A discussion series tackling diaspora communities’ importance for the stabilisation of their countries of origin to be held in the autumn

The series will consist of four separate discussion events to be held in October and November. The themes will look into the role of diaspora communities in Finland in the reconstruction and maintenance of peace in their former home countries. Two of the events will focus on Somalia, one will discuss Afghanistan and one will deal with Iraq and Syria.

The discussions will focus, among other things, on the participation of diaspora communities in the work of development cooperation organisations, in the economies of their countries of origin and in international work relating to them. In addition, diaspora communities’ possibilities of participation in the discussion concerning their countries of origin in Finland will be considered. There will also be discussion about return to the countries of origin - which factors encourage people to return, what obstacles prevent return and what is involved in return migration in practice.

The events will be open to the public and free of charge. The first discussion, focusing on Afghanistan, will be held on 28 October 2019 at 16.30–18.30. The event on Iraq and Syria will take place on Tuesday 29.10.2019 at 17.00–19.00. Both events will be held in Fingo’s Amazon Hall on Elimäenkatu 25-27 (6th floor) in Helsinki.

Two events on Somalia will be organised on 29 and 30 November at the Cultural Centre in Caisa on Kaikukatu 4 B, Helsinki, in connection with the EUROSOM Forum, which brings together Somali diaspora and actors working with them.

The discussion series is part of the AUDA project, organised by the Finnish Somalia network together with the Finnish Communications and Development Foundation (Vikes) and Fingo, which is an NGO platform and an expert on global development in Finland. AUDA, a two-year project supported by the European Union National Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration (AMIF), aims to develop the national structure of assisted voluntary return. The target countries of the project are Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and it is implemented by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Crisis Management Centre (CMC).

Inquiries on the discussion series:
Rosa Rantanen, Project Coordinator, Finnish Somalia Network, [email protected], +358 50 54352 89

Corrected 25.10.: The floor in the address of the events hold on 28 and 29 October