Diaspora Programme

ADE - Afghan Diaspora Engagement

The Afghan Diaspora Engagement promotes enhanced dialogue and strengthens the agency, voice, and capacity of the Afghan diaspora. It fosters collaboration and engagement within the global diaspora and with local actors in Afghanistan to better effectively amply their support for Afghans affected by conflict and displacement. Since 2018, DRC has supported the Afghan diaspora in Europe, recognizing their vital role as transnational civil society actors.

2025-Ongoing

Strengthening Transnational Dialogue and Diaspora Engagement towards Afghanistan

DRC's Afghan Diaspora Engagement aims to empower and support the constructive role of transnational Afghan civil society in support of Afghans affected by conflict and displacement. This project will provide a safe platform for meaningful exchange and constructive dialogue between civil society inside and outside of Afghanistan, focusing on two objectives:

Obejtives

DRC Afghan Diaspora Conferences 2019 & 2022

Earlier phases

2023-2024

Strengthening exchange with civil society inside Afghanistan 

The project aimed to empower and support the constructive role of transnational Afghan civil society in support of Afghans affected by conflict and displacement.

Main Activities Spanning from June 2023 to May 2024, the project provided a safe platform for meaningful exchange and dialogue between civil society inside and outside of Afghanistan. It did so through three webinars, four workshops (two private) and one policy brief that was presented in a closed-door advocacy meeting.  

2022-2023

Promoting human rights and rights-based approaches with a focus on Afghan women and girls

This project focuses on “Promoting human rights and rights-based approaches with a focus on Afghan women and girls and is part of a broader project led by DRC Afghanistan focusing on Resilience and Economic Assistance for Communities Towards Recovery (REACT), funded by Danida.'

Main activities

(i) Providing technical and financial support to strengthen the ability of Afghan women in the diaspora in efforts to promote the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan to European policymakers and donors

Recent support

DAKDIF Conference: Afghan Women as Change Agents, 21 September 2022.
Professional Development Course on Evidence-Based Advocacy for the Afghan Diaspora, Copenhagen, 3-7 November 2022. Co-organized with ADSP, MMC and CAPRS.
Advocacy Toolkit for Diaspora Organizations, January 2023
Enable participation of Afghan women in various conferences, and events to advocate for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

(ii) Increasing knowledge on the nature and impact of Afghan diaspora engagement with special focus on the role of women in the diaspora.

DEMAC Diaspora Humanitarian Engagement – Second Afghanistan Real-Time Review, 2022

Afghan Diaspora - Advocacy Toolkit Launch & Discussion - FULL

A panel to discuss the value of diaspora advocacy

Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2020-2022

ADEE - Afghan Diaspora Engagement in Europe

This project strove to improve coordination, increase collaboration across organisations and facilitate higher level of engagement and influence for the Afghan diaspora in Europe.  

Main activities Established an Afghan Diaspora Advisory Board (ADAB) to guide content and execution on the following activities:

Webinars on the peace process, asylum access in Europe, and Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation.
A three and a half-day Professional Development Course on Advocacy for Afghan Diaspora
A dialogue between Afghan diaspora women and Members of the European Parliament event to provide a platform for Afghan women to voice their concern.
An online advocacy workshop for Afghan diaspora in Europe.
A two-day Afghan Diaspora European Conference focused on improving the internal coordination of the Afghan transnational civil society and their strategic engagement with external actors, culminating in a “Call for Action”.
A one-day online development trainingon development policy towards Afghanistan to enable the diaspora to direct their proposals and demands to those responsible actors and institutions.

2018-2019

Our initial engagement had the following three components aiming at setting the analytical framework for our programming.

A study and mapping of the Afghan diaspora in Europe in collaboration with the Maastricht University: “Afghan diaspora in Europe”.
A series of national consultations to better understand the needs of diaspora organizations.
The first Afghan diaspora conference in Europe, discussing the finding from the study and discussing key thematic that came out of the consultations.

2019 was also the beginning of our collaboration with the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC), who also held a conference in 2019 resulting in the: “Guide to Afghan Diaspora engagement in Europe”. Our first joint event was an online workshop on Covid-19 in Afghanistan in 2020. We will continue collaborating with VIDC and other relevant organisations supporting the Afghan diaspora, to ensure best possible outcomes for the Afghan diaspora. 