Transfer of Values, Ideas, Knowledge and Skills

Overseas Assessment Program, or the TESDA Onsite Assessment Program: The Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) brings its services to the country where the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are located. Competency assessment and certification services are provided for the confirmation of possession of competencies required in the preferred workplace. Skills trainings are also provided to meet the standards of industries and companies where OFWs can find better opportunities.

Germany – ‘Kosovo Skills Partnership for Mobility’ a BMZ-funded Migration & Diaspora Programme (PMD) strengthens international cooperation and the standards of selected vocations in Kosovo. Through vocational training based on German standards carried out in Kosovo and Germany, young professionals have better employment possibilities in both countries and on return can support the “brain-gain” of Kosovo, making an enhanced use of migration pathways.

Belgium and Tunisia have implemented a skills mobility partnership: Paving the way for future labour migration. This initiative is a multidimensional cooperation framework between different stakeholders from both countries (e.g., immigration office, public employment services, employers’ associations) aimed at assessing labour market needs, streamlining procedures, selecting candidates.

In the context of return migration, Mexico also started to certify labour competencies, such as knowledge, abilities and skills, of Mexican returnees to facilitate their socio-economic reintegration.

As individuals and organizations in localities across the globe mobilize to support those displaced by war, conflict, and climate disasters, meeting immediate needs of migrants and refugees is critical. At the same time, building the infrastructure needed to support and engage migrants and broader communities in the long term is essential to ensure strong life outcomes beyond the initial welcoming period.

An URBACT Network is a safe space for a group of cities facing similar challenges to share experiences and to develop long-term solutions. Cities develop their activities with local stakeholders – change makers from the public and private sectors, academia, NGOs and civil society – as part of their URBACT Local Group. 

There are three types of Networks, which cities and other bodies – metropolitan areas, specialised agencies, districts and boroughs – can apply to join:  

EUDiF supported an action in Mexico that facilitated the transfer of knowledge between Mexico and Europe with diaspora academics as catalysts to co-develop a toolkit for citizen education on climate change and circular economy. 

RGMX-UK, the main beneficiary of the action, is the UK chapter of the Mexican Talent Network, and was created in 2010 by members of the Mexican diaspora living in the UK and with close links to academia. 

This circular mobility scheme makes knowledge and practical exchange possible between Belgian and Senegalese companies. With a view to building the capacities of Senegalese entrepreneurs and connecting them to their Belgian peers, the project aims to offer short-term migration opportunities for business purposes while contributing to the construction of a sustainable economic partnership between the two countries.

Shabaka's Switchboard initiative seeks to foster connections, exchange and the generation of new ideas among diverse diaspora generations and networks.

Switchboard is a pilot and innovative project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Shabaka, a values-driven, diaspora-led consulting and research organisation focused on diaspora humanitarian preparedness, and response. Switchboard is a project designed by and for the diaspora.

Migrants and diaspora communities play a vital role in agri-food systems. Diaspora organizations support food security and rural development in their countries of origin, through investments, transfer of knowledge and skills, and contribution to employment generation in rural areas. 

The Diaspora Agro Business Award by the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), thus serves to recognize diaspora ”agripreneurs” contributing to agrifood employment opportunities in countries of origin.