The Right To Return Alliance (RTRA), a coalition of African Descendants’ from global communities, CSOs, NGOs and businesses in Africa and the Diaspora, is inviting you to complete this Skills Survey to be databased and used in policy formation and planning during
2022: The Year Of Promoting The African Descendants’ Right To Return'.
HISTORY
The African Union convened the First AU-Western Hemisphere Diaspora Forum in Washington, DC December 17-19, 2002. The Forum which established the Western Hemisphere African Diaspora Network (WHADN) to interface with the African Union Commission. The WHADN put forward proposals for effective collaboration between the African Diaspora and the African Union. It recommended that the AU should
- Include in its agenda the 'crime against humanity' concept and work with Diaspora organizations to suggest a process for reparations.
- Review, educate and sponsor open discussion to get insight into slavery In turn, the African Diaspora should:
- Establish a Western Hemisphere Diaspora Trade and Economic Development Committee to coordinate and facilitate the follow-up process to these recommendations with the AU ..... Ensure establishment of an industry specific Western Hemisphere Diaspora data base endorsed by the appropriate Diaspora representatives."
In May, 2003, the Executive Council of the African Union met at the Third Extraordinary Session in Sun City, South Africa and issued the "Decision on the Development of the Diaspora Initiative in the African Union" This decision stated in point 4 that it
"Supports the initiative of the Commission to convene a technical workshop.... for the establishment of a Diaspora database to promote and facilitate networking and collaboration between experts in their respective countries of origin and those in the Diaspora."
The African Union Technical Workshop On the Relationship With the Diaspora General Report (Port of Spain, Trinidad, June 2-5 2004) stated:
"55. For the Diaspora to meaningfully contribute to the attainment of the goals of human development in Africa the following policy recommendations were suggested:
a) Resources/Skills Bank:
56. The Resources Bank should serve as the integrating platform upon which all other aspects of the Diaspora development and mobilization of its resources, both organic and virtual knowledge, could be shared and expanded.”