Diaspora emerging from the shadows

On 3 May 2013, a small piece of history was made when the African Diaspora Awards organisation [ADA] had its launch and inaugural awards event at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. The ADA event, wherein awards were given to African diasporan strivers and achievers, was seen as a success both on the night and after, with a number of international media organisations taking note of the occasion in their despatches.

The African Diaspora Awards is a recent arrival, but as is often the case with “new” events, it has had a suitably lengthy gestation. When I and ADA CEO Conrad Mwanza first conceptualised the event some years ago, our idea was that the primary aim of the ADA was for it to be an event which celebrates, honours and recognises the struggles and achievements of UK based African diasporans and their contributions to the UK economy as well as to Africa. Although statistics on the number of African diasporans in the UK vary and have to be treated with caution as there is still debate about who exactly is a “diasporan,” there is no doubt that, regardless of what yardstick is used, a significant percentage of the UK population is African.

The African diaspora in the UK has, and continues, to make a significant contribution to the UK economy through entrepreneurship and job creation, taxation, skills transfer; employment across a variety of sectors [traditionally this was primarily through nursing, teaching and less skilled employment but nowadays through a much wider scope which includes banking, sport and music amongst others]. Likewise, the African diaspora is also making an important contribution to Africa’s growth [and Africa, in turn, also bolsters its diasporas].

We thus felt that there was a pressing need to recognise the historical and contemporary African diaspora in the UK, both for their contribution to their country of domicile and to Africa. Along the way, there were several things which we learned; first of all, we discovered that it was important not to be rigid about who is, and who isn’t an “African diasporan”. Reams have been written and there continue to be debates- often heated- about the semantics, problematisation and meaning of the word diasporan. Does it refer to more recent immigrants from Africa? How far back does one go? What about Afro – Caribbeans, Black British etc etc. In the end, one of our judges encapsulated what we had in mind, in pragmatic terms, “ It’s not about race or colour or about whether you have an African or UK passport .If you feel that connection to Africa as part of your identity, then you are an African diasporan.” That pretty much summed up what most people felt; it’s not about how others define you- it’s about how you define yourself..

We also learnt that the African diaspora in the UK is, increasingly, a supranational community which, collectively, has much more in common than you would imagine. Sure, the west Africans do things differently from the southern Africans; and the communities from the horn of Africa are also different; and there is intra- differentiation amongst the regional groupings. And those who were born and bred in Britain also have their own take on things. But there’s a lot more which we have in common, than that which makes us different. The collective memory of an African heritage; a shared sense of struggle; and a shared vision of aspiration are just a few of the things which showed that for the African diaspora in the UK, diversity and multiculturalism is a huge asset, not a liability .And this is also largely because the African diaspora is one of the most networked communities on earth. National and transnational African community networks were key in guiding us in terms of categories for the Awards and, more specifically, in terms of whom the African communities in the UK saw as outstanding. Thus, through consultation, deliberation and the wisdom of our eminent panel of judges, the ADA paid tribute to African diasporans and friends of Africa, from all walks of life. The process of whittling down a field of dozens of contenders, to a few nominees and eventual winners, was not simple as many deserving candidates jostled for attention; but eventually, and without rancour, the final selections were made.

We learned too, that the strategic partnership between Africa and its diaspora is a thing of beauty and one which goes from strength to strength. Our guest of honour, HE Ms Thandi Modise, Premier of North West Province [who was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award] spoke movingly about the support given to the liberation struggle by African diasporans, and also of the strategic partnership between Africa an the diaspora. But it is also clear that it is all too easy to take the Africa- diasporan relationship for granted and in so doing, to trivialise it. The reality is that Africa’s relationship with the diaspora is multifaceted and dynamic; it can’t be pigeon- holed and shouldn’t simply be used as a semantic convenience. Just as Africa is not a country so too the African diaspora is not a place or a person. We are all still learning the contours of the new engagement between Africans on the continent and the global communities of African heritage.

And whilst remittances from the diaspora to Africa remain a vital part of the development agenda of Africa, the engagement is about much more than remittances. African diasporans are, in increasing numbers, actively engaged in nation building in Africa as well as in their domiciles abroad. And this is something we tried to capture and which was expressed time and time again by attendees and the general public, before, during and after the event; that sense that African diasporans feel that they live both in Africa and internationally- and they no longer feel that they have to choose where “home” is.. The new generation of African diasporans are cosmopolitan. Africa is in our blood- but so is the rest of the world

We were honoured to have eminent persons such as Algy Cluff [Chariman of Cluff Resources]; HE Mohamed Omaar [former Deputy PM of Somalia]; Ms Modise; and others, as our speakers. But what we really learned is that there is an incredible amount of good work being done by unsung achievers in the African diaspora. In media, academia, business, sport; social work and the professions; and in politics too, African diasporans are local, national, continental and global community champions – and more often than not, they go unrecognised for their efforts. Hardly any African diasporans feature in the national honours lists, despite the sterling work they do. Prior to the event, we had wondered whether our nominees and winners, who are inspirational role models from various fields, would see value in the Awards. As it so happened, they did: as one nominee put it, “ you know, there’s nothing that beats recognition from your own people.”

This is a momentous time for Africa and for the African diaspora. For sure, Africa still faces huge challenges and so does the diaspora; but Africa has earned a seat at the top table in world affairs, and diasporan communities are no longer content to be seen as second class citizens. Africans, whether on the continent or abroad are self confident not self conscious; the stereotypical images of starving babies may work as fund raisers for foreign aid agencies but that’s not at all what Africa is about; Africans nowadays are making the Fortune 500. And it is a collective effort; again and again it was pointed out to us that there is no single individual or organisation which is the “voice” of the African diaspora in the UK or elsewhere. It is through partnerships and the sense of complementarity and community that the African diaspora in the UK is fast tracking its success. And what was made clear to us, and to many others is that recognition- for struggle, for trying; and, finally, for succeeding- is something which matters. It is no longer fantastical to imagine a person of African heritage one day occupying the highest office in the land.