Successful Citizens through entrepreneurship

Download or read book Successful Citizens through entrepreneurship written by Arnaud Segla and published by The Wisemen Council. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INTRODUCTION Integration is a challenge for any country that welcomes a large number of immigrants from various regions from all over the world. Integration is defined as the act of adapting to a country and its culture. For a long time, Canada has been considered as a promised land for economic migrants who are shunted from place to place as a result of globalization, poverty and a lack of transparency in certain countries’ governments. This multicultural, bilingual country has distinguished itself through its favorable politics towards economic migrants. The latter are able to obtain permanent resident status through a selection process that uses professional and other socioeconomic criteria. Citizenship is then granted to those who decided to stay in the country and invest in a life that goes from diaspora to transmission, from generation to generation, of a mixed heritage. But when does one feel integrated? To put it bluntly, a seamless integration requires sufficient revenue and a cultural as well as personal identity that is based in the elements of reference of the local community. For example, in Quebec, French is a necessary aspect of distinction and community. From students in higher education to qualified workers and professionals, the two key elements to integration will call for specific strategies that depend on where a person is in life when he or she starts out on this journey of social achievement. What are the strategies necessary for successfully integrating into local society? For immigrants, one of the solutions is to turn towards entrepreneurship, either full time or part time. These choices can be motivated by barriers to employment or by chances that a country’s economic situation offers migrants to reach the two criteria previously cited as necessary for integration. The wheel does not need to be reinvented, and there are many guides such as “ImmigrAffaires” by SAJE and “Entrepreneurship in Quebec” by Immigrant Québec, just to name a few, that offer a wealth of practical information on the resources available for immigrants who want to start their own business. My goal here is to offer advice on how to better use these resources and to give the point of view of an immigrant and, by extension, of a generation of immigrants. This guide will first approach immigration strategies with an entrepreneurial focus, all while evaluation the other options available for succeeding in realizing one’s life goal in the city that we chose to base either a part of our life, or all of it. This guide aims to help others avoid certain pitfalls, as well as serve as a collection of the collective memory of a community of ethnic entrepreneurs. We welcome you as we navigate the different stages that you, as an immigrant, will face while trying to find your place in your city’s economy.