Today’s moving and immigration experience – from the perspective of both families and global employer

It used to be called ‘immigration’ or ‘expatriation’ but in today’s global world international travel patterns are labeled ‘global mobility’. What is global mobility and in what way is it different from the travel patterns ten or thirty years ago? This talk will take a look at what has changed in the recent decades: Why are people moving away from their birth country? Who is going? What are they giving up and what are they gaining?

The life, challenges and compromises that earlier times immigrants had to endure are radically different from the situation of today’s international movers. They and the new generation of immigrants or global citizens are equally amazed at what it takes now and what it took then. Our sense of nationalism has changes but also technology has come a long way and are serving us with excellent tools to travel, communicate, network and do business across geographical lines. The talk will conclude with examples of how Danish families all over the world are facing today’s international relocation challenges and what global companies can do to support these Danish global families.

Line Mørkbak is talking from both her professional and personal experiences, as a Cross-Cultural Trainer working in the US and Denmark and as the co-author of the book ‘Verden Kalder – Inspiration til en global hverdag’ which is based on interviews of more than 100 Danish families living all over the world.

Biography

Line Mørkbak, M.A. is Founder and Principal of www.cultureCrossing.dk. Line Mørkbak works as Cross-Cultural Trainer & Facilitator in both the US and Denmark helping international employees and their families in successful transition to a new culture. She also works with global companies in making their multicultural teams work and collaborate more effectively. Line Mørkbak is the co-author of ’Verden Kalder – Inspiration til en global hverdag’ www.verdenkalder.dk (Børsens Forlag, May 2008). She lives in Eugene, OR with her American husband and their multicultural and bilingual daughter.