Houghton Participates in Cornell African Development Conference

Report submitted by Professors Jon Arensen and Ndunge Kiiti
Dept of Intercultural Studies, November 2006

The Conference:
Engaging the African Diaspora in Financing African Development

On Nov. 4, a group of 18 Houghton students and two faculty members from the Department of Intercultural Studies traveled to Cornell University to participate in the Institute for African Development’s conference. The two day conference sought to examine the significant and growing role that peoples of the Diaspora play in the development of their countries of origin and/or their ancestral homes. Millions of skilled, professional, and semi-skilled people of African descent have migrated to the Americas, Europe and other parts of the world. It is estimated that this group sends an average of $12-14 billion back to Africa in remittances annually. In fact, remittances are second in importance only to Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and in some North African countries, they exceed ODA amounts. This group has become so significant, the African Union (AU) has designated the Diaspora as a ‘sixth sub-region’ of Africa as it continues to impact African development in a positive direction.

Who were the conference speakers and what topics did they discuss?

The conference speakers represented a broad spectrum of private, government and academic institutions-United Nations; Tufts University (Fletcher School); World Bank; Ministry of Finance-Ghana; Georgetown University; University of Oxford (UK); Inter-American Development Dialogue; American University; George Washington University; University of Copenhagen; African Diaspora Policy Center; North South Institute; University of Texas; Cornell University; and Indiana University.

The Houghton group participated in the second day of the conference. The sessions provided sound case studies and raised many complex issues. Session topics included:

• Remittances and Development;

• Diaspora, Conflict and Post-conflict Development;

• Diasporas and Promoting Sound Governance, Health, and Democratic Political Systems in Africa; and

• Diaspora, Investment, Enterprise Development, and Capacity Building.

This section will highlight a few of the speakers and discussions.
Alex Julca, Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, started the day’s discussions with an overview of how to make remittances more effective for development. Una Osili from Indiana University presented a case study of US-Nigeria Migration study which highlighted that 93% of the surveyed households were receiving remittances.

The discussion of how conflicts affect African development and ultimately the effectiveness of the Diaspora’s role raised many issues. Samuel Maimbo, Finance Sector Specialist at the World Bank, provided a good overview of precautions that need to be considered when working in conflict areas. He shared experiences from his own work in Afghanistan and Somalia and stressed the importance of reviving the banking sector in conflict countries. He especially drew attention to the need for legal & regulatory frameworks, monetary policy frameworks, banking supervision structures, commercial & banking activities, central bank operational capacity, and national payment systems.

Daniel Bradlow, currently a Professor of Law and Director of International Legal Studies at American University shared a case study from his home country, South Africa. He suggested that ‘Reconciliation and Development Bonds’ could play a role in the country’s development. The bonds would be a form of investment that would provide an opportunity for all South Africans, inside or outside the country, to participate in its development. He stressed this as significant in addressing some of the current challenges the country faces: trust between the government and the people; social conflicts between the different cultures within South Africa (including those who live outside the country); and development at the community level.

With a focus on Liberia, Stephen Lubkemann, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Relations at Georgetown University gave a very interesting presentation that explored the potential and perils of Diasporic involvement in post-conflict development. His research has shown that Diaspora Liberians send home up to an estimated $50-80 million in remittances annually (some estimates are higher). The study shows that the higher the remittances, the less chance of Diaspora members returning to Liberia. However, he argues that Diasporas are not a solution but a key factor in African Development. He emphasizes the role the Liberian Diaspora members played in the recent election in Liberia. The candidates recognized and engaged the Diaspora in the process.

The afternoon sessions were just as thought provoking as the morning sessions. The first three speakers shared on the role of the Diaspora in promoting sound governance, health, and democratic political systems in Africa. Healthcare financing was a key issues highlighted by Dr. Chinua Akukwe of George Washington Center for Global Health. He emphasized that the biggest challenge in healthcare for Africa is ‘user fees’. How can governments minimize cost and still keep people healthy? This is recognizing that Africa bears 25% of the world’s disease burden, 64% of the HIV/AIDS burden and yet, the continent is only 1% of the global health system spending. He emphasized that the Diaspora has a key role to play in tapping resources and in providing creative solutions of to address these challenges. One specific way he mentioned is for professional members of the Diaspora to give voluntary time and expertise to help their Ministries of Health and other government systems in planning and building sound strategies for tackling the problems.

During the last session of the day, the discussions focused on investment, enterprise development and capacity building within the Diaspora. Kate Gillespie, Professor of Global Marketing at the University of Texas got the session started with a discussion on the constraints and enabling conditions necessary for foreign investment within Africa. Sonia Plaza, a Senior Economist from the World Bank, provided a comprehensive overview on factors that create enabling environments for investment and enterprise development. Her case studies from Africa and Latin America enriched the discussion and highlighted some of the stark realities and challenges that the Diaspora needs to address for successful African development. Rudy Robinson, of the North South Institute, discussed the importance of knowledge networks and technological capability in facilitating development in Africa. He argues that successful development requires technological connectedness for sharing of information and lessons learned. Overall, the session emphasized the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors institutions to ensure that investments are effective and sustainable.

What were the lessons learned for Houghton students?

The week following the conference, the Houghton students and faculty members got together to debrief the meeting during lunch. There were numerous issues and questions raised.

Houghton Students (L to R): Jim, Lainey, Ben, Scott, and Patience (in white) enjoy a light moment with Cornell student and staff

Our follow-up discussion confirmed some of the themes from the conference:

• The Diaspora is a factor and plays a key role in African development, therefore, they must be involved at both the grassroots and policy levels;

• Diaspora organizations often lack the capacity to make their activities more visible to the wider public;

• Migrants should be in the ‘driving seat’ regarding migration and development programs;

• Diasporas must develop partnerships with governments, and the private and public sectors to ensure a collaborative effort with less duplication of efforts on the continent;

• Different kinds of conflicts make a difference in the approaches and strategies used for African development; and

• Case studies and lessons learned must be documented and shared, within and beyond the Diaspora, to ensure learning and the development of effective and holistic approaches to the continent’s challenges.

Yet, we still had some questions:

• What is the definition of ‘Diaspora?’ Who’s included and who is not?

• Considering that remittances add up to an hefty amount, what do the countries, where all the remittances are send from, think about the resources leaving their economies?

• How do we factor in members of the ‘Diaspora’ that are within their countries? For example, professionals that work in national capitols send ‘remittances’ back to help their rural areas develop?

• How do we factor in members of the ‘Diaspora’ that are working in another African country?

What did Houghton students have to say about the conference?

The students really enjoyed the conference. Here’s what some of them had to say:

The conference at Cornell was an engaging opportunity to actively learn about the African Diaspora from a variety of perspectives. I enjoyed this diverse presentation from a variety of individuals because it was an accurate representation of conversation between highly scholastic teachers. It was a wonderful opportunity for Houghton students to stretch their boundaries and learn even more about finances in Africa and the role they play in the rest of the world. I am truly thankful that the Intercultural Department allowed me to participate in this wonderful forum. (Lainey Monroe, Junior)

At the Cornell conference, we heard speakers on the forefront of African development discuss the role of the Diaspora in development of their native countries. One means of development is through the responsibility the Diaspora feels toward their families in their homeland. As a church, we face a similar responsibility. We have often escaped much suffering while our brothers and sisters in Christ have not. Therefore the responsibility of the church in development is remarkably similar to that of the Diaspora. (Scott Griffith, Sophomore)

The Cornell Conference on African Development and Diaspora was nothing like I expected it to be. I never knew how much research and information could be collected and drawn upon from Diaspora and Remittances. The speakers, for the most part, were engaging and informative with much passion and focus for the African Development process. It really occurred to me that this is one more area that Christians could and should be involved with. African Development, and specifically Diaspora and Remittances, should not be discussed solely in the secular world, but it should be impacted by Christians worldwide. I think some of the solutions the speakers had could actually be very successful if a Christian mindset was incorporated. Christian workers are even needed in the Diaspora movement! (Melissa Jones, Freshman)

Cornell thanks Houghton Students

The Cornell Institute for African Development sent Houghton a ‘thank you’ letter which spoke highly of our students. They wrote:

“The students presented a professional demeanor that was commented on by the speakers and other conference attendees. Your participation contributed immensely to the collegial atmosphere, the intellectual discussions, and the overall success of the symposium, for which we are grateful.”

The Institute has made an open invitation to Houghton for future events. They reinforced the importance of the main reason why the Intercultural Department took the students to participate—mutual learning through exchange of different ideas and perspectives. The Institute expressed this in the letter:

“The Intercultural Studies program at Houghton College and the Institute for African Development at Cornell will both benefit from the exchange of ideas and discussions.”

The Intercultural Studies Department plans to continue this collaboration by honoring the invitation and pursuing other potential partnerships with Cornell.