The Role of Migration in Shaping the Future

Migration is often seen as a negative cause in the economy. Stereotypes portraying migrants as ‘stealing our jobs’ or ‘scrounging off the taxpayer’ abound in sections of the media and public opinion, especially in times of recession. This paper seeks to broaden and rebalance perceptions of migration to reflect a more complex and highly variable reality. Movement has a huge potential for improving human development. Our vision of development as promoting people’s freedom to lead the lives they choose recognizes mobility as an essential component of that freedom. Also, we want to emphasize the role of migration during history and the benefits in shaping the world as it is now, with future perspective.