Join the Africa Program and Leadership Project as we welcome 9 distinguished African scholars in our upcoming conference series, "Southern Voices in the Northern Policy Debate: African Voices." They will be presenting on a number of major international issues affecting the African continent from their own research, perspectives and experiences in hopes of better informing the Global North on what works and what doesn't in policy towards Africa.

In spite of the economic need for migrant labor and a tradition of embracing multi-culturalism, European electorates and their representatives in government have moved away from the more liberal and inclusive policies of the past. Some European leaders have even pronounced the “end of multiculturalism.”

Debate over immigration policy in the United States has centered on law enforcement and related legal reforms. Two other factors, however, are key elements of a broader discussion, especially in international forums.

Half of the world’s seven billion people currently live in cities, one billion in them in informal settlements; the United Nations projects that the global urban population will expand to as many as five billion over the next two decades. As a result of failing rural economies, conflicts, material inequalities, gentrification, and other urban development programs, people are moving into, out of, and through cities in search of profit, protection, and passage elsewhere.

"Africa: 54 Countries, One Union" is a follow up to last year's Conference in Washington, DC. This Conference aims to bolster African initiatives on infrastructure and development.

Media coverage and policy debates outside Nigeria rarely go beyond covering the latest crisis. This conference goes beyond the headlines to better understand key challenges and opportunities.

Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), both first term Senators, discussed key components of the Start-up Act, which they have authored and introduced. The two Senators oulined why we need to keep talented people in the United States, especially in STEM fields and how the government can best serve entrepreneurs through regulations, taxes, and encouraging talent.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside and Wilson Center Fellow.