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Welcoming Week 2025 is here! Celebrate Portland’s immigrant and refugee communities from Sept. 12 to 21.

News article
Mayor Keith Wilson stands with a group of smiling people who represent diverse races and ethnicities, genders and ages, on the New Portlanders Policy Commission View full size image
The City of Portland will be joined by many community organizers in Portland to rejoin hundreds of cities around the world to participate in Welcoming Week from Sept. 12 to 21, 2025. Join us for the opening ceremony.
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What: 

The City of Portland invites you and members of the media to watch the opening ceremony of Welcoming Week, kicking off nine days of community-led events that celebrate immigrant and refugee communities in Portland.  Event recording details are listed below. 

An African dancer performs a welcoming dance that involves a colorful dress and balancing pottery on her head. View full size image
Josephine Namuddu performs a traditional East African dance meant to welcome people.

Portland is one of hundreds of communities worldwide to annually host Welcoming Week, in which organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build communities of belonging. Communities who participate in Welcoming Week affirm the importance of inclusive communities in achieving collective prosperity.  

For details about the other Welcoming Week events and programs planned in Portland, go to portland.gov/civic/welcoming-week-2025. 

When: 
Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, from 9:50 to 11 a.m. 

Speakers: 

  • Mayor Keith Wilson
  • New Portlanders Policy Commissioner Co-Chair Martiza Kritz
  • City of Portland Councilor Sameer Kanal 

Why: 
City of Portland officials will speak about the importance of Oregon’s immigrant and refugee community – a topic of high interest to Portlanders.  

This opening event kicks off a series of programs scheduled from Sept. 12 to 21, 2025.   

To view the schedule of additional community-led Welcoming Week events, please visit: portland.gov/civic/welcoming-week-2025. 

A singer and her young family members sing Ukrainian music. View full size image
Inna Kovtun sings songs in Ukrainian with her students.

Quotes from the opening ceremony:

“Portland is strong because of our diversity, our connections, and our commitment to inclusion and belonging. Building a city where every resident feels safe, valued, and supported requires partnership, leadership, and thoughtful policy. It is up to all of us -- community members, organizations, and government -- to work together to create spaces where everyone can thrive. Welcoming Week is both a celebration and a call to action to continue this important work.” 

-Portland Mayor Keith Wilson

“Every neighbor belongs here. We celebrate the resilience and contributions of new Portlanders – the families who bring their hopes and traditions, the business owners who drive our local community and the young people who carry forward the promise of a more just and equitable Portland. Welcoming Week reminds us that Portland’s strength is its diversity.”

New Portlanders Policy Commission Co-Chair Martiza Kritz

An audience claps for a young performer View full size image
Audience members applaud for a young performer who sang songs in Ukrainian.

“The thing that makes Portland welcoming ultimately, is not only government action, but actually the community itself. Your city council and your mayor have your back….(and) we’re working together to keep the city a place where you can be safe; where you can earn a living wage; where you can have a comfortable, affordable place to live and raise a family; and find community, where your kids want to remain in Portland and build their lives, too.”

Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal

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