2022 New American Forum
On Wednesday, May 11th, the Franklin County New Americans Advisory Council (NAAC) hosted its 8th annual New American Forum. Its theme focused on “Building Vibrant Communities: Working Together so Every Resident Thrives” and was held virtually, again, via Zoom due to the ongoing pandemic.
Back in 2017 the NAAC was commissioned by Franklin County Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce to identify challenges and barriers within the New American community and build a platform that promotes inclusivity in Franklin County. Each year since the council has hosted a forum to raise awareness about the contributions and challenges the New American community deals with and to promote integration through community engagement. As the forum has continued to grow so have the needs of the community. This has led to the progression of utilizing the fruitful conversations of the forum to inform recommendations the council will give to government officials locally and even statewide.
This year’s forum was a continuation of the previous year’s announcement of the Gateways for Growth project. With the project in full swing, the council dedicated this forum to the successful completion of the Strategic Welcoming Plan for Central Ohio by utilizing the key areas of importance as the basis for the breakout sessions. As always these conversations would provide a basis to creating recommendations and then lead into how best to implement this plan. Business owners, government officials from each municipality, service providers, and New Americans alike had the opportunity to choose from:
● Equitable Workforce and Economic Development
● Equitable Small Business Development
● Education (K-12)
● Connected, Safe, and Healthy Communities
● Equitable Access to Services and Resources
● Equitable Access to ESL Classes
● Civic Engagement, Government, and Leadership Development
Overall over 100 people were in attendance including Commissioner Boyce and Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, who both spoke about the importance of having this strategic welcoming plan and its implementation. Both officials have been instrumental to progress and success of the Gateways for Growth project and its Strategic Welcoming Plan. Each breakout session was moderated by a professional or a council member who was trained to create a safe space for all participants to express themselves along with a notetaker to capture all of the discussion.
Over the next couple of months, US Together, Inc., Welcoming City, the NAAC, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the City of Columbus, and the Franklin County Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will continue to work together to continue to identify partners, identify and promote policies within organizations, and implement regular monitoring of the progress of the Strategic Welcoming Plan. We encourage all those who participated to continue to have conversations about belonging and creating a welcoming space for all.
If you weren’t able to attend, we’d still like to connect with you! Please reach out to us if you’d like to be invited to next year's forum by sending us a message via our website. Make sure to select “Columbus Office” and indicate you’d like to be added to our New American Forum invitation list. We can’t wait to see you next year!