There is a certain irony in the fact that the word "Diaspora", the new buzzword for expatriate networks, had its origins in invasion and conquest. Its traditional meaning is the spread of Jewish people around the world that began with the scattering of the 10 "lost tribes" of Israel by Assyrian invaders in about 700 BC. In modern times, the Irish Diaspora that is now paying huge dividends for the Celtic Tiger began with the potato famine and continued for decades with migrants fleeing deprivation.
The New Zealanders who make up the Kiwi Diaspora would, on the other hand, be reluctant to describe their moves to the four corners of the Earth as a means of escape. By and large they have left relative comfort in search of challenge and adventure. And what they have found is a ready market for their down-to-earth, pragmatic and intelligent approach to work. If this week's meeting of expats in London is anything to go by, they are reaping the rewards.
A 33-year-old former Aucklander at the gathering said he expected to earn the equivalent of $675,000 a year in his new job in the British capital. A 39-year-old told how he was a partner in an asset management company and had professional opportunities simply not available to him back in Napier.
Small wonder, therefore, that bright young New Zealanders continue to be attracted to high-paying, professionally rewarding positions in the capitals of the world. And it should surprise no one that they cannot be attracted back home until they are good and ready to swap success for lifestyle.
That is a fact that was well-recognised in last month's Knowledge Wave Conference. It was also behind the decision by The Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall and Berkeley professor David Teece to set up a database of New Zealanders working in the knowledge industries of California to provide links back to New Zealand companies.
Marketing guru Kevin Roberts has a similar rationale behind his New Zealand Edge website. They, and the London gathering to court the Britain-Kiwi connection, are part of the process of recognising that there is a vast, untapped resource available to this country.
The Irish Diaspora is an object lesson. Even before the change in Dublin's fortunes the Irish who had emigrated maintained a sense of their heritage and extended family. Those ties of kinship have been translated into an economic intelligence network that circles the globe. It can open doors for Irish companies and individuals. It can pinpoint likely prospects for high-qualification jobs to alleviate Ireland's labour shortages.
That sense of being Irish even survived generations of settlement in a new land. New Zealand nationalism may not be quite that strong - even one generation is enough to turn Kiwis into Australians - but for the thousands of young New Zealanders whose OE has been indefinitely extended, this is still home and they still have ties that bind.
Many of them are well-placed. David Teece, for example, is an economist with one foot in a great research university and the other in global business. He is typical of many former New Zealanders in prominent positions in leading universities and corporations. And an astonishing number are prepared to do what they can to assist their homeland.
There is also weight in numbers. In Silicon Valley there are at least 13 different Indian and Chinese professional associations that provide contacts and local networks. If we are to make full use of our overseas assets we need similar networks. Diaspora databases are a step in the right direction.
We have to convince more Kiwis abroad to find that there are better reasons to come together than a few beers and a televised All Black match.
<i>Editorial:</i> Getting expat Kiwis on the network
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