Miami Dade College to Host Discussion on Social and Knowledge Remittances and Development on Dec. 12

MIAMI – Miami Dade College (MDC), in partnership with the Cuban Research Institute of Florida International University and the Migration Policy Institute of Washington D.C., will host a discussion on Social and Knowledge Remittances and Development on Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami. The conference is free and open to the public.

The forum seeks to foster problem-solving reflections and recommendations by experts and practitioners on the complementary role that could be played by the diasporas’ transfers of social and knowledge remittances, together with their financial remittances, in relation to economic growth and jobs creation in their countries of origin. This ground-breaking event will bring together a group of distinguished panelists who have conducted research on the development of potential roles of various migrant communities.

Following a general introduction by MDC Provost Dr. Rolando Montoya, a presentation on the International Diasporas Engagement Alliance by Romi Bhatia from USAID, and a keynote speech by Kathleen Newland, director of the Migration Policy Institute of Washington D.C., the following topics will be covered:

• Miami Dade College and Diasporas: From Brain Drain to Brain Gain, presented by Juan Antonio Blanco, executive director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives at MDC

• The Relevance of Social Remittances, presented by Peggy Levitt, associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Wellesley College

• Transnational communities and Social Remittances: The Case of the Dominican Republic, presented by Deepak Lambda Nieves, Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Diasporas and Human Capital For Development, presented by Liesl Riddle, associate dean for MBA Programs at George Washington University

• The Circulation of Talent: A Mexican Experience, presented by Javier Diaz De Leon, executive director of the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico

The moderator will be Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

MDC is now developing new programs in Latin American and Caribbean countries to assist members of migrant communities in transferring to their countries of origin not only economic remittances, but also social and knowledge remittances (knowledge, skills, ideas, and valuable networks that represent their human and social capital).

This forum will offer insights and recommendations on how best to advance in this field. As Democracy’s college with the largest representation of various diasporas among its students, staff and faculty, MDC has for several decades run programs to facilitate the successful integration of immigrants into U.S. society.