As a first step toward finding answers, the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the OECD's International Migration Division brought together international experts to identify potential solutions at a workshop held last week in Berlin. The conclusion reached by participants at the one-day event was clear: No single approach exists for ensuring equitable migration flows. There are, however, a number of measures which can be combined to produce an outcome that is fair. What is important is that, once combined, the various mechanisms result in a holistic system.
Germany has been trying to attract highly skilled labor from abroad for some time, a need that will only increase given the fundamental demographic shifts the country is experiencing. The German government estimates, for example, that the country’s pool of working-age adults will decline by some 6.5 million between 2010 and 2025. Domestic measures for offsetting that shortfall include increasing participation rates among women and senior citizens, but those measures will have to be augmented by immigration inflows if the expected gap is to be filled.
Global competition in this area is set to increase, moreover, since other developed countries face similar challenges and countries whose native populations have traditionally supplied the international labor market are themselves looking for skilled workers over the medium term. Consequently, a sustainable solution is only possible if, in addition to the needs of the countries needing labor (destination countries), the needs of the countries supplying labor (countries of origin) are taken into account along with those of the migrants themselves. The 2015 Reinhard Mohn Prize is therefore looking for “triple-win” solutions. It will also recognize an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the area of managing migration flows.
As a first step in the international search for solutions, the Berlin event, held at the dbb Forum conference center, brought experts from OECD destination countries together with specialists from the globe's major "regions of origin" and with representatives of civil society. The result of the gathering was an overview of successful initiatives currently under discussion by specialists in the field.
The workshop was divided into four sessions. The first two were dedicated to immigration programs used in European and non-European OECD destination countries. The third session looked at the issue from the perspective of the regions of origin (Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa and Eastern Europe). The fourth session examined the topic from the perspective of international civil society.
The research will now continue in select OECD countries and promising approaches will be examined on site this summer. Parallel to that, the working committee will continue its search for an outstanding individual to receive the 2015 Reinhard Mohn Prize.
