Towards Common Definition and Measurement of Diaspora: Practices and Lessons from South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia UNECE/Eurostat Work Session on Migration Statistics 19 October 2012 Geneva

2 Outline 1.Know your diaspora – role of evidence in diaspora engagement 2.Diaspora definition in SEEECA 3.Diaspora measurement in SEEECA 4.Conclusions and recommendations

1. KNOW YOUR DIASPORA 3

1. Know your diaspora Diaspora engagement and mobilization – high on agendas 2 nd Stage of IOM-MPI Diaspora Engagement Roadmap Handbook No common definition – no agreement on best ways to estimate/describe diasporas 4

1. Know your diaspora – policy needs Have a common definition – to enable cross- country dialogue and elaboration of common approaches Identify key priority destination countries via largest diaspora stocks Describe diaspora stocks in terms of characteristics to make policies and programmes more targeted and geared towards diaspora needs 5

1. Know your diaspora – rapid assessment in SEEECA Rapid Assessment: –14 countries out of 20 in the region –Special questionnaire plus desktop research of laws, policies and statistical office web-sites (methodologies) MANY THANKS for –IOM colleagues, facilitating the assessment –State and non-state partners who filled in the questionnaire and provided clarifications 6

1. Know your diaspora – global context (definitions) Internationally used criteria: Place of residence established in a country different from the country of origin on a longer-term basis Remaining ties with the country of origin 7

1. Know your diaspora – global context (definitions) 8 “Remaining ties” (Former) citizenship Country of birth Country of parents’ birth Parents’ citizenship Former residence Ethnicity

1. Know your diaspora - global context (measurement) Emigrant stock as a proxi for diaspora stock Pilot diaspora surveys to describe diaspora characteristics 9

2. DIASPORA DEFINITION IN SEEECA 10

2. Diaspora definition in SEEECA – three key groups of terms Diaspora Other special groups residing abroad* Emigrants 11 3 categories of terms used: * Persons residing abroad, compatriots and ethnic groups returning back

2. Diaspora definition in SEEECA – law and policy framework Working definition 4 countries with laws/policies Diaspora Statistical definition 4 countries with laws Emigrants 11 countries 9 laws and 2 policy concepts Special terms of population residing abroad 12

2. Diaspora definition in SEEECA – statistical criteria 13 Diaspora Citizenship Place of residence Ethnicity Generation Emigrants Change of residence Citizenship Other population groups Citizenship Place of residence Ethnicity

2. Diaspora definition in SEEECA – possible common framework 14

3. DIASPORA MEASUREMENT IN SEEECA 15

3. Diaspora measurement in SEEECA – stocks and characteristics 16 Diaspora stocks via –Emigration data of destination countries –Consular authorities data –Diaspora own estimations Characteristics –Specialized surveys

3. Diaspora measurement in SEEECA – surveys 17 Piloted surveys –B&H, 2011 –Serbia, 2010 –Moldova, 2012 –Tajikistan, 2012 –Georgia (forthcoming) Methods –On-line surveys –Structured personal interviews –Focus group discussions

4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18

4. Conclusions and recommendations Concerning diaspora definition: –Need to differentiate among three terms (diaspora, emigrants and other categories) –Need to develop a common understanding at national level –Recognized need for an internationally agreed definition 19

4. Conclusions and recommendations Concerning diaspora measurement –Need for two types of data – on diaspora stocks and diaspora characteristics –Limitations of using emigrant stock as a proxy for diaspora stocks – need to develop a combined method –Need to refine specialized survey methodology to enable extraction of compatible data 20

Thank you very much for your attention! Questions/comments? 21