We are excited to announce that Welcoming America is one of 11 organizations worldwide to receive the 2014 Intercultural Innovation Award, granted by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)!
The Intercultural Innovation Award is given to the most innovative projects around the world that are working to build intercultural cooperation and dialogue, and Welcoming America was selected from a pool of more than 600 applicants from over 100 countries.
The award recognizes the Welcoming Cities and Counties initiative supporting American cities and regions to create an amicable and attractive environment for immigrants. Lincoln was among the first cities in the country committed to being a Welcoming City ensuring everyone is welcome and valued in the community.
Awardees were honored at a ceremony in Bali, Indonesia, where Executive Director David Lubell had the honor of shaking the hand of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who participated in the awards ceremony. As an awardee, Welcoming America will receive a year of support and training from UNAOC – crucial and timely expertise!
Welcoming America ranked fourth out of the 11 recipients overall – the highest ranking of any U.S-based organization in the award’s history – and only the fifth U.S.-based organization to ever receive the award.
To learn more about the award, please click here. Welcoming America is honored and humbled to have received the Intercultural Innovation Award, and we are excited to work to parlay this momentum to take immigrant welcoming and inclusion to new heights!
Welcoming America is a national, grassroots-driven collaborative that seeks to create welcoming atmosphere – through local efforts like Nebraska Is Home and You’re Welcome In Omaha – for immigrant Americans, because our communities are strongest when everyone feels welcome.