Moroccan flavors
Hassan Ziadi studied culinary arts in Europe. He worked in the kitchens of five-star establishments. And the emir of Qatar chose him to launch a restaurant in one of the country’s boutique hotels. Today, the native of Morocco is serving up his homeland’s traditional cuisine in Minnesota. Hassan is the executive chef and owner of…
Read MoreEast Lake Street in Minnesota revitalized by immigrant entrepreneurs
Two decades ago, East Lake Street in Minnesota was a haze of shuttered storefronts and boarded-up buildings. The Minneapolis thoroughfare was essentially a path to prostitution and drug dealing. “The neighborhood was in trouble,” says Twin Cities community leader Juan Linares. “Businesses didn’t have enough customers. But customers were afraid of coming to this area.”…
Read MoreStrengthening neighborhoods from within
Becky Xiong takes a tiny knife and carves the word “congratulations” into the side of a watermelon. She’ll complement that with cantaloupes cut to resemble shooting stars. Her work is popular with Hmong-Americans, who order tables full of sculpted fruit for presentations and parties. “I had been helping family and friends and churches who wanted…
Read MoreRe:Source Hackathon brings refugees, tech community together in Bay Area to hack down barriers
Berkeley, CA – For 12 hours, refugees, designers, developers, and engineers sat in a conference room at University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. There was no grading, no instructor, and no payment. Instead, these volunteers were motivated by the knowledge that technology can change and improve the lives of refugees in the U.S. The…
Read MoreDayton, Ohio, announced as first Certified Welcoming Community in United States
Dayton, Ohio…Welcoming America is pleased to congratulate Dayton, Ohio, for achieving the status of Certified Welcoming, the first city in the United States to earn the merit. Dayton announced the achievement at a City Commission meeting today. “We are proud of the recognition Dayton has earned as being the first Certified Welcoming city in the…
Read MoreWelcoming Economy Innovations: PhillyiHub strengthens local economy
The Welcoming Economies Global Network is a program of Welcoming America and Global Detroit. The Welcoming Economies (WE) Global Network is comprised of more than twenty regional economic development initiatives from across the Midwest working to tap into the economic development opportunities created by immigrants. Denise Williams found her courage negotiating with CEOs at the age…
Read MoreCNN: How immigrants can revive America's blighted neighborhoods
As cities like Detroit and Baltimore struggle to find ways to revitalize their abandoned buildings, a new study has found that immigrants might hold the key to bring new life to blighted neighborhoods. However, entities that manage distressed properties — called landbanks — have ignored them. Most Rust Belt cities have more immigrants who could…
Read MoreAchieving health equity as part of local welcoming efforts
Creating a welcoming community for immigrants can help to create a more healthy community for everyone, and such efforts to create health equity ensure that immigrants and refugees can participate fully and belong. A new paper released today by Welcoming America provides recommendations to help communities pursue a combined health equity and immigrant inclusion agenda.…
Read MoreCelebrating Immigrant Heritage, Building Shared Futures In Global Cities
Chicago’s ambitions to be “the most immigrant-friendly city in the world” made it a suitable setting for rich conversations about cultural heritage and inclusion at the Chicago Forum on Global Cities on June 1-3, timed perfectly with the kickoff of Immigrant Heritage Month, a nationwide celebration of our shared heritage of diverse cultures. Forum panelist Ronnie Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Hang…
Read MoreCNN op-ed: How refugees help their new communities
“Refugee” is a loaded word. It conjures up images of traumatized people living in crowded camps and inevitably leads to major rifts in national politics. The current debate centers on “Will refugees be allowed in our country?” But this short-term focus often obfuscates a more fundamental one — “What happens to refugees once they arrive…
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