International Institute for Diaspora Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)

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     Mission Statment

Diasporas maintain a sense of collective identity away from their homeland, and operate complex transnational networks between their host states and homelands. In an era of rapid globalization, the formal and informal power of border-crossing civil society networks is increasingly important for policy-makers, business leaders, scholars and civil society. In this context, diasporas matter a great deal.

They include a range of cultural communities formed from various categories of people, such as political and war refugees, (im)migrants, and ethnic and racial minorities.

While the present and potential importance of diaspora communities is being recognized, the challenges they pose and the opportunities they represent for both their host countries and homelands are not sufficiently addressed.

In Canada, for example, a country with political stability, economic viability, a charter of rights and freedoms, and an official policy of multiculturalism, there are people of well over 200 ethnic origins co-existing (according to the latest Canadian census). This combination of enormous diversity with an open society, creates the potential for great cultural cross fertilization and the opportunity for transnational trade. However it also has the potential for all sorts of challenges/stresses/cleavages among these groups and with Canadian society as a whole. In today's shrinking world, given the advancements in information, communication and transportation technologies, such groups will increasingly play a crucial role in the evolution of Canada, and other host countries such as the United States, Australia.

"Diaspora Studies" provides a powerful lens through which to view and understand the contemporary fabric of multicultural societies and the opportunities and challenges they face. In an attempt to proactively address these pressing concerns, the International Institute for Diaspora Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) investigates the character, capacity and concerns of Diasporan com-munities, as both domestic and international actors, in order to analyze, understand and project possible outcomes of these vital dynamics.

In this respect, the International Institute for Diaspora Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) has entered into partnerships with such organizations as Queens College (New York), the University for Peace, and the University of Toronto to hold major international conferences examining these issues. Since 1991, Zoryan's pioneering Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, under the editorship of Prof. Khachig Tololyan, plays a leading role in directing the discussion in an interdisciplinary and comparative manner.

There is still much work to be done in this growing field of studies in order to maximize our understanding of diasporas, transnational immigration networks and their impact on both home and host countries. The Institute welcomes your comments, thoughts and support.

- K.M. (Greg) Sarkissian, President