“Historically, the African diaspora has played significant roles in Africa’s “development” (as have other diasporas in their own regions of origin). Freed slave Olaudah Equiano and contemporaries were 18th century activists who campaigned tirelessly for abolition of slavery. Theirs was an emancipation agenda. Post-World War I Britain saw diasporas actively campaign for an end to colonial rule. The 1945 5th Pan-African Congress was a highlight. Their quest was for self-determination. Today, a far more diffuse range of issues confront Africa and the rest of the developing world but what remains constant is the diasporas effort to emancipate their regions of origin from the bondages of poverty and social injustices and enable peoples from those regions to shape their own destinies”
AFFORD, 2004
AFFORD was conceptualised by its founder members, Nicholas Atampugre and Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie (Chux), as the continuation of longstanding histories of activism by members of the African diaspora centred around freedom from social injustices. These historical legacies, and the inspiration drawn from such activism, were woven together with the founder members’ own personal biographies, histories and philosophies. They met in 1994 when Chux approached Nicholas following an article Nicholas had written critiquing INGOs in the magazine Africa World Review. They both knew that people of African descent were key in the development of Africa (and more transnationally) coming together to form AFFORD in London in 1994. This page contains material from the early days of AFFORD and shows how AFFORD began to develop both as an organisation and in their thinking about the migration-development nexus.
Archival material
AFFORD’s first annual report in 1997 discusses AFFORD’s launch event, their new strategic priorities and their involvement in lobbying DfID.
In 1997 AFFORD conducted a survey of African organisations in London, detailing the extent and scope of their, and their needs as a sector.
In 2000 AFFORD conducted an event to encourage a network of African-led organisations in London to come together and support each other.
An evaluation from 2001 details AFFORD’s transition from a volunteer-run entity to a staffed operation.
In 2001 AFFORD taught a course for students at Birkbeck university thinking about the varied diasporic contributions to development.