Bridging Differences Playbook

As part of the Bridging Differences initiative at the University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, this playbook synthesizes the core skills and strategies for bridging political, racial, religious, and other divides to support positive dialogue, relationships, and understanding between groups or individuals. Welcoming America is cited on page 36 as an example…

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A Global Welcome: Metro Chicago's Approach to Immigrant Inclusion

More than half the global population lives in metropolitan areas, and this proportion will likely increase throughout the 21st century. A significant contributor to this growth will be immigrants and other newcomers. This report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs examines, through the lens of the city of Chicago, the complexity of the foreign-born community and…

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Bridging Divides, Creating Community: Arts, Culture, and Immigration

Bridging Divides, Creating Community: Arts, Culture, and Immigration is a creative placemaking field scan written by John C. Arroyo, Ph.D., AICP, in partnership with ArtPlace America. This field scan seeks to illuminate key priorities within the immigration sector and provide a framework for understanding the ways that arts and culture contribute to local, place-based immigration…

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Celebrating Welcoming Week: A Guide for Libraries

This toolkit published by the American Library Association in partnership with the National Forum on Libraries, Census 2020, & New Americans; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; and Welcoming America provides tips, tools, examples, and other resources for U.S. libraries to participate in Welcoming Week. Because libraries play a unique role in helping communities…

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Sample Welcoming Week 2020 Proclamation

Download a template of a sample welcoming proclamation that your community leadership can adopt during Welcoming Week 2020 as a public commitment to welcoming policies and practices.

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Welcoming Week 2020: Messaging and talking points

How to use talking points In addition to being a community-building tool, Welcoming Week is an opportunity to share the work of welcoming places with the media. This list provides talking points that you may use in your media outreach plan to share your event and organization’s work with reporters. It may be used to…

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Welcoming Week 2020: Event Examples

Below are examples of events that can be hosted in-person, virtually, or a combination of both: BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS Clean up a local park or a few neighborhood blocks. Tend a community garden  Paint a community mural Build a new playground COLLABORATE WITH DIVERSE BUSINESSES  Host a virtual cooking demonstration with a local immigrant chef Recognize…

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Hosting an In-Person Event During a Pandemic

To keep our communities safe and healthy, we recommend hosting virtual events or events that allow participants to maintain social distancing. If you are hosting an in-person event, following are some questions to consider when selecting your venue or event space. VENUE/EVENT SPACE What are the venue’s policies and guidelines related to COVID-19?  What kind…

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Developing Your Event

Welcoming Week hosts build bridges through events that bring people of different backgrounds to work on a shared activity. Use the following steps to help guide the development and execution of your event.  1. Listen Start by listening. Ask residents: What are the needs you are hearing from your community? What is being identified as…

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