The 4th EU Global Diaspora Facility’s Future Forum brought diaspora organisations together with public institutions and policymakers from four continents to share practices and explore how inclusive partnerships make diaspora contributions to development in countries of origin more effective and sustainable.
Brussels, 13 October 2025 – The Future Forum 2025, organised by the EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF), launched 20 new initiatives in an event that highlighted its more equitable, impactful, and enduring partnerships.
Organised by ICMPD and funded by the European Union’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the EUDiF Future Forum convened 80 partners from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe for a day of exchange, reflection, and forward-looking dialogue. The 20 new initiatives are supported by EUDiF through its Capacity Development Lab (CDL) for public institutions and its Diaspora for Development (D4D) grants for diaspora-led projects.
Opening the event, Francesco Luciani, Head of Unit for Migration and Forced Displacement at DG INTPA, emphasised the need to rethink the role of diaspora organisations beyond development assistance. He underlined that diasporas are strategic partners in shaping and contributing to better migration governance.
Echoing this message, ICMPD Deputy Head of the Brussels Mission Oleg Chirita stressed that mutual trust and a sense of connection lie at the heart of collaboration.
When people feel they belong, they trust and they give back. It is thus encouraging to see that more and more governments worldwide are making strides to build relationships of trust with their citizens and descendants. To move forward, we must build partnerships that reflect the diversity and intersectionality of diasporas and promote inter-generational dialogue. At EUDIF we strongly believe in the very important role of the youth whose participation must be consistent and meaningful.says Mr Chirita
Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, co-organiser of the African Non-state Actors Platform on Migration and Development, complemented this view by calling for new, inclusive models of engagement that recognise the agency and diversity of diaspora actors. She urged for collective advocacy to bring diaspora perspectives into decision-making spaces, moving from the perception of diasporas as remittance senders to recognising them as partners in sustainable development.
Through four practice exchanges and a research presentation on the themes of enabling environments, values-driven skills mobility, digital innovation, local action for underserved communities and sustainable models for diaspora organisations, speakers and participants agreed on five key elements for impactful state-diaspora engagement:
- Partnerships must be built on trust, which is achieved through active listening, mutual accountability and transparent communication
- Co-implementation between diaspora and [local] authorities improves project design and enhances long-term impact
- [Digital] innovation must be people-centred and context-driven to ensure that solutions serve local needs
- To ensure all voices and needs are heard, young people, women and marginalised groups must be proactively included in the migration and development conversation, both in the diaspora and in the country of heritage.
- Diaspora organisations need to strengthen their organisational structures and build resilience in a volatile funding landscape
Three tailored side sessions complemented the main event: EU Member States met to discuss evolutions in diaspora engagement and identify synergies with other EU-funded initiatives; CDL partners joined a roundtable discussion to share institutional practices; and D4D grantees joined a two-day workshop on project management, monitoring and evaluation, and results-based reporting.
The Future Forum and side events created space for EUDiF’s project partners and wider network to exchange practices, gather feedback and build a community across continents. The next months will see the 20 presented projects come to life, generating more opportunity for learning, as well as replication and scale-up. For more information on the projects and further insights from the conference itself, visit www.diasporafordevelopment.eu.
Background
The EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF) is a project funded by the European Union’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). After a successful pilot phase from 2019-2025, the project continues in its second phase to use research, dialogue, capacity development and grants to foster an inclusive, informed and impactful diaspora-development ecosystem.