Around 16% of the world’s adults would like to move to another country. Most of them would like to move to the USA or Canada. Europe and Saudi Arabia are also popular would-be destinations.

This is good news for Europe, whose population is shrinking:

“Europe’s population is, right now, peaking, after more than six centuries of continuous growth. With each generation reproducing only half its number, this looks like the start of a ­continent-wide collapse in numbers. Some predict wipeout by 2100.”

If you already live abroad, you’re one of the lucky ones. Many cannot move to another country because they cannot get a visa, or they cannot get permission to work.

Immigration is nothing new. In fact one hundred years ago global migration was much higher than it is today.

Source

Countries and cities who welcome immigrants can become hubs of creativity and innovation. This makes sense, because recent studies show that living abroad makes you more creative. Mobile people are well equipped to deal with the challenges of globalisation in other ways, too.

But apart from these advantages, Europe’s looming population decline means there is room for more.

What do you think?

Read more:
Milleuristi: Europe’s losing generation
America’s changing work landscape
French bank embraces diversity

The UK government has just been debating global security and the importance of global cooperation at Chatham House, an organisation devoted to thinking about international affairs.

Their conclusions below are meant to describe how global political power has changed over recent years, but they are equally relevant to business and increasingly to everyday life:

1. A global real time interdependence
2. A shift in the balance of power between the national and the international, a shift in power from west to east and a shift in power from governments and corporations to individuals (the civilian surge)
3. The global economic crisis: a choice between isolationism on addressing the crisis or a multilateral approach

Understanding other cultures - how they think, act, what languages they speak, how they view the world - is becoming more and more important.

It is tempting to see Western culture as ‘normal’ and other cultures as ‘different’ but as the balance of power shifts we will start to see more of other countries and cultures. Can we afford to keep this perspective?

The French bank Société Générale has launched an advertising campaign which presumably aims to counter the current perception of bankers.

The campaign shows bankers from Socgen’s offices around the world talking about what gives them satisfaction in their jobs. Each talks in his or her native language with subtitles available in Chinese, Italian, Spanish, German, English and French.

One example is Pierre Diagne, who talks about providing services to African migrants who need to send money home, build savings and invest in property. His greatest satisfaction, he says, is helping his clients to realise their dreams.

The French business environment has been criticised in the past for hostility towards globalisation as well as lack of diversity. Some claim that employment discrimination is to blame for the violent riots seen in France over the last years.

So it’s refreshing to see a campaign which seems to be celebrating the diverse backgrounds of the bank’s employees as well as its customers.