Date: Saturday, November 14th 2015

Participants (from 12 countries):

Host: Rick

Moderator: Rick

Teams

Panel PRO: Faten, Johny, Rick, Riya, Marwa

Panel CON: Finda, Reneesh, Amir, Noorola

Audience: Imad, Lala, Ayisha, Sunita, Amy, Butterfly, Marites, David, Usaid

Bonus chat: Ohnie, Lala, Fahad

Panel PRO:

When there are a large number of immigrants in a country, it could shape the culture for the good or for the bad.
Immigrants can be the basic fabric of a society, such as the United States, where immigration formed the foundation of society, contributing to the economic strength, cultural "richness" and investments into innovation.
Assimilation into a society while maintaining/respecting cultural differences is possible. The shared respect for laws that govern a country and in the case of the United States, shared principles and values (freedom of speech, freedom of religion etc) can be the foundation for a national community, while embracing the richness that diversity brings.
As long as the immigrants are good, decent, open minded and skillful people, it can be beneficial for the community.
When you have diversity in a society, you can learn more, you can experience more, you share more and you grow more.
A society that does not have much diversity is like a pizza with only cheese and nothing more.
When a society with diversity has people that respect each other, it can be a very healthy society because we all bring things to the table, we have ideas and different views that can be very beneficial for a community.
Taking advantage of the different experiences and backgrounds can create a very healthy society.
One of the challenges of an immigrant community is when they do not assimilate into the culture and this creates an us-versus-them attitude; generating friction and tension among the population and this is a barrier for a harmonious healthy society.
Exposure to alternative ideas/cultures can teach us to be more tolerance, to show mutual respect for each other, no matter the way we dress, the religion we follow, the foods we eat etc.

Panel CON:

People who bring different traditions, customs and values can damage an established culture. A society can lose its identity and traditions.
People who bring and sell different kind of food can affect the society health wise.
It’s more important to keep your own values, principles and everything that makes you be who you are than to lose them all just to blend in into a different culture.
People do not need to give up who they are in order to live in a society.
More important is respect and getting familiar with the culture you are dealing with.
There are no hard line boundaries defining assimilation, so it can be a subjective idea.

Audience summary:

Imad A
Lala C
David B
Usaid C

It was a tie.There was a bonus chat after the debate and the topic was “Name 3 things or something that gives you energy”.

Thanks everyone for participating. To listen to this debate, click on the links below:

Debate

Listen online:

Download:

Immigrant Assimilation | November 14th 2015 | Recording file

Bonus Chat

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Download:

Things that make you have energy | Bonus chat | November 14th 2015

For people who did not join the live discussion, feel free to contribute the ideas in the comment blanks below.