Welsh Government found wanting on diaspora engagement

Dr Huw Evans

Although there is an ‘action plan’, diaspora engagement by the Welsh Government has low priority. This is despite its own stated intentions and the accepted case that engagement can have economic, social and cultural benefits.

The Welsh Government’ action plan, Diaspora Engagement 2020-25, will end shortly. Yet it is not obvious what, if anything, will replace it. There is also nothing obvious about evaluating how effective the action plan has been.

The action plan’s ‘vision’ includes ‘develop[ing] a global diaspora community that will raise Wales’ global profile, showcase and promote areas of Welsh excellence…’. And there is a related ‘mission’, two elements of which are: ‘To develop international diaspora networks that will promote and support the growth of the Welsh economy and
showcase areas of Welsh excellence’; and ‘To grow an international community of Welsh people, or people with an affinity to Wales that will advocate on Wales’ behalf’.

The action plan has four strands: a Welsh personalities initiative; a Welsh envoys initiative; a business diaspora network development; and worldwide Welsh diaspora mapping. The action plan also provides for evaluation about its implementation.

The policy is incorporated into an action plan, not a strategy. And that is because the action plan is one of a ‘suite’ of six plans that underpin the Welsh Government’s international strategy such as the International Relations through Public Diplomacy and Soft Power Action Plan.

From this arrangement I have concluded that diaspora engagement as a subject on its own has low priority. There is also a lack of clear thinking about the policymaking behind the action plan.

As the action plan is part of international strategy, it applies outside of the UK. But the Welsh diaspora is found within the UK outside of Wales, as well as outside of the UK.

This is not a fine point without real-time implications. It matters. London has a Welsh diaspora as well as other UK places such as Bristol or Liverpool. The action plan therefore does not cover a significant part of the Welsh diaspora.

The absence of clear thinking is especially present in how the action plan defines ‘diaspora’. It is convoluted and confused; the Welsh diaspora is divided into five categories. Here are two examples together with the confusion they bring.

‘Lived diaspora’ is defined as people born in Wales who now live in a ‘host country’. There is no definition of ‘host country’ but as the action plan supplements the international strategy, ‘host country’ must refer to countries outside the UK. So, people born in Wales but living elsewhere in the UK are not caught.

‘Returning diaspora’ is defined as people who have lived overseas but have since returned to Wales. Why does it include people who have returned to Wales? If they have returned, they are no longer part of the diaspora.

For an alternative approach, we can look to Cornwall, for which a diaspora strategy has recently been published: Cornwall Diaspora Strategy 2025-2028. Its definition of ‘diaspora’ is succinct and ‘does the job’. The Cornish diaspora are people ‘living outside Cornwall that are Cornish by birth, Cornish by ancestry or Cornish by choice’.

The Welsh Government could adapt that definition for Wales. As the crucial thing would be to be outside Wales, the UK/international issue is overcome.

What next?

The action plan is nearing its end. As mentioned, no evidence has been identified about its effectiveness or about what happens next.

The Cornwall diaspora strategy provides a timely reminder that a decision in Wales needs to be made about what to do next. It also can inform thinking about making that decision.

Another informative publication about the next step is Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Mobilising the Welsh diaspora as agents of economic change issued in February 2025 and authored by Dr Sarah Louisa Birchley, a Japanese based Welsh academic. (See related article.)

The action plan can be replaced with nothing or something. If it is something, is it going to be, for example, an action plan or a strategy?

I assume something will follow. The belief in unlocking diaspora resources and the potential benefits that may flow is evident in the action plan and the international strategy. That belief is shared by the authors of the Cornwall diaspora strategy and Brain Drain to Brain Gain. We can also look elsewhere to see that belief replicated, such as in Ireland.

Need for a strategy 

Diaspora engagement is too important to be confined to an action plan. The new initiative must encompass an overarching strategy covering both the UK and international contexts. Getting a fit-for-purpose definition of ‘diaspora’ would also help as this then guides policy formulation.

The Welsh Government though must take diaspora engagement seriously. It didn’t in 2020. The action plan is flawed and there has been a lack of Welsh Government attention to the issue since then. Maybe now it can step up?