The 2024 Global Welcoming Week Campaign kicks off with 600 events across 8 countries

Annual campaign spotlights communities that are fostering belonging through local events, educational programming, and perspective-changing conversations.

Welcoming Week, an annual campaign led by Welcoming America and implemented in partnership with organizations worldwide, will take place September 13-22. It kicks off this week with more than 600 events taking place in countries across the globe including Australia, Canada, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and the United States.

Rallying around this year’s campaign theme, “We’re All In,” this international movement will call on individuals and groups to demonstrate how they are building communities where everyone belongs and has a place to call home. Through local programming, Welcoming Week 2024 invites communities to generate awareness and energy around the need for belonging, while encouraging sustained, year-round efforts.

Rachel Perić, executive director of Welcoming America, said: “The human need for belonging is a universal one, and Welcoming Week is a global call to foster belonging locally. Communities thrive when we connect as neighbors, whether we’ve just arrived or called a place home for generations.”

From rural towns to major urban centers, belonging begins at home, and local participation is the heart of this movement. The role of welcoming work in local communities around the world is of particular importance in 2024: a pivotal election year in which more people than ever are heading to the polls. National elections are taking place or are scheduled to take place in over 60 countries that are home to half of the world’s population. Immigration is among the issues central to many elections, and the results will have implications for human rights and belonging for many years to come. Welcoming Week and the Welcoming International Alliance rallies countries to participate and celebrate the diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and cultures of their populations. 

Lizbeth Mendieta of Sin Fronteras, a Mexico City-based NGO and Welcoming International partner, said: “Welcoming Week builds bridges of understanding, celebrates differences, and creates more welcoming places and environments for peaceful coexistence for all people.” 

In its 12th year, Welcoming Week provides an opportunity for cities, towns, and organizations to publicly proclaim welcoming values, host events, and lead initiatives for community members, building a deeper sense of belonging for all. Partners will host events to gather neighbors around a shared love of the arts, sports, food, conversation, and culture. Whether educating people about pathways for citizenship, or a community potluck, every Welcoming Week event that takes place is unique to its host community, including:

International

U.S.

Welcoming Week 2024 is proudly sponsored by One Percent for America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking down financial barriers to U.S. citizenship. By offering one percent interest loans for USCIS application fees, One Percent for America empowers immigrants to pursue their American dream. Thanks to their generous support, this year’s Welcoming Week will reach more communities, fostering inclusion and advancing the rights of immigrants and refugees throughout the United States.

This year’s official partners for Welcoming Week include prominent organizations such as the American Library Association, Church World Service, the YMCA, and the governments of New Zealand and Canada, among others.

The 2024 campaign marks the 15th anniversary of Welcoming America, the U.S.-based nonprofit organization that supports the growing international movement of welcoming communities during Welcoming Week and year-round.

Visit welcomingweek.org/events and use the search tool to find Welcoming Week events closest to your community.

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About Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week is an annual campaign and celebration to showcase the movement of communities striving to be more welcoming places for all, including immigrants. Launched in 2012 by Welcoming America and its members, Welcoming Week provides individuals and communities the opportunity to proclaim welcoming values through events and local initiatives that foster mutual understanding between immigrants and non-immigrants, as well as deeper 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. Through the Welcoming Network, we work to change systems and culture by providing communities with the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion to create an environment where everyone can truly thrive. Learn more at welcomingamerica.org.

Contact: Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, [email protected]