Diaspora Briefings
Perspective: “The Future of the Remittances”
Date: 30/03/2021
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According to the latest data of the World Bank, both Kosovo and Albania are highly dependent on remittances, receiving more than 15% and 10% of GDP on an annual basis respectively. Therefore, it was important to understand the past trends about remittances, before talking about the future.

Mr Banka, a Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank in Washington, DC, talked more about the importance of the remittances and gave a snapshot of the current situation. Mr Banka mentioned that remittances had become a very important topic to discuss since they have overcome other income flows such as Foreign Direct Investment, Official Development Assistance and in some cases, even Net Exports. He also mentioned some of the main channels used for remittances such as Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and in-person transfers by mentioning the case of Italy which is a neighbouring country, and it is easy to travel to Albania and send the money in-person. 

Ms Plaza, a Senior Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice of the World Bank, who is also the co-chair of the Diaspora Thematic working group discussed more in-depth about the trends of the remittances in the developing countries by focusing on Kosovo and Albania. She mentioned that before talking about the future of remittances and on what can be done, it is important to understand the context of each country. Ms Plaza showed that Albania has a quite high emigration rate, relative to its population, at 43%, and a total emigrant population of about 1 million, and this is important to understand for the type of products that countries create for the diaspora. Similarly, Kosovo has 500,000 emigrants who are about 30% of its population. Also, Ms Plaza mentioned that the destination from where the remittances come is of high importance as well and 88% of the remittances in Albania come from Greece and Italy while in Kosovo 94% come from Germany and Switzerland. The interesting part to see was the trend of both countries which were very similar in the last 15 years. 

Ms Plaza showed that there were some fluctuations because of the past crisis; however, due to time constraints, there was not much time to discuss in-depth why Kosovo and Albania had a decrease in volumes of remittances in certain years. Ms Shkodrani as part of EasyPay SHPK, in the position of Chief Operations Officer, shared the trends of remittances in Albania by also mentioning that there was a decrease of remittances in 2013 and then they had a continuous increase up to 2019. The previous fluctuations indicated that the sustainability of this source of finance is questionable; however, Ms Shkodrani shared that they had positive expectations on the trends of the remittances since 2013 and especially after the high increase in 2019. 

Reducing the costs of remittance is a vital element of the Financing for Development strategy. This issue has been incorporated as a target in the Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to reduce the cost to less than 3% and to eliminate remittance corridors with cost higher than 5% by 2030. Both Ms Plaza and Mr Banka mentioned that the costs of transferring money are very high in Kosovo and Albania compared to other countries in the region, especially after COVID19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand why the remittance costs are very high in Kosovo and Albania even if the money is travelling from the neighbouring countries, and what should be done to reduce the costs. There is a need to increase competition on the service providers, and since of the lessons learned from the pandemic, there is a need to start shifting to more digitized services. However, Ms Plaza stated that not always the digital services are the fastest in certain countries since it depends on the payment system of that country. 

Despite the stable flow of remittances to Kosovo and Albania, they marked a decrease in the last global economic crisis. Therefore, it remains to be seen how the effects of the pandemic crisis are to be manifested in economies where our diaspora is concentrated (Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and the US) to have a more thorough assessment for the remittances this year and over the medium-term.

All panellists agreed that the pandemic had an impact on remittances directly or indirectly. Ms Plaza stated that it is hard for organizations and institutions to predict the impact of the pandemic on the volume of remittances, especially for Kosovo and Albania since there is a lack of high-frequency data. I agree with this point since data collection is key for policymakers, especially since the volume of remittances in Kosovo and Albania are important for economic stability. Also, Ms Plaza and Ms Shkodrani stated that the impact of the pandemic was greater from April-June when a lot of business had to close due to lockdown and distance, and there was a recovery in the July-September because of slight recovery on employment levels. Ms Shkodrani mentioned that EasyPay-Ria Money Transfer experienced 2.5 times higher remittance inflow in September 2020 compared to last year. 

Most importantly, all panellists mentioned that there was a shift to formal channels during pandemics since emigrants were not able to travel and send money in-person. Nevertheless, Mr Banka stated that since MTOs and other formal channels were not considered essential before the pandemics, this presented many lags in the flow of the remittances at the beginning of COVID19 crisis. Therefore, the choice of the remittance channels was limited, especially when many emigrants who send money back home had to go through customer due-diligence requirements remotely and many service providers in developing countries were not prepared for that. 

Digital remittances are contributing to broader financial inclusion and financial integrity objectives. For instance, mobile money represents a powerful tool to digitize large flows of informal transfers. Mobile money can foster financial inclusion for both remittance senders and recipients, allowing them to join the digital financial ecosystem and to access a broad range of digital financial services beyond remittances. However, Mr Banka mentioned that this could become a challenge for migrants since some do not have proper documentation, therefore do not have access to digital financial services. In addition, MTOs need to collect identity documents remotely and make sure that customers are protected against financial crime and fraud and comply with many international regulations. 

The part of digitalization was mentioned by Ms Shkodrani where she stated that EasyPay is one of the leading financial institutions in Albanian that are working in that direction even though there are still a lot of barriers, mainly because the Albanian society is highly attached to cash and transfer money physically. Therefore, what MTOs in Albania and Kosovo are trying to do is to educate the customer on how to use the digital wallet, even the underserved and vulnerable population. I fully agree with Ms Shkodrani that both countries need to find tools on how to educate people on digital financial services through mass media communications, tutorials, focus-groups, etc. However, as Ms Shkodrani mentioned, to reach a high-level of digital financial services, there is a need for better cooperation between all financial actors including banks. 

Ms Plaza also gave valuable inputs with regards to the digitalization of remittances, and she pointed out that countries need to declare remittance service providers as essential services. She also stated that there is a need for simplification for Anti-money laundering – combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements to mitigate the factors that prevent customers from using digital financial services for remittances. In addition, it is important to improve the financial access in receiving and sending money for the vulnerable population as mentioned by other panellists as well. Lastly, Ms Plaza stated that the Central Bank needs to assess the usage of electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) for the online opening of payment accounts which can make the process of usage of digital financial services easier. 

The panel was very consolidated and informative, and all the panellists had expertise and were highly informed on the topic and on the next steps that should be taken. I wish we had more time to expand more on the policy-side that both countries should take in regard to the future of remittances.

This panel took place after the outbreak of the coronavirus, which was good timing to brainstorm about the impact that the crisis had on the flow of remittances as well as about the opportunity it created with regards to the digitalization of remittances and the decrease in the cost of transfers. 

 

About the author: Hana Bacaj is an experienced Research Analyst with a demonstrated history of working in the development sector. Skilled in Economic Development, Data Analysis, Analytical Skills, Quantitative Research, and Development Policy. Strong research professional with a Master’s degree focused in Economic Development from Vanderbilt University.

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Diaspora Briefings
Youth and Student Organization and Networking in the Diaspora
The organization and networking of Albanian youth and students in the diaspora has been and remains the foundation of community organization in the diaspora and the source of activism for the country of origin. Young people and students in the diaspora play an important role in intergenerational relations within the diaspora and in links with organizations and institutions in the homeland. Despite this great potential, a series of structural, social, and political challenges currently limit youth and student organization in the diaspora. The lack of coordination and institutional support, communication problems, and "space-time" barriers make it difficult for youth to collaborate and build sustainable networks. This limits the impact they can have on the community and their connection to their country of origin.   Current Challenges Albanian youth and students in the diaspora face a number of challenges that hinder their sustainable organization and effective networking. One of the most noticeable problems is the lack of sustainable structures in areas where there has been no tradition of community organization. Although interpersonal connections exist and students often maintain contact with each other, the lack of a shared entity or platform makes it difficult to coordinate activities and projects. Individual efforts often remain fragmented and fail to have the desired impact on the community or on links with the homeland. In some cases, even where there are community associations and organizations, their structure is often weak, and the lack of institutional and financial support exacerbates the situation. In some countries, such as Switzerland, the diplomatic representations of Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia have played an important role in supporting student communities. But in other countries, diaspora representations have been reported as often having no right to participate in public activities, leaving organizations without a trusted institutional partner. Moreover, the lack of financial support from Albanian entrepreneurs and individuals, as well as from state institutions, has created significant gaps in financing projects and activities that could help the community. This situation also appears in the case of Albanian schools in the diaspora, which often operate with limited resources. Another important challenge is the impact of politics on student associations and organizations abroad. The involvement of political parties from Kosovo and Albania has created a polarizing and fragmented environment, often resulting in strong divisions that hinder joint activities. Various associations have become arenas for political party support, pushing away young people who want to contribute independently. An example is the association in Geneva, where its members were closely linked to a political party. This association not only temporarily removed the terms "apolitical" and "nonpartisan" from its statutes but also continued to use the organization's social platforms for political activities, even after the departure of its members. Similar situations have been reported in Lausanne and in the Albanian student federation in Switzerland, where political divisions have hindered cooperation and created an unsafe environment for organizations aiming to maintain an independent and unified stance. Additionally, divisions between Albanians from different regions of the nation represent another challenge. Albanians from North Macedonia, the Presevo Valley, Montenegro, and Cameria often feel left out by Albanians from Albania and Kosovo. This feeling of exclusion comes from the lack of their inclusion in activities by organizations or any institutional support addressing them directly. 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This article was created with the support of the regional project “SMART Balkans – Civil Society for Shared Values in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), and financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA). The content of this article is the responsibility of the authors alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA).
Date: 03/12/2024
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Diaspora Briefings
OriginAL, a journey to discover the roots
"Find your roots" - a slogan so simple and at the same time so meaningful. Human is always in search of their roots and the past. No matter how far we are from the country of origin, we always return there - to the ancestor's land, either physically or spiritually. There comes the idea of OriginAL, a program launched by GERMIN and Global Albanians Foundation which aims to provide a free educational trip for the Albanian Diaspora Youth. As Victor Hugo, the French poet and novelist once said, "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come", we believe that this is the time for such a program to be implemented.  The OriginAL program was born out of a need to give young people in the Diaspora the opportunity to get to discover their roots. The second and third generations of young people in the diaspora are naturally exposed to diverse communities, but not very much embodied in their native or original culture and countries. New dynamics of migration among Albanians have made it difficult for the parents to pass on ties with their homelands to their descendants. Meanwhile, home countries such as Albania and Kosovo, have not yet built institutional mechanisms to stay close to the new diaspora communities and keep them connected to the origin. OriginAL as well as the name itself is unique in many dimensions. Origin and AL means ‘Albanian Origin’ and is dedicated to all those young people who for one reason or another have not been able to connect to their country of origin. That is why we have designed such a program, which will bring for the first time this year 40 young adults from the diaspora to Albania and Kosova for a two-week free educational trip. The application form was opened on May 25th and will continue until June 15th. While the program will take place in August 10-22, 2022. It is enough to show the Albanian origin (of at least one Albanian parent or grandparent) in order to be eligible to participate.  OriginAL aims to strengthen the connection of the diaspora youth with the countries of their ancestors,  strengthen their Albanian identity, and connect them with their peers living in Albania and Kosova. The program has been modeled based on the Israeli model, particularly that of Taglit - Birthright Israel, which has inspired other similar initiatives such as Birthright Africa, Reconnect Hungary, Birthright Armenia, etc. In order to get acquainted with the program, the co-director of GERMIN, Lirim Krasniqi, and the project manager, Arbnor Mjeku, visited Israel beginning of June, where they studied closely how their program is curated and implemented is realized in this country.  As a pilot year, we aim to bring at least 40 young Albanians from around the world to Albania and Kosovo for two weeks in August 2022, to build this number to hundreds and then to thousands of young Albanians from all over the world in the years to come. The trip will start in Prishtina, capital of Kosova which vibrates positive energy during the summer, and will end - in the capital of Albania - Tirana. Meantime, OriginAL participants will have the opportunity to visit and feel some of the most remarkable landmarks of the homelands and hear about stories that will stay with them for a lifetime. More information about the program can be found at www.original.org.al
Date: 09/06/2022
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Diaspora Briefings
How to turn diaspora homecomings into a catalyst for tourism development?
Diaspora members, unlike foreign tourists, visit the homeland mainly driven by motives such as emotional or family ties, preservation of heritage and language, family reunification, re-connection with their roots, culture, and knowledge of the local context, etc. These motives imply a desire to relive or repeat past experiences associated with moments of joy, pleasure, nostalgia, as well as re-construct events of their dark or painful past. The motives greatly shape the experiences of the diaspora at home.  Numerous and frequent visits of the Albanian diaspora to the homeland, especially during holiday seasons, have taken on the dimension of what is called "diaspora tourism". These types of visits have a potential to influence tourism development and its related sectors. In order to capitalize on diaspora tourism, it is necessary to take into account some factors from the homeland perspective: Understanding the motives of diaspora visits. 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This is very important for the local economy, as the cultivation and promotion of products has a multifaceted effect in many other sectors such as: cultural and historical heritage, handicrafts, agriculture, livestock, etc. Moreover, it should be noted that the local economy can build a comparative advantage in tourism by cultivating and offering local products and authentic experiences rather than imported ones. Direct support to the local economy. Diaspora tourism is characterized by not very exclusive or expensive trips. Visiting local and often unknown shops, eating in traditional local restaurants with local owners, sleeping in small, less popular places, etc, is what makes in general diaspora tourism in the homeland. According to global data, the diaspora tourist spends on average less than a regular foreign tourist. Not because of financial impossibility but because of knowledge and desire for local experiences. 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This is an element that can lead to the extension of the holiday season, thus affecting the sustainability of tourism and revenues coming from it. Given the driving factors for diaspora tourism, even if supply does not change, the number of visits is unlikely to fall, at least from the first generation of immigrants. The motives shape the experiences (even if negative) of this group as well as their assessment for services they get during the homecomings. "Diaspora tourists” are likely to disregard the quality of services in the country when making the decision to revisit the homeland. Consequently, it is assumed that there is a lack of demand for increased service quality.  However, the changing dynamics and demographics/generations of the diaspora will change over time the push factors for homeland visits. This may affect the number and intensity of diaspora visits to the homeland depending on the offer and quality of services we provide. 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Date: 04/10/2021
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Diaspora Briefings
Perspective: “Rethinking Cultural Activities in the Diaspora”
A virtual walk through the pages of social networks where Albanian associations from the Diaspora are presented, on the eve of a national, state or religious holiday, offers us a clear overview of their activities. The impression is created that many organizations in Stockholm, Basel, Ankara, Toronto, Baden-Baden, Zagreb and other places where the Albanian Diaspora lives today, follow more or less the same motto: the bigger the national flag the more valuable the organization. The stage usually belongs to someone from the Albanian pop scene and the whole organization ultimately offers a lot but at least something Albanian. I can of course most closely evaluate the organizations in Germany, the country where I live, and I conclude that most of these organizations do not differ much from those of the first 30 years. The Diaspora has changed so much in the last three decades that I doubt that such organizations are the cultural address of most of our compatriots. I do not want to criticize their existence or why and how often these activities are organized but I think it is time to seriously rethink the content of their program. A generation of young people who have come at a young age or even born in the Diaspora, should be offered the opportunity to finally get acquainted with the genuine Albanian culture. In the homes where these young people live, they probably do not have the opportunity to get to know our culture for various reasons, so the associations remain the ones that have to take on this task. When someone takes the step of establishing an association and calling it "cultural-Albanian", I think it should focus on providing genuine cultural activities. Maybe just to answer the question "what is real culture?" there is disagreement. It does not mean that everyone offers operas, theatrical performances, or literary readings in large halls but some standards would have to be rethought and redefined but also respected so that once and for all oriental turbo-folk would disappear, if not from all, even from most of our organizations. It has never been easier to organize cultural activities than today. This is often evidenced by some associations established in recent years which brought to their scenes Albanian artists who live in large numbers in the Diaspora. Also, various poets and authors live in the Diaspora and in the countries where it operates, the Albanian school and its students bring a great potential but also the engagement of artists from home countries, although associated with relatively high costs, is not impossible. When it comes to the necessary material means, the situation is not as bad as claimed. Although not enough, there are funds, starting in municipalities and regions (at least in Germany and some other European countries) to the funds of the European Union. The Ministries of Culture and the Ministries of Diaspora of Kosovo, Albania and Northern Macedonia also have funds for cultural activities in the Diaspora. To get all these means you have to compete in certain competition deadlines and not only when there is a need for an association e.g. a few weeks before the activity. These funds belong to the associations and they should ask for those funds because I have not yet heard that any institution in the home countries has come out and asked the associations where they are in the Diaspora to offer assistance. Embassies and Consulates could even play an important role in this regard as advisors and supporters in terms of logistics. I am curious whether I will change something with the name of Cultural Attachés announced a few weeks ago by the MCYS of the Republic of Kosovo. It would be good to include here many other artists living abroad who, although extremely successful, are still under the shadow of Dua Lipa and Rita Ora. There has been a lot of talk about the opening of Cultural Centers in the Diaspora planned by the Governments of the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Kosovo. But it seems that these plans have remained on paper which is very depressing because those centers could play an important role in the cultural reorganization of the Diaspora. In addition to providing Albanian culture to new generations in the Diaspora, cultural activities are an excellent opportunity and form of cultural diplomacy. In the activities of associations in the Diaspora, there should be as many fellow citizens of different nationalities as well as representatives of the bodies of the countries where they live. To get acquainted with the culture but also with our community. The activities of several associations in different countries of the Diaspora are promising, which are offering a more alternative program, meeting to some extent the demand of compatriots, especially the younger generations, but also being the favorite address of guests of different nationalities. Some of them participated in a discussion at the Conference "Diaspora Flet" organized by the organization Germin. In addition to exchanging experiences, during the conversation, the panelists concluded that cooperation between associations but also greater engagement of artists in cultural activities, especially those living in the Diaspora, is necessary. Forms of cooperation can be different, such as a joint organization of cultural activities, organization of a workshop to help newly formed associations or interest groups to establish an association, support of young artists in promoting their work, etc. why not the establishment of a cultural platform in the Diaspora that would unite associations and artists, a union that would have extraordinary importance in the cultivation and promotion of Albanian culture in the Diaspora.   About the author: Mr. Salihu was born in Mitrovica and lives in Germany since 1992. Throughout his tenure in Germany, Mr. Salihu was actively engaged in sport and culture through which he maintained connections with his home country and identified collaboration opportunities. Mr. Salihu is one of the co-founders of the cultural association URACult, established in 2014, the core objective of which is to actively promote Albanian culture in Germany. As a President of URACult, Mr. Salihu actively participates in the work of Albanian community in Germany.
Date: 30/03/2021
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