A musical event will hold Friday October 3 in Columbus, Ohio, USA as part of
celebration of the 54th Nigerian Independence.
Interestingly, the event is being organized by an American, Aaron
Carter-Cohen, a doctoral student in music theory at the Ohio State
University, OSU with the Yoruba Club 21 as co-sponsor.
According to an email by Professor Adeleke Adeeko of the Ohio
State University, Columbus, “the event will feature a live band
which will be playing Highlife classics like 'Sweet Mother', 'Taxi
Driver', 'Oni Dodo' and many more.”
The two-hour musical event which will hold at the St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church (OSU campus) on 30 W. Woodruff and N. High Street
will begin at 6pm.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz
addresses the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN
headquarters in New York, September 27, 2014.
Austria's youthful foreign minister began his address
to the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday by acknowledging his place in
the world and offering something rarely seen during the annual meeting of world leaders. "I look a bit younger
than most of the other speakers before," said Sebastian Kurz. "Indeed, I
believe I am the only person under the age of 30 who has the privilege
of speaking here this week."
"What
I can offer is the perspective of a young generation," said Kurz, 28,
who in December was appointed foreign minister of the Central European
country of 8 million people.
Kurz described himself as part of the post-Cold War generation of European young adults who "communicate without borders on Facebook and Twitter, we have our entire lives on our smartphones and we consume the news online."
He has more than 60,000 Facebook
"likes," which compares favorably with his 68-year-old French
counterpart Laurent Fabius, who has less than 20,000, though his 115,000
Twitter followers overshadow Kurz's 28,100 followers.
"My
generation in Austria was privileged to be able to grow up in freedom
from fear and freedom from want. There are of course other stories to be
told of young people, growing up for example in Afghanistan or the Central African Republic," he said.
"Today half of the world's population is under 25 years of age. Many of them lack nutrition, healthcare, education, and jobs - all in all not much perspective in life," he said.
He
addressed the rise of extremism and the ability of groups to recruit
online. "How is it possible that we allow terrorist organizations to
abuse the right to freedom of expression by showing their barbaric acts
on social media?" he asked.
Columbus, OH. The intake dates
of the new Investor’s Programme of the Canadian province Quebec have
been announced. Applications will be accepted from January 5 to January
30, 2015.
Traditionally, the intake for the highly popular and only Canadian
Investor’s programme takes place in fall, the last intake round being
rounded up in October 2013.
With anticipation of a round of intake taking place from September
8-19 this year, investors will have to hold their horses a little
longer.
More importantly, significant changes are expected to be made to the programme.
Currently the Quebec Government accepts a limited number of
applications during short interval periods. The number of applications
to be accepted has been capped at 1,750 for years.
An applicant must have, alone or with his accompanying spouse, a net asset worth of at least CAD1.6 million.
An agreement must be signed to invest CAD800,000 with a financial
intermediary authorised to participate in the Investor Program, and the
applicant must have management experience in a legal farming, commercial
or industrial business, or in a legal professional business.
The application procedure is likely to be changed for the upcoming
programme, Armand Arton, president and CEO, Arton Capital told this website earlier.
The selection of applicants will be preceded by a pre-selection,
executed by a limited number of financial intermediates around the
world, he explained.
“The government of Quebec has decided to cancel the ‘lucky draw’ as selection process of the target of 1,750 application worldwide and will introduce a quota per financial Intermediary.”
“Each of the intermediates will be allocated a quota of applications
that [they] will be able to submit. It will be up to [the
intermediaries] to select only the best applications and submit them to the Quebec Government,” he said in July.
Announcements regarding the changes to the Investor Programme can be
made any time, and interested investors are advised to keep eyes and ear
open and be prepared for the application round in January.
Columbus, OH. Although the current Federal Skilled Worker Program
allows candidates to make a Canadian permanent resident application
without a job offer, obtaining a valid job offer in advance is an
advantage for many people hoping to move to Canada.
With this in mind, it is beneficial to maximise your chances of
finding employment in Canada. Success depends on your ability to
discover what Canadian employers are looking for and reveal to them that
you have the required skills, knowledge, and experience. Here is a list
of seven ways you can make yourself more employable in Canada. 1. Build your Canadian resume
An effective resume is essentially a marketing document in which you
are the product. It is your chance to make a strong first impression and
show your potential value to an employer. Employers across Canada are
accustomed to seeing personal information and work background being
presented in a particular way, so it’s important to format your resume
in the Canadian style. If you cannot represent your skills in a way
that employers expect, they are unlikely to believe that you have the
ability to adapt to life in Canada. To achieve success, start building your Canadian resume today. 2. Update your professional social networking presence
If you are conducting your job search
remotely rather than on the ground in Canada, it becomes more important
to build and maintain your online presence. Professional social
networking sites allow you to leverage common connections, connect with
recruiters, and discuss issues with members of your growing network and
in industry groups. Networking is a time-honoured method of
communicating with and learning from other people in your field, and
modern technology allows you to network remotely. This is another
opportunity to make a strong first impression, so take it. Visit CanadaVisa on LinkedIn and learn more about this online networking tool. 3. Tailor applications to job positions
This is vital. Sending 20 identical applications for 20 different
positions is not good practice, as employers can see that you didn’t
spend much time thinking about and working on your application. If this
is how you are conducting your job search, it is likely to fail. It is
far more beneficial to send fewer applications and spend a bit more time
researching each position and making alterations to your resume and cover letter
accordingly. Employers will appreciate the effort you have put in to
make yourself stand out from the crowd, and therefore will be more
likely to respond positively to your application. The CanadaVisa job search tool allows you to search for positions by location and occupation. 4. Know where the jobs are in your occupation
Knowledge is power. You might be an award-winning biologist or
highly-skilled engineer with all the skills and experience possible, but
knowing where those jobs are in Canada, and why those jobs are in those
places, is background information that you can’t afford to do without.
For the biologist, does the region he or she wishes to move to have the
kind of laboratories or research centres needed? For the engineer, are
there major infrastructure projects in place or being planned? Are there
regular networking events in your job field? What is the pay scale?
What are the local and regional employment rates? Getting answers to
these questions will allow you to make more targeted job applications, as well as give you a better idea of where in Canada your skills are most needed. See the CanadaVisa occupation profiles page for more information on your occupation. 5. Get accredited
Some occupations, such as nursing, teaching and certain trades,
require converting your accreditations to Canadian equivalents and/or
taking part in further training to gain necessary accreditation for
working in Canada. You can work on getting this accreditation before you move to Canada, which will show employers that you are serious about moving and prepare you for the Canadian market. 6. Work on your language skills
If English is not your first language and you are moving to part of
Canada except Quebec, you should make an increased and sustained effort
to improve your English skills. Candidates wishing to work in Quebec should make an effort to improve their French skills. Clear communication is essential for any successful business.
Furthermore, if you are trying to immigrate to Canada under any of
the permanent residency programs, you will need to pass an examination
in either English or French. 7. Practice your interview techniques
In an increasingly globalised world, more and more employers are
interviewing potential employees on the telephone or by Skype. This
means that you could be asked to conduct an interview from outside
Canada. Getting an interview simply means that you have provided
yourself a platform to further demonstrate your suitability for the
role. The hard work starts here, and confidence is key. Practice
speaking out loud in front of friends, as this will allow you to become
comfortable with the ideas you are presenting. More importantly, do some
research on the company that has asked you to interview for a position.
Moreover, arrange a short list of questions of your own that you can
ask employers during an interview. Ensure that you come across as an
inquisitive person with a sincere interest in how the company conducts
its affairs. The Government of Canada supplies some useful resources on preparing for a job interview.
“Above all, maintaining a positive attitude throughout the job hunting process is key, as it is for the immigration process.
It is natural to become frustrated if you are not getting immediate
results, but finding a job is a continuous learning cycle,” says Attorney David Cohen. “For potential candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, which remains open across 50 skilled occupations, making yourself more employable in Canada means they can land in Canada and hit the ground running.”
Columbus, OH. The adjustments made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) by the Government of Canada
in June, 2014 changed the way in which employers make applications to
hire international workers. Because of these changes, employers and
workers in the film and entertainment industries have had to adjust how
they go about hiring temporary foreign workers for projects in Canada.
Canada is an entertainment hub, playing host to a broad range of
concerts, shows, sporting events, and more. Behind the scenes, however,
lies an often complex legal process for allowing performers and crew the
right to work in Canada. Employers and workers therefore ought to be aware of the new system of granting what is known as a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), when a LMIA is required, and when it is not. The background
Formerly, foreign performing artists hired to perform at a venue
whose primary purpose is to sell food and drinks, such as bars and
restaurants, required a LMIA before applying for a work permit. Each application
for a LMIA cost the employer $275 per person, which was found to deter
both employers and international acts from touring or doing work in
Canada. Moreover, it was found to create a “black market” whereby
international artists would enter Canada as visitors and perform “under
the table” (i.e. they would be paid in cash or by cheque and not declare
earnings for tax purposes). LMIA changes that affect workers in film, TV and music occupations
When the Government of Canada made an overhaul to the TFWP in June,
2014, changes specifically designed to improve, simplify and regulate
the process for hiring international artists were put in place. One of
the central aims of these changes was to provide consistent treatment to
foreign artists working in Canada on temporary engagements, regardless
of the venue type in which they were performing.
As such, any foreign-based musical and theatrical individuals and
groups and their essential crew – including performing artists (i.e.
bands and musicians) performing at venues whose primary purpose is to
sell food and drinks for time-limited engagements will be eligible for a
work permit
exemption. This means that a LMIA application, the fee for which has
been raised from $275 to $1,000 per worker, is not necessary for the
aforementioned cases. Other LMIA-exempt positions include:
producers of film, television, video and documentary projects funded entirely from outside Canada;
adjudicators at music and dance festivals;
performing artists and their essential crew, but only if they are:
entering Canada to perform for time-limited engagements;
not being hired for ongoing employment by the Canadian group that has contracted them; and
not involved in making a movie, television or radio broadcast.
However, a LMIA will still be required for foreign performing artists who are:
on the production of film, television or radio broadcast that is funded from inside Canada;
not performing in a time-limited engagement; or
in an “employment relationship” (for example, a permanent piano bar
employee) with the organization or business in Canada that is
contracting for their services.
While LMIA applications normally take around three months to process
for non-entertainment industries, the Government of Canada allows for
expedited processing of LMIA applications made by employers seeking to
hire foreign performing artists. The Government aims to have such
applications processed within three weeks. The reaction
The changes in LMIA applications, and their effect on hiring
temporary foreign workers in the entertainment industries, have been
well received by employers, venues, artists, and immigration
professionals alike.
“The Government of Canada has responded to the cries of venue owners,
promoters, and artists who had been burdened with red tape and
exorbitant costs. All parties are now operating in a much more efficient
and cost-effective system,” said Daniel Levy of Campbell Cohen Law
Firm. “Canadians love each and every type of popular entertainment, and
no government wishes to disappoint them. If a LMIA is required under the
new rules, consulting an attorney could be the key for getting the
right work permit for the right job.”
Columbus, OH—The Gang of Eight immigration bill (S.744) passed last June would have
roughly doubled the number of new foreign workers allowed into the United States of America, as well as legalize illegal immigrants, partly on the grounds
that there is a labor shortage, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Many business groups and political
leaders in Georgia supported the legislation.
In a new study the Center
for Immigration Studies examines government data to see if there is
evidence of a labor shortage.
The analysis shows that since 2000, all of
the net increase in the number of working-age (16 to 65) people holding
a job in Georgia has gone to immigrants (legal and illegal). This is
the case even though the native-born accounted for 54 percent of growth
in the state’s total working-age population. Even worse, the labor force
participation rate of Georgia’s natives shows no improvement through
the first part of this year despite the economic recovery.
“There are a huge number of working-age people in Georgia not working
and labor force participation remains at record lows. Thus, it is
remarkable that any of the state’s leaders would support legislation
that would actually increase the number of foreign workers allowed into
the country,” observed Steven Camarota, the Center’s Director of
Research and lead author of the report.
Among the findings:
• The total number of working-age (16 to 65) immigrants (legal and
illegal) holding a job in Georgia increased by 400,000 from the first
quarter of 2000 to the first quarter of 2014, while the number of
working-age natives with a job declined by 71,000 over the same time.
• The fact that all the long-term net gain in employment among the
working age went to immigrants is striking because natives accounted for
54 percent of the increase in the total size of the state’s working-age
population.
• In the first quarter of this year, only 64 percent of working-age
natives in the state held a job. As recently as 2000, 74 percent of
working-age natives in Georgia were working.
• Because the native working-age population in Georgia grew
significantly, but the share working actually fell, there were 684,000
more working-age natives not working in the first quarter of 2014 than
in 2000 — a 52 percent increase.
• Perhaps most troubling is that the labor force participation rate
(share working or looking for work) of Georgia’s working-age natives has
not improved even after the jobs recover began in 2010.
• In fact, the labor force participation of natives in Georgia shows a
long term decline with the rate lower at the last economic peak in 2007
than at the prior peak in 2000.
• The supply of potential workers in Georgia is very large: In the first
quarter of 2014, 2 million working-age natives were not working
(unemployed or entirely out of the labor market) as were 208,000
working-age immigrants.
• In terms of the labor-force participation rate among working-age natives, the state ranks 36th in the nation.
• Two key conclusion from the state’s employment situation:
First, the long-term decline in the employment for natives in
Georgia and the enormous number of working-age natives not working
clearly indicates that there is no general labor shortage in the state.
Thus it is very difficult to justify the large increases in foreign
workers (skilled and unskilled) allowed into the country in a bill like
S.744.
Second, Georgia working-age immigrant population grew 167 percent
from 2000 to 2014, one of the highest of any state in the nation. Yet
the number of work-age native working in 2014 was actually lower than in
2000. This undermines the argument that immigration on balance
increases job opportunities for natives.
A growing number of rural communities in Canada are hoping to attract newcomers to the country, citing a need to reverse dwindling population trends, strengthen local economies, and address labour shortages, according to CICNews.
In recent years, more than a quarter of residents in metropolitan areas have been immigrants, a figure that plummets to only five per cent in small towns. Canada’s three largest cities — Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver — together accounted for nearly two-thirds of the immigrant population of Canada. In contrast, only one-third of Canada’s total population lived in these cities, showing a disparity in immigrant and non-immigrant populations between urban and rural areas.
Some small rural communities, however, are hopeful of reversing this trend by identifying the immigrants they wish to attract based on local labour market needs. By consulting withlocal employers and promoting candidates for immigration through the Provincial Nominee Program, rural communities are increasingly planning strategies that aim to guarantee the long-term success of their towns, both from an economic and community point of view. The Provincial Nominee Programs consider a person’s application based on, among other factors, his or her genuine intention to settle in that province. This aspect of the programs has led some small towns to launch initiatives aimed at sourcing the highest quality immigrants to their communities.
A Case Study: Morden, Manitoba
One such rural community is Morden, a small town of around 8,000 people in Southern Manitoba, lying 112 km southwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg. With an unemployment rate of 3.1%, local employers struggle to find enough workers. Morden’s Community Driven Immigration Initiative aims to aid employers through an active recruitment campaign. Applicants for the Morden initiative make an application through theManitoba Provincial Nominee Program(MPNP).
While most rural communities in Canada take a more passive role in attracting immigrants — for example, by observing which newcomers are arriving to the given province and only then hoping to attract them to their respective town — Morden is taking a much more active role. For its part, Morden identifies potential newcomers to the town before they make their PNP application, rather than after.
“The program has been very successful,” says Community Development Officer, Cheryl Digby. “Employers are supporting the program by offering jobs to newcomers, developers have plans forhousing complexes to house the new arrivals, and the community at large has opened their hearts to new friends.
“Our retention rate has remained high, as applicants are chosen specifically for their high chance of success in Morden. In particular, there are openings for applicants with experience in manufacturing such as woodworkers or cabinetmakers, welders, sewing factory workers or entrepreneurs who have business experience.”
Living costs in communities such as Morden are among the lowest in Canada, a factor that is likely to become more of a priority for newcomers to Canada as the cost of living in large Canadian cities grows faster than the rate of inflation.
A Case Study: Simcoe County, Ontario
Simcoe County, situated north of Toronto from Lake Simcoe to the shores of Georgian Bay, is another region actively looking for newcomers. The largely pastoral county has seen approximately 650 landed immigrants per year in recent years, but Sandra Lee, Project Manager at Simcoe County’s Local Immigration Partnership, has noticed a growing trend of immigrants moving from big cities to counties such as hers.
“Most of our growth is because people are landing and they’re moving after the fact,” said Lee following a panel at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference in August. “Recent settlement trends reveal that economic regions other than the GTA are receiving a larger share of Ontario immigrants and that the proportion of secondary migration to non-Census Metropolitan Areas is increasing.”
Last year Simcoe County launched an online immigration portal to help new arrivals, with a particular emphasis on immigrants with particular skills to meet local labour market needs. Rather than relying on immigrants moving from the big cities to more rural environments years after they have landed in Canada, the focus, like in the case of Morden, is increasingly turning towards attracting more landed immigrants directly. With a stagnant population growth rate, Simcoe County is one of many rural regions that has identified immigration as part of the solution. Future job opportunities will require skilled workers, and immigrant talent will be an important component of the county’s future.
The Prognosis
“In the earlier part of her history, Canada made use of skilled newcomers moving to rural areas to address labour shortages and take advantage of the potential of the land,” says Attorney David Cohen.
“Much of Western Canada, for example, was settled by immigrants from Eastern Europe after a government recruitment campaign. While current federal immigration policies do not explicitly identify any particular region or target group, it appears likely that rural areas, after decades of losing out to Canada’s cities in attracting skilled international labour, will take a progressively active role in the immigration process. This is potentially a win-win for the communities and newcomers alike, as well as for the diversity and continued economic success of Canada. When small rural communities actively identify people who are more likely to fit in and succeed, this creates growth and reduces the burden on big cities.”
In Concourse Village in the Bronx, Sylvester Donkor, left, and Ataa Serwaa, immigrants from Ghana, waiting for a cab to church.Credit
Damon Winter/The New York Times
Threatened
with arrest in 2009, Lamin F. Bojang fled Gambia after publicly
contradicting its president’s claims that he could cure AIDS. Now 31,
Mr. Bojang lives in Concourse Village in the Bronx with his wife and
2-year-old son and works as a receptionist at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical
Center in Brooklyn, while working toward a bachelor’s degree in
political science at City College.
With
educational and professional opportunities in Gambia scarce for his
generation, “the rest will have to find ways of leaving,” he said, “and
African migrants here, just as previous migrants, are likely not going
to return to their countries of origin.”
Niat
Amare, 28, graduated from law school in Ethiopia where she grew up, she
recalled, “watching the media portray the U.S. as the land of
opportunities.” She arrived here in 2010, lives in Harlem and said she
felt welcome in New York. “Anyone would find one’s countryman here,
which eases the strange feeling we all have the first time we leave
home,” said Ms. Amare, a legal advocate for the African Services
Committee, a nonprofit organization that assists new immigrants.
Lamin F. Bojang with his son, Ebrahim Bah, at his home in the Bronx.Credit
Damon Winter/The New York Times
While
the migration of black Africans is not new, the number of sub-Saharan
immigrants has grown swiftly, an influx that is shifting the demographic
landscape across the country, including in New York City.
Between
2000 and 2010, the number of legal black African immigrants in the
United States about doubled, to around one million. During that single
decade, according to the most reliable estimates, more black Africans
arrived in this country on their own than were imported directly to
North America during the more than three centuries of the slave trade.
And
while New York State is home to the largest proportion and many have
gravitated to ethnic enclaves like Little Senegal in West Harlem or the
Concourse Village section of the West Bronx, to live among fellow
Ghanaians, black immigrants from Africa have tended to disperse more
widely across the country — to California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Maryland, Texas and Virginia — than Caribbean-born blacks.
About
a third of black New Yorkers were born abroad, mostly in the Caribbean.
Africans constitute about 4 percent of the city’s foreign-born
population, but as much as 10 percent in the Bronx. At last count,
according to an analysis of census estimates by the Department of City
Planning, from 2000 to 2011 the African-born population increased 39
percent to 128,000, although other estimates suggest that many more are
living here without legal residency.
“They’ve
been doubling every 10 years since 1980,” said Kim Nichols, an
executive director of the African Services Committee, which is based in
Harlem. “There’s a more established family and community network here to
come to.”
Some
come as refugees, some with work visas or special skills, many to stay
and others to hone their talents and eventually apply them back home.
Worshipers, including many from Africa, at the Holy Fire Dynamic Word church in the Bronx.Credit
Damon Winter/The New York Times
The yearly flow can be affected by wars and epidemics.
“They’re
a self-selected population,” Ms. Nichols said. “They have to be the
most ambitious and have the means to get here — at least one plane
ticket — and a fearlessness about coming to a new place.”
She
recalled a boy who was 13 and fluent only in Soninke when he arrived
alone from Mali after his family had finally scraped together enough
money to pay for his airfare. The young man, now 18, just got his green
card.
“His
parents saved everything for years to buy a plane ticket,” Ms. Nichols
said. “They have this dream. They’re dirt poor and the only way their
kids are going to get ahead is to get them here by hook or crook.”
An
analysis of the Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey, which
ended in 2012, found that 30 percent of African-born blacks in the city
had a college degree, compared with 22 percent of native-born blacks,
18 percent of Caribbean-born blacks and 19 percent of the nonblack
foreign born.
Immigrants like Mr. Bojang and Ms. Amare say they still identify more as African than as black or African-American.
Niat Amare at her office in Harlem.Credit
Damon Winter/The New York Times
“Many
black immigrants do not identify with the historical experiences of
discrimination encountered by blacks in the United States,” said Kevin
D. Brown, a law professor at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law.
Two
generations removed from colonialism and legal segregation, said Dr.
Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the New York Public Library’s
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “the younger African
immigrants tend to be less consciously ‘black’ and are somewhat reticent
to link their fates with the history and contemporary protest
traditions of African-Americans.”
“Selma doesn’t exactly cut it for them,” he said.
Kobina
Aidoo, director of “The Neo-African-Americans,” a documentary, said,
“I’ve heard people refer to themselves as everything from ‘African
African-American’ to ‘Halfrican American’ to ‘White African-American’ to
‘Real African-American’ to ‘American African” to ‘Just black.’ ”
“Diversity
among African-descended communities remains a black box and a mystery
to most Americans,” he said. “Where public safety is concerned, black is
all that matters.”
Mr.
Bojang, who hopes to study law here after graduating from City College,
said it might seem paradoxical that young Africans, who centuries ago
arrived in chains, now dream of coming to America — but largely because
the educational and economic opportunities are so much better than back
home.
“So,
if you look at the factors in place and contrast that with the
conditions of the continuous struggle of the African-Americans for
economic and social justice, it will be an error in judgment to say that
the U.S. is becoming the Mecca for Africans.
Columbus, OH. The 
A Case Study: Morden, Manitoba
A Case Study: Simcoe County, Ontario
