The Diaspora Initiative started as an academic collaboration, a space of exchange, independent of hierarchies and organisational constraints. A space where we came up with all these ideas, step by step implementing them in the hope of forging a better, more informed understanding of diasporas, of reforming the institutional approach to diaspora engagement, and of generating opportunities for more impactful diaspora initiatives, through islands of good practice and cooperation to the benefit of all those living, working, and studying abroad.

All our work so far has been pro bono, conducted on a voluntary basis and in the spirit of giving back by contributing even if we are permanently settled abroad. Hence, we are part of the diaspora ourselves. We experience physical distance like most Romanians do, we nurture similar hopes and aspirations, as well as a moral obligation to do good, participate and contribute, a sense that we developed by living abroad. Until the website, our contributions went almost unnoticed, because we chose not to showcase our achievements or promote ourselves on social media, instead focusing on the deep work, on the building blocks of each initiative.

First and foremost, it was the absence of a systematically organised and accessible knowledge repository about our diaspora that motivated us to embark on this mission. Impassioned political speeches and party platforms, strategies and programmes, institutions ideally placed to implement them, all these without a fundamental understanding of what the diaspora is and represents.