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Welcoming America is thrilled to announce ANVITA, or l’Association Nationale des Villes et Territoires Accueillants (translated as the National Association of Welcoming Cities and Territories), as its newest partner in the Welcoming International Alliance, a program of the Welcoming International initiative.
The France-based network of welcoming cities includes more than 80 local and regional governments that mobilize, advocate, and support newcomers and underserved populations in France with “unconditional hospitality”. As a partner in the Alliance, ANVITA joins a group of national city networks and civil society institutions around the world that are making their communities more welcoming.
Christina Pope, senior director of the Welcoming International initiative, said: “We are thrilled to count ANVITA among the growing ranks of national welcoming networks around the world. ANVITA and its 80 diverse municipal members have demonstrated how to welcome effectively, with compassion, and to society’s greater benefit in a complex political environment in France and the European Union. We look forward to learning from them as part of our Welcoming International Alliance.”
ANVITA’s leadership, which includes Damien Carême, MEP, and Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg, said: “As the national context is deeply concerning in France, we are more than enthusiastic to be part of a worldwide alliance of welcoming cities and territories. We need to be linked to peers in other countries, by exchanging tools, practices and advocacy work. It is also crucial to demonstrate that France is a welcoming country, locally, in our territories.”
With the recent passage of a contentious immigration bill and rising anti-immigration sentiment in France, ANVITA’s participation in the Welcoming International Alliance reinforces a counter narrative of welcoming communities and reflects the importance of collaboration across borders, a theme that will resonate during the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in France and by ANVITA and Welcoming International at the Global Forum on Migration and Development this week in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Welcoming International Alliance is a peer group of national welcoming networks that regularly participate in knowledge exchange. Participating partners learn from good practice on whole-of-community migrant inclusion and participation approaches, network management strategies, and welcoming/inclusion standards and certifications. Additionally, partners learn about innovations from peer national networks and take away new ideas and energy to supportblocal-level efforts that foster welcoming communities.
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About Welcoming America
Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. We believe that all people, including immigrants, are valued contributors and vital to the success of our communities and shared future. Learn more
About ANVITA
Created on September 26, 2018 by nine founding cities, the National Association of Welcoming Cities and Territories (ANVITA) brings together local and regional governments and elected officials who work for unconditional reception policies, including exiled populations and for hospitality in their territories. Its main objectives are to be a room for exchanging inspiring practices and a room for advocating for better national policies, including local stakeholders. Today, the association includes more than 80 cities and territories. Each member must adhere to the values of the ANVITA charter, based on unconditional welcome. Learn more
MEDIA CONTACTS
ANVITA: Léa Enon-Baron, lea.enon-baron@anvita.fr
Welcoming America: Lola Pak, lola@welcomingamerica.org