Semhar Araia: the woman whose strategies are creating impact on the African diaspora and Africa

Talk to any diasporic African in any country abroad about what they’d like or love to do for the people back at home and you’ll get a whole array of ideas from business to development ideas, better health and soon.

But if there’s something that can drive change faster than any personal efforts it’s working with people with a sense of unity.

Araia is the Eritrean American whose voice, influence and resources and self are deeply invested in creating unity amongst Africans of all nations o the continent and in the diaspora.

Many a diasporic will stare down the window of an apartment in one of the big cities (At least one with a more complex and alluring skyline than those in their home cities back in Africa), or even take a walk out in the streets and admire the prowess of the sculptors and architects of all the gothic art only to get arrested by the lingering feeling of the vastness of the cultures in such a wide world.

For a second there it’s easy to feel dazed by it all. But there’s people who’ve made it their life’s purpose “literally” to create engagement and development of Africans in the diaspora through drives for unity in the vast multicultural diaspora. Semhar Araia understands that all the ideas that diasporic Africans have towards their home countries may be beneficial and all, but also that without unity they are all but sinking ships.

Born to Eritrean Immigrants in New York city, Araia attained a Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Economics from the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The truth that diasporic business is full of exigencies will always hold for as long as the global village exists. Using her power and resources, her voice and connections, Araia set out to lead strategies aimed at connecting diaspora communities in the US.

As the Managing director for Diaspora and Multicultural Partnerships at UNICEF in USA, she leads diasporic engagement, women’s leadership and international development, African Affairs and humanitarian affairs through which the role of the diaspora in African development has been focused on and amplified.

She founded the DAWN organization (the Diaspora African Women’s Network) which is a globally recognized network aimed at supporting and fostering the development of African professional women in the diaspora whose major focus is on African affairs.

She has served on various teams and boards as a technical advisor to various governments, NGOs and international organizations.

Her career in international issues started with her as an attorney for the implementation of the 2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia peace agreement and she since rose in expertise working at the United States House of Representatives, a policy advisor at Oxfam international and at The Elders in her capacity as a strategist.

Ms. Araia has received various awards and has been recognized by various individuals such as President Barack Obama, she was the African Union Diaspora Awardee of the year in 2013. She has also featured in various magazines such as the New York Times, BBC and so forth.

Araia’s social media and website display a passionate individual who is changing the world one day at a time through her contributions to the diaspora and African Affairs.