African Diaspora: Pros & Cons

This meeting allowed the group to get into an interesting discussion about being apart of the African Diaspora and using the term

Advantages

• This community can identify as a collective

• It encourages a sense of unity

• Using this term at one point allowed youth organisations to gain funding for their projects by targeting a minority group

Disadvantages

• This term could cause separation if the definition is not fully understood 

In my opinion using the term African Diaspora allows its community to not just think of black people and it encouraged me to think about what backgrounds people come from who use this term to describe themselves

We were asked the question: Are you part of the African Diaspora 

This was to be done on a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being not at all and 10 being completely

If I was asked this question at the start of the programme I would've said 5, not having much knowledge on what the term meant

After doing my research and hearing views from other members of the group, now I would say 10

It is interesting to take part in this programme and continue to learn about why the African Diaspora is so important within today's society

First Meeting

I was anxious at first to be around a new group of people but after the introduction I felt as though these people were going to teach me about a subject I'm interested in: YOUTH

After signing up to the programme I still didn't know fully what the African diaspora was, so I did som research...

It actually refers to black communities

This is something I have had a great deal of interest in since I was young, coming from Nottingham - a lot of our youth clubs focus on the engagement of young black people and try to encourage a positive outcome, this is so that they feel they have a sense of achievement

In the meeting we were asked a question (not sure of the details fully) but I'm pretty sure it was to do with the importance of working with the African diaspora and if they feel a sense of pride and ownership within the work that is done

I think this is a very important subject as ethnic minorities aren't applauded enough for their contribution to society and the many positive things that have come from a lot of people within these communities