Annual Report 2010

Executive Summary

2009 is the Year of the Diaspora. Intersections: Southeast Asia and diaspora engagement provides an overview of the Southeast Asian diasporas in New Zealand and of the New Zealand diaspora in Southeast Asia. Given the importance of the emerging Free Trade Agreement involving New Zealand and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, along with China and Australia, these diasporas are set to become important players in this transnational future. The focus is on the connections between these diasporas and on the ways in which the diasporas engage with each other and with their respective host societies. Three broad levels of activity – social, commercial and policy – are identified and the connections between these levels of activity discussed.