Welcoming Week 2022 toolkit
Welcoming Week is an annual opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people, places and values that help everyone feel welcome and that they belong in their local community, no matter where they come from.
This year’s Welcoming Week takes place from September 9 to 18. It marks the 10th anniversary of what is now a global event, and Canada’s third year participating nationally.
We recognize the important work of many immigrant settlement organizations in this space. Welcoming Week is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of these activities.
Successful integration is a two-way street: the more welcoming communities are, the more newcomers feel at home and contribute locally.
Here are some tips and shareable content to help you spread messages of inclusion on your website and social media channels or during virtual events and meetings. We encourage you to do what works best for your community or organization.
These recommendations aren’t intended to be prescriptive. You should design Welcoming Week activities to resonate locally, by considering what events, messages and collaborations will be the most effective in building a welcoming place for all.
On this page
How you can participate
Events
- If you’re planning a newcomer or welcoming event/day/week, consider hosting it during Welcoming Week.
- Host an event (virtual or in person, depending on public health guidelines) that brings new and long-time residents together. Examples include:
- local park clean-up or other community work
- cooking demonstration with an immigrant chef
- dance party with an immigrant DJ
- film screening or book club featuring an immigrant filmmaker/author or film/book related to immigration
- networking or training opportunity for entrepreneurs of diverse backgrounds
- Learn how you can welcome newcomers by volunteering, donating, learning and celebrating.
Web and social media
- When sharing on social media, remember to use #WelcomingWeek2022 and tag
- Issue a Welcoming Week proclamation or resolution on your website or social media channels.
- Promote the positive impact that immigrants have had on your community or workplace using stories, facts and infographics.
- Share inspiring stories of how you, your organization or community are promoting inclusion or working together to make your community a better place for everyone.
- Share photos that show how you or your organization are creating a welcoming place for newcomers.
- Post a short video clip of your community or business leaders talking about the importance of inclusion.
- Share a story from an immigrant or refugee’s perspective on how their employer or community welcomed them and made them feel at home. If you’re an immigrant or refugee, share your own story.
- Launch a new program, publication or video that features the work your organization does for newcomers.
- If you’re an immigrant settlement organization already active in this space, reshare content on social media related to welcoming or newcomer days/weeks/initiatives held in the past.
- Customize the templated images, signs and messaging to share.
Images and messaging you can share
Welcoming Week image
Use the Welcoming Week image in your materials.
Social media content
The images and social media text below can be interchanged and customized based on your community’s or organization’s preferences.
Communications timeline (recommended)
1 month prior to Welcoming Week:
- Encourage social media followers to “save the date” and highlight the hashtag on social media (#WelcomingWeek2022).
- Post 2 or 3 times per week per platform, gradually increasing the number of posts as more information for event(s) becomes available.
2 weeks prior to Welcoming Week:
- Increase the number of posts to 3 or 4 times per week. Posts should ask attendees to register for events and engage on social media through hashtags. The posts should generally build excitement for the event(s).
During Welcoming Week:
- Post at least once or twice per day per platform.
- Pre-schedule reminders for events right before their start time.
- Assign a staff member or volunteer to live tweet from virtual and in-person events.
- Collect notable stories throughout the week and save them for a follow-up email campaign or blog post.
After Welcoming Week:
- Share success stories from event(s).
- Highlight prominent guests, notable social media moments and metrics on attendees, views, likes, etc.
- Thank any partners and donors by tagging them in posts.
Social media tips
- Shorter is better.
- A candid or action-oriented photo is better than a posed photo.
- Use a high-resolution photo, if possible (typically 300 DPI and at least 1 MB in size).
Share these on your social media:
Share your stories and photos between September 9 and 18 using #WelcomingWeek2022. Tell us how your neighbours or colleagues helped make you feel welcome in your community. Share how you helped newcomers feel welcome in their new home or job.
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 446 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 317 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
Belonging begins with creating inclusive communities. During #WelcomingWeek2022, celebrate the values that unite us. Share your stories on social media about how you, your neighbours, friends, and colleagues have come together to create spaces of belonging.
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 427 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 298 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
We all have the power to welcome newcomers into our communities. Join us this #WelcomingWeek2022 by watching this special Canada Day citizenship ceremony. The first-of-its-kind hybrid citizenship ceremony included candidates participating in person and virtually, representing all provinces and territories throughout Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb2Gtx4Ocxg
Customize your social media messages:
Join us from September 9 to 18 to celebrate #WelcomingWeek2022. Let’s come together and share how you’re making your community a more inclusive and barrier-free place for newcomers. Want to participate? Find out what’s happening in [insert city or org. name]: [link to events page or an upcoming special Welcoming Week event]
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 471 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 311 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
Each and every one of us has the power to help others, regardless of background, to be seen, heard, welcomed and included in our communities. That’s why we’re participating in #WelcomingWeek2022. Find out how to get involved: [link to organization, community events, resources, volunteer opportunities, etc.]
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 457 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 340 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
No matter where we come from or who we are, [name of locality/region/country] is a place where everyone is welcome. [Room for your own messaging.] #WelcomingWeek2022
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 376 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 245 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
New to [name of locality/region/country]? Welcome! Join us @[insert Twitter here] for #WelcomingWeek2022 this September 9 to 18. No matter where you’re from, we’re glad you’re here.
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 453 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 313 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
Welcoming communities are successful communities! Immigrant-owned businesses such as [insert business name and locality/region/country here] enrich our economy and culture. Join us by celebrating #WelcomingWeek2022 this September 9 to 18.
Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 436 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 350 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
We’re celebrating #WelcomingWeek2022! Find out how you can participate in [local area/region/country]: [link to organization, community events, resources, volunteer opportunities, etc.].
Download animated GIF for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn (GIF, 3 MB) Download ALT text for animated GIF (TXT, 1 KB)Welcomer signs
Take a selfie with a Welcomer sign and post it on social media with #WelcomingWeek2022. If you would like to create a sign in your language, download a blank version and write it in.
News release template
For immediate release: September [xx], 2022
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[Locality/region/organization] celebrates Welcoming Week!
This week, [name of locality/region/organization] celebrates Welcoming Week by [explanation of activity]. [Insert quote from executive or prominent community member on what welcoming week accomplishes locally].
[Name of locality/country/region/organization] will host the following [event(s)] in September: [Add details of event – what, where, who, etc.].
Welcoming Week is an annual opportunity to recognize and celebrate the people, places and values that help everyone feel welcome and that they belong in their local community, no matter where they come from.
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About Welcoming Week
Welcoming Week is an annual campaign and celebration to showcase the movement of communities striving to be more welcoming places for all, including immigrants.
This year’s Welcoming Week marks the 10th anniversary of what is now a global event, and Canada’s third year participating nationally.
About Welcoming International
Welcoming International is an initiative that consists of several programs: the Welcoming International Alliance of peer national networks supporting local actors to advance immigrant inclusion at the community level across the world, local-to-local learning exchanges, and technical assistance to national institutions on welcoming standards and strategies. Learn more at welcominginternational.org.
About [your organization’s information]
Media Contact:
[Local media contact info here]
Proclamation template
Welcoming Week 2022: A proclamation
Our [locality/region’s] success depends on ensuring that all residents of [name of locality/region] feel welcome here.
Today, new [residents, for example, Torontonians] are a vital part of our community—bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas, starting businesses, and contributing to the vibrant diversity that we all value.
This week, we honour the spirit of unity that brings neighbours together across [name of locality/region].
During Welcoming Week, I invite all [residents of locality/region] 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 [locality/region] 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 [residents], united in our efforts to build a stronger [name of locality/region]. 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.
Let us come together to build communities where every resident has the opportunity to contribute at their best. Let us come together to create more prosperous communities and to reaffirm that [name of locality/region/country] is a welcoming community.
Now, therefore, I [name, title], by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of [locality/region], do hereby proclaim the week of September [date], 2022, Welcoming Week. I call upon the people of [name of locality] to join together to build stronger communities across our [locality/region].
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