Unprecedented population migrations are now the norm and diasporic existence a fact of life for millions. This presents opportunities and challengesfor nation states and creates two compelling exigencies:1 .the need to study and understand the experiences and identities of diaspora communities, their attitudes towards and experience in adoptedhomelands, and2. the need to develop education programs that will provide citizens with the international experience and cross-cultural skills to work with andunderstand diaspora communities globally and locallyThis project will create an interdisciplinary Diaspora Éducation Consortium (DEC), a trans-national network of universities, faculty and students, allcommitted to researching, teaching, learning about and working within diaspora communities from their roots in their countries of origin to theirdiverse locations in Europe and North America. Built on a foundation of student mobility, service learning and faculty exchange, the network willenable students and faculty to study, acquire social/cultural competencies and conduct research abroad supported by educational and communitypartners in a series of articulated and formalized agreements within an ongoing and sustainable framework.