Mission and Values

The mission of the Welcoming Economies Global Network (WE Network) is to strengthen the work, maximize the impact, and sustain the efforts of local economic and community development initiatives across the Rust Belt region that welcome, retain, and empower immigrant communities as valued contributors to the region’s shared prosperity.

The WE Network embraces the following core values:
  • Immigrant communities are central to expanding economic opportunity and revitalizing the entire region.

  • Welcoming immigrants into the economic and social fabric of a region helps
 to make that region more socially vibrant for everyone.

  • Regional economic development initiatives can play a role not just in attracting
 immigrants, but also in retaining them and in enhancing their role in the community’s economic and social fabric.