London is the city of migration, people move from all parts of the country in search of education, jobs, opportunities or just a new way of life. People from across the European Union all come to join the party, along with folk from nearly every part of the world. A hugely diverse and on the whole tolerant place to live, work and do business. So why is this not celebrated?

Most of the information produced on migration tends to focus on the issues and problems. Granted there are always going to be issues created and magnified which fan the flames of extreme opinions on both sides, but why must we not feel a sense of pride in the fact that people want to come here and settle?

I want to talk about who produces this information, do they have positive relationships with the media, and who is the best for London?

Diversity is one of those political terms that have been forced into public discourse. Some people have to be made aware of the benefits of having an open, inclusive workforce as that encourages others to want to work with that company. People are more likely to do business with people that look like them so it is really a no-brainer to have different people working together in a place like London. If only it was easy to turn facts into ideology and not the other way around.

One concern is the attitude of the people who are living here and the reluctance to assimilate in English culture. Likewise do English people actually want others taking part in their particular cultural activities. It is possible to belong to separate cultural groupings, clubs and societies without causing enormous conflicts of interest but when we talk about race; all rationale seems to break down. Ultimately everyone should be able to feel part of the community rather than living in silos.

A respect for the spectrum of difference will help people understand diversity even against the backlash of media representation and institutionalised racism. With the cut of publicly funded English language courses, the globalisation of employment industries, and the effects on working class people, as media makers we need to be asking in whose interest are we reporting stories for.

The distinction between refugees, asylum seekers and immigration should be made clearer. It would be nice to read about where migrants come from without crying out for them to leave and become another countries problem. Now that the Dublin agreement has been suspended, the hopes of those migrating are being destroyed and the fears of those in host countries are becoming far too emotional.

As the newspaper headlines scream about Eastern European migrants working in agricultural areas; foreign national prisoners clogging up our justice system; Commonwealth countries and their attachment to British society; organised crime including people trafficking and prostitution; along with immigrant associations dividing people; it is even more appropriate to discuss who has the right to tell anyone who they are.

Difference can be seen as a threat but should not be an excuse for the immigration blame game; rather we could focus on our aging society, the credit crunch, budget cuts with organisations working with immigration and asylum – how are they going to be affected?

The disconnection between race and immigration is fuelling revolution rather than evolution.