Diaspora is more than remittances, skills also needed to build Guyana’s future

The University of Guyana on Monday opened its third Diaspora Conference, with a bold call to move beyond remittances and recognise the diaspora as a powerful source of skills, innovation and intellectual capital.

The virtual conference is themed “Diaspora Matters: Belonging, Technology and Diaspora in the 21st Century.” It brings together academics, policymakers and members of the diaspora to explore new models of engagement in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Paloma Mohamed Martin said there is a need for a fundamental shift in how the diaspora is perceived and engaged. She argued that Caribbean societies must move beyond the traditional “remittances model” and instead recognise diaspora communities as a “permanent global extension” of national capacity, particularly within academia.

“There has to be an existential shift here. We have to see frame the diaspora as a permanent, global extension of faculties and permanent resovior of intellectual capital for our countries,” she said.

Dr Mohamed Martin said she hopes that the conference would produce a formal statement redefining the diaspora as a vital and enduring contributor to national development, highlighting the contributions of overseas-based Guyanese who continue to influence research, policy and innovation.

She also pointed to ongoing research within the university that examines both international and intra-Caribbean migration.

“They are doing so much work on migrants in our own country, focusing on Brazil, focusing on Suriname and so on. This is part of what we said we were going to do when we launched the Diaspora Centre,” she said.

The second diaspora conference book is also possible through the documentation provided by researchers at the university.

Director of the Diaspora Unit, Rosalinda Rasul, emphasised that the government has already begun shifting its approach to diaspora engagement. She said that the unit has deliberately moved away from stereotypical views of the diaspora, instead prioritising skill transfer and investment as central pillars for 2026.

“Two critical areas that we are looking at would be skills transfer and diasporic investments because we believe that with where the country is going these are going to be the leading areas for diasporic engagement,” Rasul said.

She added the growing role of digital platforms in connecting Guyanese abroad with opportunities at home allows direct interaction with policymakers. According to Rasul, such initiatives demonstrate how diaspora expertise can address national challenges while contributing to economic growth.