Welcoming Week expands into Mexico through partnership with Sin Fronteras and Welcoming America
Welcoming America, a national nonprofit organization based in Decatur, Georgia, and Sin Fronteras, an award-winning NGO based in Mexico City, announce a partnership to expand the annual Welcoming Week celebration into Mexico this September 8-17 and beyond.
More people than ever are on the move, displaced by climate and conflict and seeking safety and opportunity. Since 2012, Welcoming Week has invited communities to take the first step toward creating an environment where everyone can truly thrive. The initiative is an opportunity for communities to cultivate the awareness and energy that’s needed to sustain year-long welcoming efforts through events, proclamations, and communications campaigns.
Through the partnership with Sin Fronteras, Welcoming Week activities in Mexico will tell the story of welcoming communities and build broader support for migrant populations in Mexico. With a grant from Welcoming America as part of its Welcoming International initiative, Sin Fronteras receives multilingual toolkits, technical assistance, and international peer connections to host Welcoming Week events across Mexico and activate a national social media campaign, partnering with local and national institutions along the way.
Rachel Perić, executive director of Welcoming America, says: “Welcoming America is proud to partner with Sin Fronteras to celebrate Welcoming Week in Mexico. We take inspiration from the leadership of Mexican communities and their efforts to build a more welcoming society for all Mexicans, including people with migrant backgrounds. Together with our global partners, Welcoming Week is a moment to affirm that all of us can belong and thrive in the places we call home, no matter where we come from.”
Tamara Aranda, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Sin Fronteras, states: “For Sin Fronteras it is very important that Welcoming Week be held in Mexico, especially after the end of the Remain in Mexico Program or Migrant Protection Protocols and Title 42, as well as the increase in migratory flows and asylum seekers in Mexico after the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused major outbursts of xenophobic violence. Creating spaces for dialogue between Mexicans and foreigners is more important than ever. We need to listen to each other and recognize ourselves as part of a community. We must strengthen the social fabric and it will be very interesting to do so during our national holidays. Our celebration will showcase union and cooperation, an open-door Mexican party.”
Sin Fronteras will coordinate with the following organizations in Mexico to host Welcoming Week activities: Espacio Migrante, Centro de Apoyo Marista al Migrante (CAMMI), Asistencia y Orientación para la Movilidad Humana (Asmovilidad), Cuartoscuro – Agencia de Fotografía y Editora, Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco – UNAM, Centro cultural “El Rule” – Secretaría de Cultura, Programa Casa Refugiados, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ), Universidad Marista de Querétaro, Centro Cultural Tijuana, America’s Family, Enrique Chiu, Alfredo “Libre” Gutiérrez and more than 30 local companies in Mexico City, Querétaro and Tijuana.
Welcoming Week will take place in three cities — Mexico City, Querétaro, Tijuana — and include the following sample of events:
Mexico City
- September 8: Online presentation of Welcoming Week Mexico 2023
- September 9-10: Mural painting with Alfredo “Libre” Gutiérrez
- September 15: Patriotic Welcome Dinner where families and friends share pictures with Welcoming Week lettered boards during Independence Day in Mexico
Querétaro:
- September 8: Intercultural and inclusive markets, Querétaro State Congress
- September 11-17: Theater play “María y la Ferrovija Historia de los Errantes Arenosos” at Instituto Queretano, Instituto Paula Montal, and CAMMI
Tijuana:
- September 8: Online presentation of Welcoming Week Mexico 2023 and premiere of TV show “Maestra, Veterinaria, Astronauta” at Centro Cultural Tijuana
- September 13: Gastronomic event “De mi país a tu mesa” at Labadee Restaurante
- September 14: “Historias, letras y caminos migrantes” at Espacio Migrante reading room
For more events and information on Welcoming Week in Mexico, contact Sin Fronteras.
###
About Welcoming Week
Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that celebrates the work in communities to become welcoming places for all, including immigrants. Launched in 2012 by Welcoming America and its members, Welcoming Week provides individuals and organizations the opportunity to showcase their values through events and initiatives that foster connections and collaboration between immigrants and non-immigrants, as well as belonging for all. Learn more at welcomingweek.org.
About Welcoming America
Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. We believe that all people, including immigrants, are valued contributors and vital to the success of our communities and shared future. Learn more at welcomingamerica.org.
About Sin Fronteras
We are a civil organization founded by social and academic activists in 1995 in response to the pressing need to address international migration from a comprehensive approach that would ensure respect for human rights and promote improved living conditions for migrants, refugees and their families, especially for irregular migration.
By that time, the civil society organization mainly engaged in aid-based advocacy, such as the migrants’ democratic participation and human rights, while government authorities failed to offer adequate responses, so our organization started to provide localized assistance, empower our served population and design and implement policy programs to support migrants and refugees. Learn more at sinfronteras.org.mx.