Overview of the Conference
Societies that actively pursue immigration must consider the integration of their newcomers; the larger the number of immigrants, the more important their successful integration is to the destination society. Such is the dominant relation between immigration and integration. There are many others. Consider the effect on integration policy of immigration that is designed to satisfy primarily demographic ends as opposed to immigration that meets short term labour market needs. Consider the political and social environment within which immigration takes place; public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants are influenced by economic conditions, societal attitudes, and the communications of political leaders. Large-scale immigration in economically tough times can require stronger integration and anti-discrimination work. And the prevalence of irregular migration flows into a country will affect the outcomes of integration programs, even for those in a country legally.
In the migration and development field, there is renewed interest, but with a twist from twenty years ago when the question was how to control migration through development. The quest now is to take advantage of migration to produce development benefits in both sending and receiving countries. In the excitement to advance the development agenda, we can lose sight of the actual effects of emigration on the development prospects of source countries and we can ignore the development effects on the societies of destination, even those amongst the OECD countries. We also cannot ignore the effects of development on the number of those who are willing to emigrate. Will the rapid economic development in China, India, Brazil, and other countries require countries of destination to re-assess their immigration recruitment strategies?
The conference also had a look at the relation between integration and development where there is fruitful terrain for enquiry, including the effects of successful economic integration on remittances to the homeland and the effects of social integration on circular or return migration. How do we reconcile the development objectives that can be achieved through return migration with the desire to successfully integrate migrants in the host society? Seeking limited integration to encourage return migration is of course not appealing. Here, a careful look at how transnational communities relate simultaneously to the societies of destination and origin will help us to understand the relations between social and economic integration and development effects on the country of origin.
In addition to sessions that explore these themes, the conference discussed the rapidly emerging concern over environmental causes of emigration, issues related to mobility and state sovereignty, and national perspectives on migration and integration.
The conference featured expert speakers, a number of cross-cutting plenary sessions, more than 100 workshops, social activities, and a program of study tours designed to give delegates a taste of Germany's approach to migration, integration and diversity.
