The African Diaspora, composed of peoples of African origins living outside the continent, can be a critical motive force for the realisation of an African agenda for a better world, writes Eddy Maloka. This will require much closer working relations between civil society and government's in the Diaspora, African governments and regional bodies.

The African Union and South Africa have been hosting consultations with the African Diaspora in Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Brazil, as a build up towards a Ministerial Conference scheduled for November and the Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in South Africa early next year.

DEFINING THE DIASPORA

The Executive Council of the African Union has defined the African Diaspora as "peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union".

The strategic importance of the African Diaspora to Africa is a product of four factors that shaped contemporary Africa: the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonial rule, the anti-colonial struggle, and Pan-Africanism.

The Pan-African project evolved in the context of the anti-colonial struggles, and came to entail four elements: a sense among Africans on the continent and those in the Diaspora of themselves as "one" people because of common historical experience and destiny; the quest for the "regeneration", "awakening" or "renaissance" of Africa on the social, cultural and economic fronts as well as in global affairs; the "dream' of an Africa united in social, cultural, economic and political spheres; and the spirit of solidarity among people of African descent.

Objectively the Diaspora can be defined in terms other than Pan-African consciousness and activism, as illustrated in the Table above. A number of conclusions can be drawn, namely that:

• The largest concentration of the African Diaspora is in the Americas and the Caribbean;
• African Diaspora immigrants are in parts of North America and constitute a dominant African Diaspora presence in Europe and, of course, Asia and the Middle East; and that
• African Diaspora communities are generally excluded and marginalised in their respective countries, with a section of those in the Caribbean the only ones in possession of the state machinery.

Therefore, compared to other Diaspora communities such as Indian, Chinese and Jewish, the African Diaspora is relatively weak both in political and economic terms. The continent's engagement with this constituency should take this into account. For example, large shipments of capital from the Diaspora should not be expected; nor is the African Diaspora in a position to decisively exercise geopolitical might in favour of the mother continent.

Engaging the Diaspora in Africa's Development