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A town meeting on how to help immigrant entrepreneurs assimilate into the Philadelphia region’s economy drew a lively crowd to WHYY on Monday night. The forum was co-sponsored by by The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, a group that promotes immigration participation in the region’s economic, political and social life. In its recent report “Shared Prosperity,” the Center argues that, as Pennsylvania’s workforce ages, new workers are going to be needed to replace them. In older cities around America, immigration has turned out to be key to bolstering the labor force and stemming population decline. In some areas, immigrants have revitalized older down towns.  Philadelphia has lots of immigrant energy percolating in its neighborhood business corridors, but the city has been slow, compared to some other cities, to embrace the immigrant presence, as a matter of attitude and public policy.

More than 80 participants - with cultural backgrounds ranging from Dominican to Russian to Burmese to West African to Chinese - gathered in WHYY’s civic space to compare notes on success stories of immigrant business, along with tales of the challenges and obstacles that entrepreneurs moving into Philadelphia neighborhoods often face.

In the video above, you’ll see a group of panelists discuss the many challenges immigrants face when trying to make a living into the Philadelphia region.

The panelists are:

Nina Ahmad, Ph.D, Chair, Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs
Alfred Dorman, Business District Manager, Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation
Kevin Dow, City of Philadelphia, Deputy Director of Commerce
Enerolina Melendez, representing Dominican Grocers Association
Stanley Straughter, Chair, Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs

The moderator of the panel is Dr. Harris Sokoloff, director of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, which helped the Welcoming Center plan the event and led the energetic small-group discussions.

A second forum is planned for Fall and will address how to put any recommendations into action.

In the video below, you can see Anne O’Callaghan, the executive director of The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, discuss her group’s findings that she says show immigrants have a positive economic impact for local communities.

A full report on the small groups discussions will be posted in a week or so.

Click on the image to watch the video