The Migration and Remittances team of the Development Economics Prospects Group and the Migration Working Group of the World Bank are organizing an International Conference on Diaspora and Development on July 13-14, 2009.

The diaspora of developing countries can be a potent force for development for their countries of origin, through remittances, but more importantly, through the promotion of trade, investments, knowledge and technology transfers. The conference aims to consolidate research and evidence on these issues with a view to formulating policies in both sending and receiving countries.

The Keynote session will focus on the “Impact of the Crisis on Migration and Remittances”, while there will be other sessions on

• Diaspora as a strategy for the global mobility of skills
• Contributions of unskilled diaspora to development
• Mobilising diaspora investments
• Deepening diaspora ties
• Mobilising highly-skilled diaspora
• Working with diaspora and diaspora associations
• Diaspora actions
• Collective remittances: country experiences
• Circular migration and returns

The agenda notes there will be an (unnamed) representative from Ireland speaking as part of the panel discussion on diaspora ties.

Visit Conference website.

The Irish Studies Associaton of Australian and New Zealand will host its conference from the 9th to 12th of July at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Organisers say:

Australia and New Zealand were essentially secondary destinations for the post-1800 waves of Irish leaving to make new lives overseas, accounting for no more than 10 per cent in most decades. Yet the two countries have regularly been identified by scholars as appropriate ‘laboratories’ for studying the nature and impacts of Irish migration over time. This conference seeks to review research undertaken both at the points of origin and destination and to pose new questions. Were the Irish communities that took root in the Antipodes essentially transplanted fragments of the homeland? How did they evolve, and to what extent was their evolution influenced by developments at home? Were there noticeable differences between the Australian and New Zealand Irish experiences, and if so how may these best be explained? What is the relationship today between Ireland and its most far-flung diasporic communities?

With seven keynote speakers providing contextual signposts, the topics to be addressed over three days will be diverse. Historical themes range from aspects of early convict transportation to Australia, through Irish-Maori relations in New Zealand, to late twentieth century economic interactions. Cultural life will also be a focus, Irish literature, theatre and music – both traditional and contemporary – being scheduled for discussion. A particular consideration will be how the Antipodean Irish are being depicted in historical reconstructions and displays. Necessarily, many of the contributions will reflect collective experiences, but provision has also been made for papers on those of individuals and families. The utility of oral history for recording the experiences of more recent arrivals will also be assessed.

See the conference website.

• Tuesday 26 May, Prof Bronwen Walter, Anglia Ruskin University
  Fictional Irish Presences in English Diaspora Space: a Social Science Exploration
• Tuesday 2 June, Dr Ann Rossiter
• “Hidden Histories: The Irish ‘Abortion Trail’ and the Undercover Support Network within the London-Irish Community
• Wednesday 10 June, Dr Nicole McLennan, London Metropolitan University
  Irish Connections: London’s County Associations
• Tuesday 16 June, Dr Reg Hall
  Researching the Irish in Britain: Methodological Approaches

For more information:

Irish in Britain Seminar Series 2009

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said,

“The primary purpose of the Forum will be to examine how the Irish, at home and abroad, can work together to generate ideas which will contribute to our overall efforts at economic recovery. It will also play a critical role in shaping the future direction of the relationship between Ireland and its Diaspora, particularly in the economic area”.

Minister Martin noted that the conference is part of its strategy to engage more deeply with the diaspora:

“Successive Irish Governments have built a multi-layered relationship with the global Irish community, one that has marked us out as a role model for many other countries.

“The Forum will provide us with the opportunity to take Ireland’s relationship with the global Irish community in a new direction, to examine innovative ways of working together and to generate ideas for Ireland’s economic recovery. Now is the time to shape a more strategic relationship which will bring benefits both to Ireland and to our global community and which has a more developed economic focus.”

“Our global Irish community constitutes one of the most powerful and far-reaching resources at our disposal and, using our worldwide network of Embassies and Consulates, we have identified some of the most successful individuals from that global community. They will bring with them an invaluable global perspective. To help facilitate discussion, a relatively small and tightly focused group of individuals is being invited.”

The effort is complementing the Ireland-United States Strategic Review launched last month and the strategy for economic renewal outlined in “Building Ireland’s Smart Economy” in December.

Related web pages:

• DFA press release: Minister for Foreign Affairs Announces Global Irish Economic Forum to be held at Farmleigh in September
• Department of the Taoiseach: Building Ireland’s Smart Economy
• Department of Foreign Affairs: Strategic Review of Ireland-US Relations

The conference will feature historians of society and sport from Ireland and overseas. In addition to the diaspora, they will discuss such topics as hurling’s ancient roots, the socio-economic background of players, the GAA in film and photography, the GAA and the Irish language, and the GAA and politics.

The conference will be held at the GAA Museum in Croke Park. Tickets, which cost 15 euro (10 for students and seniors) are essential.

For more information:

• www.gaa.ie/museum (site was down at time of writing)
• Boston College: GAA – Oral History Project

Organisers say the Working Abroad Expo will include immigration officials from Australia, New Zealand and Canada giving visa advice, relocation services, employers and recruitment consultants, and financial advisers. Information on volunteering abroad will also be available.

For more information, see the Working Abroad Expo website.

Related article:

IrishExaminer.com: Destination anywhere

The Irish Theatrical Diaspora develops and co-ordinates research on the production of Irish drama in its local, national and international contexts. The project defines “Irish drama” as all theatrical performances within the island of Ireland, and any theatrical performances outside the country involving Irish-born personnel or having substantial Irish content”.

This is the sixth annual conference hosted by the ITD. The keynote address, “The Spaces of Irish Theatre”, will be delivered by Christopher Morash of NUI Maynooth.

The conference is funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Registration is free but places are limited.

See the timetable and registration information at the Irish Theatrical Diaspora website.

Skibbereen, Co. Cork will be the focal point of this year’s commemoration in Ireland, while there will also be an international event taking place in Toronto. Skibbereen was selected as it was one of the worst affected areas; a mass grave at Abbeystrewery holds between 8,000 and 10,000 famine victims.

The National Famine Commemoration Committee was established last year, and had decided to hold an annual event, revolving between each of the four provinces. Last year’s event was in Dublin, and in 2010 Mayo will be the focal point.

The committee will also run a parallel event in Canada; Canada was a landing point for thousands of Irish fleeing starvation. The overseas commemoration reflects the role of the famine in dispersing the Irish people, as the population fell from 8 million in 1841 to half that in the following decades.

Related websites:

• Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
• Toronto Famine Memorial
• Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada

Organisers are aiming to provide an integrated and interdisciplinary forum for discussion of recent research and policy developments from a wide range of perspectives, with a common focus on children’s own experiences of and perspectives on migration, diaspora and transnationalism.

More than 80 papers will be presented by researchers from over 20 countries across a variety of disciplines. Papers, lectures, panel discussions and posters will include topics such as transnational childhoods, children and the asylum system, second generation youth, diversity and education, multilingualism, and children’s rights. The event is funded by a Marie Curie Excellence Grant.

Keynote speakers will be Katy Gardner of the University of Sussex on “Diasporic childhood: transglobal children in east London”, and Jill Rutter of the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research on “Changing patterns of child international migration in Europe: challenges for research, public policy and practice”.

See the conference website.