Global Culture

One of my favorite sites, WorldChanging posted the article Can Migration Change the World? by Alex Steffen. I applaud the fact that migration is recognized as a force that can shape the world and lead positive change:

Maybe we need to start to rethink migration, not in the light of the discussions we’ve had in the past (huddled masses and all), but in the light of a 21st Century, globally-intertwined society. Migrants, though they may be looking to better themselves, ought perhaps to be seen (here in the Global North) as our partners in creating the prosperity we expect; and we ought to perhaps regard our interactions with them as the best opportunity we have for global diplomacy and sustainable development

However, realizing that we have explored this topic in much more depth here I felt compelled to add a few comments to their post:

You address the usual issues: remittances, migrant integration and even suggest a few novel ideas such as micro-financing which is proving to be quite effective for certain type of action. Allow me to share what I’ve learned after almost a year of editing the Global Culture blog:

To talk about the North and the South as if each belongs to different kinds of people is an outdated view. Look around, wherever you live and realize the South IS in the North. While migration waves are not as strong as they were at the beginning of the XX century, they are close to those numbers and modern globalization is just getting warmed up. So, there is no point in talking about policies to manage migrants as within a generation they will be well rooted into whichever destination they pick.

Instead, we must emphasize on an education that promotes global awareness, that embraces the fact that there is a profound connection between almost any two cities, because this will be true in the not-too-distant future. We must learn from the cities that have thrived as a result of their numerous migrant populations because these social experiments are the most likely scenario for all others.

In a true Global Culture, empowered global citizens can embrace their new identity as cultural ambassadors, finding ways to create links with their places of origin. There is very strong evidence that second-generations to the current wave of migrants will produce masses of Third Culture Kids with ample sense of tolerance for other cultures, allowing more profound integration.

Regardless, I think is a huge step to share the goal of a better future through the proper understanding on global issues such as migration.