With Trump’s America and Brexit Britain turning away talented migrants, Canada and Australia are well placed to capitalise By Jack Graham From tech gurus to top scientists, every country says it wants to attract the best brains. Highly-skilled workers are increasingly mobile, and help to stimulate innovation, enterprise, jobs and growth. But while the global competition for talent is nothing new, the contest has recently changed. Two of the leading …
Continue readingOPEN briefing: migrants’ right to vote, Brexit blunders, good news on refugees
Nativists are in the ascendant in many countries right now. Governments are responding by curtailing migrants’ rights. And whether it is Brexit Britain or Trump’s America, immigrants are often powerless to fight back. That needs to change. Giving long-term foreign residents the right to vote isn’t just a matter of human rights, it’s about bringing democracy into the 21st century, argues Iana Dreyer in a must-read new piece for OPEN. Electing the people who …
Continue readingWeekly report featuring Dayton, Jersey, Italy and refugees
America’s Rust Belt. Old industrial towns in the north of England. France’s northern Hauts de France region. Eastern Germany. The places that have suffered from industrial decline in recent decades often focus their anger on immigrants. But what if newcomers could actually help regenerate such areas? After its economy suffered and its population slumped, the city of Dayton, Ohio has put that theory to the test. Its innovative “Welcome …
Continue readingHighlights of 2017, Prospects for 2018
The “highlights” of 2017 are mostly lowlights. The year began with the inauguration of a racist US president who pledged to build a border wall to keep out Mexican “killers and rapists”, ban Muslims from entering America and tear up the liberal international order in favour of an America First strategy of nationalism, protectionism and xenophobia. While many of Trump’s actions have been symbolic, his clampdown on refugees and immigrants is very real. 2017 was …
Continue readingWhy the French elections matter, plus skilled immigration
Hi French people vote tomorrow in the first round of presidential elections that could do grave harm to Europe’s open societies – or strengthen them. With polls too close to call, four candidates stand a chance of making it into the run-off on May 7th. The far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is ostensibly open towards refugees. But despite his internationalist talk, he is essentially a nationalist, argues Natalie Nougayrède in the Guardian. He is a …
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