Talkback: Feel the love for our large family abroad

New Zealand is a wonderful place to live, and like many people now, I'm continually coming and going.

It's official, however, that the leaving part is reaching catalytic proportions.

The OECD has just reported that a quarter of New Zealand's tertiary graduates live overseas. There are more New Zealanders living out there in the world than Australians living outside Australia.

These numbers are no surprise.

I have long believed that our population is closer to 5 million people than 4 million. Our overseas population is our second-biggest city.

Collectively they are an under-appreciated and under-used resource. As Neil Finn wrote, "I don't want to say I love you. That would give away too much."

A tipping point is approaching. The two initiatives that are community-building in this Global-Kiwi space, the KEA network instigated by Stephen Tindall and David Teece, and the www.nzedge.com project produced by Brian Sweeney and myself, are reaching the first stages of critical mass in terms of the number of connections we are making in every part of the world.

Person by person, we are putting together the global community of New Zealanders.

This is long-term emotional bridge-building.

We won't succeed if we view our overseas family as a labour pool simply to meet skill shortages at home. This is a major turn-off.

Falling in love with our international communities and inspiring them to re-engage with New Zealand is a huge opportunity, culturally and economically - in investment, exporting, tourism, education, media and community projects.

From the daily emails we receive I can see the desire for connection.

This just in from El Paso, Texas: "Thank you so much for this connection to my home, my heart. I have been overseas for the last 15 years and not a day goes by that I don't long for the shores of Aotearoa."

Building New Zealand out into the world is a job for every journalist, politician, businessperson, marketer, exporter, teacher and policymaker.

From our edge we can be smart players in the globalisation game.

Communication is paramount to building a dynamic collaboration between our onshore and offshore communities. The first step is to connect emotionally, and then to provide relevant directions for everyone to play their part in creating a globally cohesive country.

And do it quickly, because the Aussies are on to this idea already.

* Kevin Roberts is CEO worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. He lives in Auckland and New York, and is co-founder of The New Zealand Edge, a global network of New Zealanders at www.nzedge.com