Diaspora Unit Deepens Ties With Nationals Abroad

BASSETERRE — Officials from the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU) detailed ongoing efforts to strengthen bonds between St. Kitts and Nevis and its global diaspora, including a quarterly newsletter and a youth heritage program, during a recent appearance on ZIZ’s “In Focus” television program.

The RIDU serves as a connection point between the government of St. Kitts and Nevis, regional organizations and nationals living overseas. Assistant Secretary Desiree Huggins said the unit uses several tools to keep citizens abroad informed, chief among them the Diaspora Digest, a quarterly publication.

“The Diaspora Digest, as we dub it, is a quarterly newsletter that we publish, and every quarter we try to highlight an individual in the diaspora that’s making significant strides in whatever field they may be in — renewable energy, a doctor, anything that we see is significant to St. Kitts-Nevis,” Huggins said.

Huggins said each edition also carries a theme, spotlighting government projects tied to that focus, along with contact information for diaspora associations across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, as well as corporate partners who support the unit’s work.

The RIDU currently has more than 30 registered diaspora organizations across North America, the Caribbean, Europe and other regions. Those groups continue to back development efforts at home, including contributions to community groups and national programs.

Diaspora Ambassador Her Excellency Dr. Christine Walwyn pointed to specific fundraising drives by diaspora associations, including a Toronto-based group that has shifted its independence gala fundraising focus from cancer support to diabetes awareness this year, and New York-based organizations that source supplies and equipment for diabetic associations in St. Kitts and Nevis.

“They have a main focus, and they actually exist to help back home,” Walwyn said.

A central focus of the RIDU’s current work is engaging younger members of the diaspora to ensure the connections endure. The Diaspora Heritage Emergence Program, held from July 18 to July 25, brought together 20 young people of St. Kitts and Nevis descent to learn about their heritage, culture and system of governance.

“We need to understand that when they move on, what happens? Who’s going to take up the slack?” Walwyn said, explaining the program’s aim of cultivating new ambassadors for the diaspora community. Participants engaged with government officials, community leaders and cultural stakeholders during the program.

Officials said the initiative forms part of long-term efforts to build connections with the next generation of nationals living abroad, describing continued diaspora engagement as an important part of national development and the preservation of St. Kitts and Nevis’s cultural identity worldwide.