From 3 to 5 December we had a very fruitful kick-off of the second phase of the CD4D project.
For this purpose, we were happy to receive the IOM CD4D 2 focal points from our IOM offices in Kabul, Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Baghdad, Erbil, Lagos and Abuja to discuss our action plan and coordinate our implementation efforts.
CD4D2’s key partners also featured on the agenda to make the kick-off interactive and informative. This included:
- The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DSH unit, donor of the project
- Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, responsible for the external impact evaluation
- Wim Nijssen, representing Currents Facilitation, responsible for the preparatory training of diaspora expert before their assignments
- Georgina Kwakye, representing Pimp my Village, training expert for external communication, visibility and crowdfunding
Four diaspora organisations that we want to engage for further outreach, preparation of candidates and as member of the Taskforce in the Netherlands: HIRDA, Nido Netherlands, Keihan and Kurdistan in Business.
The event was extremely useful bringing us all on the same page. Everybody showed a high commitment to make this new project successful again.
Our colleagues went back to their respective countries to continue the identification of priority sectors and host institutions in coordination with the respective Netherlands embassies and responsible authorities. We expect the first assignment opportunities for diaspora experts in February and March 2020. These will be posted on our website, www.connectingdiaspora.org.
