The African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC) is an independent organisation which was established in The Netherlands in 2006. ADPC provides a platform that enables African Diaspora in Europe to connect more closely with the continent as a collective force, pool their resources and proactively undertake initiatives for the promotion of peace, better governance and brain gain in Africa. ADPC pursues its goals by facilitating the effective harnessing of the considerable, and largely untapped, social capital of the huge African Diaspora population in Europe for the promotion of peace, better governance and brain gain in Africa.

L'African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC) est une organisation indépendante, établie aux Pays Bas en 2006. ADPC permet à la Diaspora Africaine en Europe de conserver un lien étroit avec l'Afrique en tant que force collective, en centralisant leur expertise pour mettre en place des initiatives de promotion de la paix, d'évolution des gouvernances et de "brain gain". ADPC mène son action en facilitant l'exploitation du considérable capital social, en grande partie inexploité, de la Diaspora Africaine en Europe, pour la promotion de la paix, l'évolution des gouvernances et le "brain gain" en Afrique.

De Stichting African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC) is een kenniscentrum voor en door de Afrikaanse diaspora over migratie en ontwikkeling. Het centrum richt zich daarbij met name op de thema’s vredesopbouw (peace building), verbeterd bestuur (better governance) en kennisbevordering (brain gain). ADPC doet daarvoor onderzoek, adviseert beleidsmakers, organiseert trainingen en bijeenkomsten en verzorgt publicaties over deze thema’s. Het centrum biedt de Afrikaanse diaspora daarmee een uniek platform voor het uitwisselen van kennis en ervaringen met de bedoeling hun rol en actieve betrokkenheid bij migratie en ontwikkeling te vergroten.

Social Capital possessed by the African Diaspora consists of:

- Innovative ideas
- Valuable transnational networks
- Knowledge & expertise
- Sound political contributions
- Valuable democratic habits and attitudes
- Appropriate peace-making ideas and practices
- New technological skills
- Social values, and
- Cultural influence

The added value of ADPC is to assist the tangible contribution of the African diaspora to the efforts geared to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa in 2015 and beyond.

ADPC achieves its objective through the following activities:

- Applied policy-related research and information
- Organising meetings and conferences
- Facilitating links and networking
- Capacity building training
- Publications

AFRICAN DIASPORA SKILLS DATABASE:
This database directory has two purposes. The first is to facilitate the structural inclusion of the skilled African diaspora in the development cooperation sector for the benefit of Africa. The second purpose is to demonstrate concretely the development potential of the African diaspora organisations in the Netherlands, and the added value they could provide into the efforts geared towards the reduction of poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals in their respective homelands in Africa. This is to encourage Diaspora organisations and the mainstream development agencies to initiate joint pilot projects in both the host and home countries in order to build up a viable working relationship through practice. Initiating joint pilot projects can bring the two development sectors much closer together than is now the case.

POLICY RESEARCH:
Conducting practice-oriented research or applied research that builds up knowledge and information about the trans-national networks, profiles, skills and activities of the African diaspora; proposes appropriate ways that the policy community and development organisations in the host countries can link with them; and identifies mechanisms and channels that diaspora can connect more closely with the development in Africa.

CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION SKILLS TRAINING:
The aim of the training for conflict transformation skills is to equip the African diaspora organisations and groups with up-to-date knowledge and techniques about peace-building skills and practices. This will empower them to play (as pro-active peace promoters) a vital bridge-building role between the Netherlands and the home country. The training course allows a space for reflection, discussions and development of conflict transformation skills relevant to specific needs and the strategic potential of the African diaspora community in the Netherlands.

ORGANISING EXPERT MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES:
The meetings are aimed to raise awareness, inform, mobilise and involve the African diaspora more proactively in the promotion of peace and conflict transformation, the construction of viable governance and the development of knowledge (brain gain) in Africa. The Centre concentrates on organising expert meetings on reversing the brain drain and on mobilising the African diaspora for the promotion of peace in Africa.

PUBLICATIONS:
Producing and disseminating written materials aimed at informing the diaspora about the challenges, needs and opportunities on the continent. Serving as a policy platform that provides a timely provision of information and analysis to the diaspora, offer advisory services to policy makers and practitioners, and produce policy reports that inform and contribute to the formation of sound policy positions and strategies regarding diaspora and development issues in both the host and the home countries, and lobby proactively in the EU countries for effective diaspora policies.