In case you haven’t noticed, the United States isn’t very popular right now. Long before our involvement in Iraq, our image was the “Ugly American” – loud, arrogant, and not interested in other cultures and languages. This puts us at a tremendous disadvantage, because today’s economy is about competition. You can’t read Tom Friedman, Richard Florida, or any major newspaper without hearing the wake-up call that we’re living in a global economy and there’s no turning back. Foreign companies can choose from more than 100 countries in which to set up operations. Some students who once wanted an American education now avoid our universities because of visa hassles. And tourists will spend money where it’s easy to visit and they feel most welcome.

Here are five tips (from many more) for Philadelphia to win internationally:

Make Philadelphia the easiest city in the United States for non-English speakers to visit, work in and live in.Offer welcoming and directional signs in multiple languages at points of entry, cultural attractions, stores, etc. International symbols work, but a winning city makes extra efforts.

Cultural attractions with brochures in other languages send welcoming messages. Plus they would attract our own immigrants. The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians reports that more than 250,000 Philadelphia residents speak English as a second language. How many are uncomfortable leaving their community because of language barriers? Whether visitors are from overseas or around the block, let’s make our attractions language-accessible to all.

Hire multilingual and multicultural employees. Shops, restaurants or any business with multilingual personnel can make more money. It pays to be prepared.

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