Posted: Tuesday September 05, 2023
Welcoming Week is taking place across the country from September 8-17, 2023 and is an opportunity to reflect our local community and welcome newcomers to the city who have made Brockville their home. Welcoming Week is an annual event across the country lead by Immigration and Citizenship Canada, and is an opportunity to bring together new and long time residents to build strong connections. It affirms the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.
During Welcoming Week, we invite all Brockvillians to join this movement of communities, nationwide and worldwide, by renewing our commitment to our core values and taking action in the spirit of welcoming. By working together, we can achieve greater prosperity and make Brockville the kind of place where diverse people from around the world feel valued and want to put down roots. Regardless of where we are born or what we look like, we are all Brockvillians, united in our efforts to build a stronger Brockville. By recognizing the contributions that we all make to create a vibrant culture and growing economy, we make our community more prosperous and more inclusive to all who call it home.
Do you know any newcomers in your neighbourhood, community groups, or businesses you frequent? Take the opportunity this week to make them feel welcome and an that they are an integral part of our community.
Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Share information about our community and local services
- Introduce newcomers to others with common interests to help build networks
- Check out these Recommended Reading lists from the Brockville Public Library: They have curated a recommended reading list for kids and a recommended reading list for adults to celebrate Welcoming Week
- Explore the Brockville Museum’s award winning Travel Trunk exhibit: Unpack the role immigration has played in Brockville’s development and discover the stories of local newcomers all while exploring your own family’s journey to Brockville. This hands-on and interactive exhibit is geared towards families with children age 8-12.
- Get to know some faces in our community through the “We Are Neighbours” campaign by the St. Lawrence Rideau Immigration Partnership. Over 30 different nationalities have participated in the campaign to date!
- Do you have a great story or know someone with a great story? The Immigration Partnership would love to share more local stories through their campaign
- Host a potluck
- Share a favourite Canadian pastime
- Invite a newcomer to a local event
- Download and print this “I am a Welcomer” poster and post it on your desk at work or in the window of your home from September 8-17
As part of Welcoming Week, it’s important to acknowledge that the history of Canada began far earlier than the European colonization and settlement, and to understand the history of the Indigenous Peoples that are living on this land and have been since time immemorial, long before immigrants came from all around the world.