Multiculturalism in the Americas: Challenges for Europe

Immigration, integration and multiculturalism – can the American experiences be useful for Europe?

Denmark and many other European countries have only recently begun to meet the challenges presented by increased globalization - from the reframing of national identities to the very practical problems relating to integration of newcomers in the workforce and in society at large. Canada and the United States, however, have been “immigrant nations” throughout their entire histories. The US still welcomes about one million legal immigrants every year, while last year alone, Canada received 262,236 new permanent residents. Measured against the size of the population, that is a larger intake of newcomers than any other country in the world.

The Center for the Study of the Americas at CBS and the Embassy of Canada in Copenhagen invites you to a seminar on the challenges ahead and the lessons from Canada and the United States.

Programme

13:00 Opening:

Director of the Center for the Study of the Americas, Niels Bjerre-Poulsen

HE Fredericka Gregory, Ambassador of Canada to the Kingdom of Denmark.

13:20 The Honourable Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C. Diversity and Integration in Education, Skills and Business; the Canadian Experience and Challenges for Europe.

Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C. has been a member of the Senate of Canada since 1990. He is Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He has practiced Law in Halifax for a total of 36 years and was a part-time professor at Dalhousie University Law School for 14 years. Senator Oliver has been a member of and chaired numerous Committees and Associations and has been an active contributor to the Black Community for many years. The work for visible minorities, and human rights in Canada, are among the Senator’s special effort areas.

14:00 Eva Kartholm Challenges to Ethnic Integration in the Danish Construction Sector.

Eva Kartholm is a senior officer in the Danish Construction Association, which represents approximately 6,000 member companies, comprising about 80,000 workers from contracting and manufacturing companies within the Danish building, construction, and industry sector. Eva Kartholm is a construction architect and has subsequently supplemented her education with a BA in Management. Among her many assignments are labor market issues such as the integration and use of the ethnic labor force. Eva Kartholm is a member of the Program Board for Dialog and Balance in Vulnerable Neighborhoods, appointed by the Minister for Integration.

14:30 Coffee break.

14:50 Dr Natasha Kumar Wariko

Natasha Kumar Warikoo is Lecturer in US Studies at the University of London's Institute for the Study of the Americas. She completed her PhD in Sociology at Harvard University, and she conducts research on education, immigration, ethnicity, and race in the US and Britain. Her work has been published in both scholarly and mainstream publications, including The Washington Post; Ethnic and Racial Studies; and Race, Ethnicity, and Education. Previously, she worked for the US Department of Education and as a secondary school teacher.

15:20 Tøger Seidenfaden Multiculturalism: Collapse of Western values or Simple necessity - the Danish case.

Tøger Seidenfaden is Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper Politiken. He has degrees in political science from Denmark (Aarhus University), France and the USA (Yale University). Tøger Seidenfaden is a member of the Institute for Strategic Studies (London), the Ministry of Education Reference Group on Secondary Education, and the Steering Committee for the Trilateral Commission. Tøger Seidenfaden became Adjunct Professor at the Department of Intercultural Communication and Management at Copenhagen Business School in 2002.

15:50 Panel discussion (Donald H. Oliver, Natasha Warikoo and Tøger Seidenfaden)

17:00 Seminar ends.

Registration: Please register at csa.eng@cbs.dk. Attendance is free of charge.