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Pictures
from the Liberian Government Diaspora Engagement Stakeholders’
Consultative Forum
Friday,
August 1, 2008, PA's Ribhouse, Larkpazee, Sinkor
Diaspora
Engagement Workshop
(Friday,
April 1, 2008): President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has urged
Diaspora Liberians to be actively involved in the implementation
of Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). Speaking at
a Diaspora Engagement Stakeholders' Consultative Forum in
Monrovia on Friday, August 1, the President explained that
it is the responsibility of every Liberian, even those abroad
and recently returned, to "Lift Liberia," referring
to the country's national slogan for the 3-year medium term.
The
Forum was held to strategize about how the Liberian Diaspora
can help in promoting in-country development through individual
and collective efforts in their various communities abroad.
A series of recommendations were made from a cross section
of stakeholders,' such as encouraging professional Diaspora
Liberians who have long extended vacations-such as doctors
and professors-to spend short stints in-country volunteering
their services and expertise. Another recommendation informally
endorsed was the need to facilitate the smooth resettlement
of Diaspora Liberians who decide to move back to Liberia.
President
Johnson Sirleaf noted that Diaspora Liberians are already
having a major impact on poverty eradication programs in the
country, through large scale remittance flows and investment
capital. The need to trap those remittances and channel them
in a coordinated fashion for development projects was emphasized.
The President acknowledged the contributions of recent returnees
who are making strides in the reconstruction of the nation.
She noted that during her tenure as Finance Minister in the
late 1970's, young professional Liberians from the Diaspora
teamed up with in-country Liberians to collaborate on development
initiatives. She stressed that something similar is taking
root, and encouraged more collaboration.
Other
panelists added to the discussion by highlighting their interests
in the Diaspora debate. Olubanke King-Akerele, Foreign Affairs
Minister, talked about the need to strengthen the potential
of the Commerce Ministry's Diaspora Desk, her brainchild project.
She also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stands
as the most appropriate entity to facilitate Diaspora-Government
engagement. O. Natty B. Davis, national coordinator for the
Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LRDC), outlined
the Government's capacity challenges and mentioned that the
number of Liberian doctors in the United States is tenfold
more than the number of doctors in the entire country. Saah
N'Tow, an independent Liberian researcher, discussed the need
to contextualize the Liberian Diaspora by first defining what
the term "Diaspora" actually means. He recommended
that the Liberian Government engage with George Washington
University (USA), Oxford University (UK), and independent
Liberian researchers like himself to come up with a list of
Government policy directives based on statistics.
T.
Nelson Williams, Deputy Managing Director at the Liberia Petroleum
Refining Company (LPRC), gave a power-point presentation on
a Liberian Diaspora Professional Directory to be launched
in October 2008 which will have, among other features, an
active jobs link and a listing of Diaspora Liberian Professionals
abroad. The Liberian Government endorsed Williams' initiative,
and asked that an interactive feature be included for dialogue
amongst Diaspora Liberians about how they can help formulate
and implement Government's development agenda.
Patricia
Jabbeh Wesley, a Liberian poet and professor at Penn State
University in the U.S.A., called for a strengthening of linkages
between Diaspora Liberians and Liberians in-country. She explained
that the tensions that exist between the "two Liberias"
needed to be reconciled in order for the country to move forward.
For her part, President Johnson Sirleaf noted that it was
important for Diaspora Liberians to return home with a spirit
of collaboration rather than a feeling superiority. She asked
that the Liberian Diaspora Professional Network espoused by
T. Nelson Williams be made widely available to Government.
The
Forum ended with a commitment to hold a Working Session Part
II to develop strategic deliverables that will be included
in a Diaspora Engagement Strategy for Government.
Robtel
Neajai Pailey
Department of Public Affairs and Information Technology
EXECUTIVE MANSION
Visit
www.emansion.gov.lr
for more information on the Liberian Executive.
View
pictures from the forum
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