Dear newsletter subscriber,
International migration is the exception to the rule. That may sound surprising given the volume of the debate in many parts of the world. But according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 96 % of the world’s population lives in their country of birth. The majority of international migration is also safe and regular. Usually, people migrate to look for work in another country.
Others have to flee – from armed conflicts as well as from natural disasters like floods or droughts. Their number has recently been growing to about 130 million in 2024. Almost half of these migrants have been internally displaced. They all need to find a place where they can build a new life.
When migrants find work, pay taxes and participate in the social life of a host society, everyone benefits. But everyone is also responsible for integration: both migrants and host societies have to do their part.
New arrivals need access to basic infrastructure like housing, healthcare and work. Often special support is needed at first, like when refugees are processing trauma. Statistical surveys in Germany show that most refugees are willing to build a life for themselves: eight years after their arrival, over two-thirds of them have found employment.
Conservative to right-wing extremist forces in Europe, North America and elsewhere have recently succeeded in pushing the debate towards rejection, exclusion and fear. We should not allow this to happen – and instead talk more about how integration can actually succeed.
We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. Please feel free to share your opinions, criticisms and suggestions by emailing us at euz.editor@dandc.eu.
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Kind regards,
Jörg Döbereiner
Managing editor at D+C |
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Our latest Digital Monthly:
Coping far
from home |
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Solar-powered water supply for climate refugees in Pakistan
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© picture alliance/dpa/Boris Roessler
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The challenge of starting over
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| Jenny Phillimore is Professor of Migration and Superdiversity at the University of Birmingham. In her contribution, she looks into what it means to start from scratch in a foreign society – and what responsibilities this entails not only for the individual, but above all for the host society. |
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© picture alliance/AA/Juancho Torres |
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Legalising millions of displaced Venezuelans |
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in sub-Saharan Africa lived without access to electricity in 2023. According to the latest figures available from the International Energy Agency (IEA), this means that only 40 % of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was connected to the main grid at that time. In addition, 4 million households had access via local grids.
At the same time, these figures mark a turnaround: for the first time in three years, the number of people with access to electricity rose again, although the figures for 2019 still could not be reached. The positive development can be attributed not only to the increasing spread of solar home systems, but also to the expansion of electricity grids.
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| This happened in May, but with everything that is going on you maybe missed that the African Union has inaugurated the African Space Agency (AfSA). Africa’s first continental space agency, headquartered in New Cairo, is not just about African countries going to space, but a significant step towards battling the climate crisis: launching satellites and establishing weather stations across the continent allows centralised monitoring and effective responses to climate change impacts – in all member states, not just in high-resource countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria, which have been investing in national space agencies for years. The integration of these programmes is expected to have numerous positive effects, ranging from optimising the agricultural sector and satellite-based communications to driving economic growth through improved access to technologies. |
| What has also caught our interest |
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Inequality in Africa is driven by a combination of historical legacies, structural economic choices and policy failures, argues Ernest Aryeetey, emeritus professor of Development Economics at the University of Ghana, in a recent interview for The Conversation. He highlights how indirect taxes like VAT burden the poor, while the wealthy exploit exemptions. Elites control land, markets and state resources, while patronage, corruption and political capture help maintain the status quo. Rapid privatisation and market liberalisation further deepened inequality. While some countries like Rwanda and Botswana have made efforts, there are still many shortcomings to address, Aryeetey argues. |
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One of the appeals resulting from the Second Africa Climate Summit, which took place in Addis Ababa in mid-September, is directed at the media world. The African Union (AU) wants media stakeholders to tell the climate change story in a way that benefits the continent’s people. Specifically, this involves making complex issues easier to understand, while still weaving climate into reporting on other aspects such as security, peace and financial resources. In addition, fact-checking skills, community journalism and cross-border journalism are to be strengthened. We are glad that the AU officially recognises and endorses these cornerstones, which are part of our D+C DNA. |
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The virtual career fair for women in senior roles organised by impactpool will take place on 23 October, bringing together organisations committed to gender equality and empowering women in leadership. The event is directed to women leaders currently in service or seeking to work in a senior and senior executive role at an international, multilateral, bilateral or non-governmental organisation. Participants are offered the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals and ask questions to representatives of participating organisations, such as OECD, FAO or IOM. |
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Imprint
Publisher information: ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH Service für Entwicklungsinitiativen
Publisher: Fazit Communication GmbH, Pariser Strasse 1, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)69 7591-3110 | Email: euz.editor@dandc.eu
Website: www.fazit.de | Managing Directors: Jonas Grashey, Hannes Ludwig |
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