The Columbus Dispatch: Forum focuses on promise of immigrants to Franklin County

The population of Columbus is expected to triple over the next 30 years, and a large part of that growth will be immigrants and refugees.

That’s why it is important to start a communitywide discussion about the challenges and opportunities faced by these populations, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said at a New American Forum Wednesday at the Columbus Athenaeum.

“Communities across the country are constantly competing to attract the human capital that will allow them to thrive in a global economy,” Ginther said. “Newcomers play an important role in growing our population, adding diversity to our educational systems, starting small businesses and driving of economic prosperity.”

The immigrants and refugees in Columbus share the same values as people born here: Working hard, providing for their families and trying to make life a little better for their children, he said.

“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike,” Ginther added, quoting famed poet laureate Maya Angelou’s poem, “Human Family.”

Franklin County commissioners, along with a New American Advisory Council they created, hosted the half-day event to raise awareness about and promote integration of the area’s immigrant community.

Read the full story from The Columbus Dispatch: Forum focuses on promise of immigrants to Franklin County