Vienna : 10th Annual General Assembly (AGA-10) of the European Network of Filipino Diaspora (ENFID) & DARE Conference (Diaspora Actions Resilience Empowerment) Organized by ENFID-Austria in cooperation with the United Nations Correspondents Association Vienna (UNCAV).The one-day conference, held at the Vienna International Centre on May 31, 2024, at 9:00-16:00 CR3, 7th Floor, C-Building, Vienna International Centre Wagramerstrasse 5, 1400 Vienna, Austria. The one-day conference was attended by 200 participants including UN diplomats, religious leaders, NGO representatives and other members of civil society.
The conference began with welcome remarks from Christian Estrada, ENFID Chairperson. The session of the conference, (Diaspora Actions Resilience Empowerment) was moderated by Marizel Rojas, ENFID-Austria Chairperson. She observed the increasing importance of Diaspora Actions Resilience Empowermen cooperation in areas ranging from international relations. Marizel Rojas first greeted the audience and introduced the panel. In her opening remarks, she emphasised that particularly ENFID-Austria and (UNCAV) organisations are able to make progress towards sustainable development and that almost spiritual tradition teaches the moral obligation to protect the planet and to live in harmony.
The panel consisted of five main speakers who represented different areas in society and each one of them shared their insights on the issue at hand.
Christian Estrada, ENFID Chairperson
Inspirational Message-United Nations Correspondents Association Vienna (UNCAV), Hermann Kroiher.
Messages of Support & Solidarity from International Organizations. Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), Renate Amesbauer. Universal Peace Federation (UPF), Peter Haider. European Police Association (EPA), Heinz Habe. Country Reports – Achievements/Milestones & Challenges Mayor Myla Arceno, Stevenage, United Kingdom Consul General Roderico C. Atienza, Hungary. Consul ad honorem Charmagne Garcia-Laconico, Cyprus.
Speaking at this conference, the speakers said,
The contribution of these transnational communities or diasporas to the Phillipines region is more important than ever, considering that several of the countries were already facing complex socio-economic conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has deepened the precarious situations in some countries.
European Network of Filipino Diaspora (ENFID) promote understanding of and engagement with transnational communities and diasporas, so that the target audience will broaden their knowledge base and positively impact their operational practices and understanding of these issues. We Recognize the components of diasporas by identifying their main characteristics in order to understand the importance of their empowerment for development.
We Understand the possibilities of working with diasporas based on examples of good practices that show the importance of implementing coherent public policies to foster the engagement of members of the diaspora. We Recognize diaspora contributions in their different forms of capital, social, economic, human and cultural, in order to understand the opportunities for collaboration in each area. We Know the techniques for contacting and connecting with diasporas through social media and multimedia channels, analyzing examples of good practices. We want Identify the fundamental elements for working with diasporas, making use of concrete examples at the international level.
In this conference, the Filipino group also sang songs, which the guests listened to very happily and encouraged the group by clapping their hands. At the end, the moderated by Marizel Rojas, ENFID-Austria Chairperson thanked everyone for their participation in the conference.