diaspora members.
In conclusion, the role of ICTs as the main venue to connect migrant communities among themselves and with their country of origin is just starting and it is expected to see it grow, with all the personal, professional and business opportunities that that will bring. I am experiencing it and look forward to see it flourish!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Diaspora Movies
With the latest success of Slumdog Millonaire, some articles were mentioning that what made this typical “Bollywood” movie a favorite of the masses was the director’s ability to appeal to an audience beyond the Indian diaspora. It made me think of all the Argentine movies I have watched outside Argentina in the past seven years and a half, and the role movies have in building diaspora networks. In 2003, with the Center of Argentines in Washington DC we organized the first Argentine movie series, making use of contacts at the school I had just graduated from. We even managed to charge 3 dollars per show, to support further activities and projects. The event was successful as it not only appealed to argentines but also the international Washingtonian community. The Argentine Ambassador and his wife showed up to one of the showings of a documentary about a group of political activits that were disappeared without a trace in the 60s. They and many of us had tears in our eyes at the end, and went for dinner at the ambassador’s residency, to continue sharing the sudden feeling of closeness the movie had made us experience. Movies are a central part of my life far away. They bring me closer to what I love the most from our country, its costumes, colors, accents, landscapes. The monthly movie nights that the Argentine-Dutch Foundation organizes here in The Hague at the Argentine Embassy are a perfect occasion to meet and catch up with others, comment on the development of the film industry in our country, promote argentine culture, and strengthen our network. Movies are a concrete and perfect diaspora “calling” mechanism! Related article from the Nollywood perspective.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
African Diaspora for Obama reborned: African Diaspora for Change
During the 2008 US presidential campaign, plenty of articles came up related to the African Diaspora and Obama. From Ivory Coast to Kenya, from the Netherlands to China, diaspora political and civil groups have been following the US elections and mobilizing support for his candidacy, such as Democrats Abroad. Also in the US, African Diaspora groups have come together. One example is the "African Diaspora for Obama" organization.
Althought it is hard to measure what the direct impact and role they have had in the elections, it is a clear example of how Diasporas in and outside a country, can and do have a role in politics.
The organization has decided to refound itself and now is called: African Diaspora for Change
Althought it is hard to measure what the direct impact and role they have had in the elections, it is a clear example of how Diasporas in and outside a country, can and do have a role in politics.
The organization has decided to refound itself and now is called: African Diaspora for Change
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