Hiring, training and housing refugees and asylum seekers is the “next big challenge” for businesses, according to a longtime leadership professor and UNICEF vice president.
“The big, ugly elephant in the room is migration. Currently, more than 120 million people have migrated from where they live to somewhere else, often as refugees or migrants seeking asylum, and trying to establish this movement People do it.” Michael Hastings said, referring to UN figures on forced migration.
Hastings urged business leaders to take stock of the issue and ask themselves: “How do we provide education, employment, legal services, facilities, housing and dignity to young prospects and women?” He made the remarks while speaking to CNBC’s Tania Bryer at the One Young World summit in Montreal, Canada, a gathering of young leaders tackling the challenges facing the world today.
According to the European Commission, low- and middle-income countries host 75% of the world’s refugees, and about two-thirds of refugees live in poverty.
Hastings has been an advocate for marginalized groups throughout his career, and his current roles include President of SOAS University of London (formerly the School of Oriental and African Studies) and Professor of Leadership at Utah State University.
Dr. Michael Hastings speaking at Concordia’s Annual Summit in New York City on September 19, 2017.
Ricardo Xavi | getty images
Hastings praised business leaders who are tackling climate change by reducing carbon emissions and single-use plastic use, but said we need to go further. “The corporate world is missing the next big challenge. Yes, climate is a big problem. We’ve got that, but the next big problem is migration. We’ve got to get that, too,” he said.
According to the European Commission, most refugees worldwide (73%) leave their homes due to disasters such as conflict, violence, and floods in five countries: Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
“People are losing their lives and desperate to find another future,” Hastings said, describing people struggling to cross the Mediterranean, the Mexican-American border and the English Channel.
Hastings, a member of the House of Lords, said the British government should investigate where migrants crossing the Channel in small boats came from.
“Ask them why they come here.” he said “Let’s go back to the source of our supply and truly invest in the prospects and future of achieving peace,” he said. “This is a problem across Europe. It’s a problem in North America. It’s a problem in the developing world.”
Hastings, who has previously held corporate social responsibility and citizenship roles at organizations such as the BBC and KPMG, is known for her focus on purposeful leadership. “If someone has a purpose that drives their thoughts and actions, it will drive your spending and your time and make you make an emotional commitment. My purpose is to speak up for the poor and bend people. Wealth “It is the impact of one person’s power on the potential of a poor person,” he said.
Hastings described the role of a leader as a ‘servant’ rather than a ‘controller’. “Leaders must be, above all, vulnerable people who know that their true purpose is to empower others,” he said.
