DIASPORA DOUGH

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
April 25, 2007 Wednesday
Final Edition

Most diplomats know that accessing the diaspora in the country
in which they are posted is one of the keys to forging links in
the community. They also understand that the diaspora can play an
important role in developing business relations back home. When he
arrived in Canada earlier this year, Pakistani High Commissioner Musa
Javed Chohan made that very point. Other diplomats have too, including
Croatian Ambassador Vesela Mrden Korac in her actions this week.

But exactly how are countries accessing these valuable human resources
around the world? That was the question posed by Anahit Armenakyan,
a PhD candidate at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.

Ms. Armenakyan’s research showed that while there is plenty of social
and psychological research on the diaspora, there is little that looks
at the role it can play in business, specifically homeland development.

Governments do target citizens originally from their country, but
their attempts are rarely "holistic" or "comprehensive" in terms
of marketing strategies, Ms. Armenakyan found. At the same time,
she discovered a diaspora can contribute significantly to foreign
direct investment, remittances, and tourism.

"I was trying to find out whether governments of developing countries
understand diasporas and whether they appeal to them to build
relationships, and nurture links between different generations,"
said Ms. Armenakyan, who is originally from Armenia. "What I found
is that they do, and it’s really important in different areas such
as foreign direct investment, remittances, and in tourism."

Scotland, for example, has "identity discovery tours" where those
with Scottish ancestry can return to their roots. Israel does the
same thing and does it very effectively, she said.

But what the governments fail to do, she said, is come up with cohesive
marketing strategies that would harness foreign direct investment,
remittance and tourism opportunities at the same time.

"They are scattered," Ms. Armenakyan said, and added that she studied
several countries including El Salvador, Armenia, the United Kingdom,
China, India, Israel and Dominican Republic. "My conclusion was that
the marketing researchers need to focus on it and help the governments
to develop marketing strategies."

Jennifer Campbell is a freelance writer and editor in Ottawa.

Reach her at Diplomatica@sympatico.ca .