A diaspora community refers to a large group of people who share a cultural and regional origin but are living away from their traditional homeland. The term "diasporas" has no set definition, and its meaning has changed significantly over time, which makes it very difficult to measure. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the Jewish diaspora, which refers to the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancestral homeland. However, the term is now generally used to describe those who identify with a "homeland" but live outside of it. Diasporas can come about through immigration and forced movements of people.
Diaspora communities can maintain strong cultural and political ties to their homelands. They can also play an important role in leveraging migrations benefits for development. Transnational communities are groups of people who maintain family, social, cultural, or economic links across national borders. These groups have several identities, links, and competencies in more than one culture. The changes in definitions of the term “diasporas” are also linked to the so-called “diasporas turn” in policy discourse and practice, where an increasing number of governments and international organizations have implemented policies intended to incorporate diaspora populations in a variety of domains since the 1990s.
