Diaspora Organizing

Sonen Lanbi An — “Sound the Alarm” —is a call for Haitian people to gather, organize, and move toward action. These words have been a guiding principle for me in advocacy, and continue to push me to act even in difficult times.

As FCNL celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Advocacy Teams and the Advocacy Corps, we also embarked on two new innovative programs to widen and strengthen our lobbying network.

Two years ago, we started a program to train activists from communities with origins outside the U.S. (Diaspora Organizing Program). Last year, we began to formally organize campus chapters around the country (FCNL Campus Chapters).

I first learned about Friends Committee on National Legislation when they led a one-day advocacy workshop for Action for Congo and the DRC Diaspora Desk this past August. I had joined the DRC Diaspora Desk earlier in the year, after the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo escalated and large parts of the country fell under the control of the M23 rebellion and the Rwanda Defense Forces.

The Diaspora Organizer Gathering this year, lasting only four days, was jam packed with programming to prepare advocates to lobby and develop year-long advocacy plans. I immediately found that the experience in the room was staggering. Each organizer presented a unique and necessary skill set; we were met with entrepreneurs, feminist activists, academics, and community organizers.

In October 2023, I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural diaspora organizer gathering with FCNL. Hosted at Friends Place on Capitol Hill, the program offered four days of learning about community organizing, congressional advocacy, and effective storytelling. Organizers from across the U.S. and the world came together to build connections and exchange wisdom. On the final day, we lobbied on issues ranging from a ceasefire in Gaza to support for the Banyamulenge people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“This weekend transformed my life.” Heads nodded in agreement as Deogratias Kawunde, a Ugandan organizer from Maryland, shared how he felt after FCNL’s Second Diaspora Organizer Gathering.

From Saturday, September 21 through Monday, September 23, eleven organizers from different diaspora country backgrounds across the United States gathered at Friends Place in Washington D.C. for an important convening.