Navigating the Global South

Scholars, public officials and policy practicioners from across the South gathered in Chapel Hill, N.C., last week for a two-day conference entitled "Navigating the Global South." Sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for the Study of the American South and University Center for International Studies, the event explored "the economic, political, cultural and social challenges and opportunities the southern United States faces in the midst of globalization."

While the conference touched on a wide array of themes, two topics dominated the discussions: economic development and immigration. In recent decades, the South has evolved from an economic laggard into an dynamic leader, intimately connected to an international marketplace. While that prosperity has benefited the region, challenges abound in regards to maintaining and expanding that prosperity and ensuring that all Southerners and their communities benefit from change.

Similarly, the South's growth has turned the region into a magnet for people from across the globe. Immigrants from Latin America in particular have come to the South and have altered the region's historic white-black population dynamic. Dealing with the opportunities and challenges connected to immigration is essential to the region's sustained growth.

Click here to access all of the conference papers.