Mayor's Office of International & Immigrant Affairs - Welcoming Atlanta

It was great to welcome Consul General Allison Areias, Siyanda Mbanzi from the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C, and Neil Diamond (MBA) from the SA Chamber USA to City Hall! We discussed the recent activities between Atlanta and South Africa and boosting the Atlanta Phambili initiative from both continents. We identified opportunities for collaboration, including in the field of film and entertainment, entrepreneurship, aerospace, and fintech. As our relationship grows, we are looking forward to continued engagement with the South African diaspora in the United States as well as Africa!

Nicholas Mulkey, alongside Laurie Prickett from Invest Atlanta and Stefan Harrigan at Metro Atlanta Chamber were honored to attend the 10th Annual National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals Conference. This was also the first year that the conference was hosted in Atlanta! This year's theme was “Unleash Your Power! Creating a new paradigm for professional excellence in the Haitian?Diaspora and mobilizing for dignified leadership strategies in Haiti.” Each year, the NAAHP conference brings together the Haitian diaspora to foster education and explore ways to create a significant impact within the Haitian community. We value the NAAHP’s mission to connect a global community of peers with career advancement resources for Haitians across the United States.

This week, we helped 50 small businesses gain insight into Doing Business with the City of Atlanta. MOIIA partnered with City of Atlanta Department of Procurement and Invest Atlanta to showcase how small to medium sized businesses in Atlanta and the metro-area can expand their operations and become a registered vendor with the City of Atlanta. We also informed business owners of grants, loans, and other opportunities for expansion. Thank you to Amy Cornell, Kelsey Maynor, and Nicholas Mulkey for providing insight and guidance, and to our participants for your engagement and commitment to the City!

MOIIA's Director Paulina Guzman was honored to join the National Association of Chinese-Americans (NACA) for their Sapphire Jubilee: NACA's 45th Anniversary Celebration. MOIIA's recognizes NACA's mission in building bridges, fostering relationships, and shaping our communities. We were proud to present the Lifetime Community Recognition Award to Lani Wong, Chair of NACA, who has devoted over 40 years to serving the interests of Georgia's citizens and the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. We value the work of NACA and Lani Wong as they have left an impactful mark on the Chinese and Asian American community in Atlanta and beyond.

????Deadline Extended! ??Are you a leader in your community looking to grow? Join the Community Navigator team! Latino Community Fund (LCF Georgia) is seeking Community Navigators to conduct outreach on behalf of Welcoming Atlanta. Scan the QR code or visit the link at https://lnkd.in/evnVWZTa to apply! Applications close on Wednesday, November 19th at 11:59pm.

MOIIA is proud to continue supporting the Metro Atlanta Chamber Metro Export Challenge! We congratulate this year's winners, ProgenaCare (First place and $15,000), CodeMettle (second place and $10,000), and Dr. Noze Best in 3rd (third place and $5,000). The Atlanta Metro Export Challenge (Atlanta MEC) is a year-long program designed to assist metro Atlanta companies in their global business development efforts. Interested in joining the 2025 cohort? Applications are open until January 17, 2025 at: https://lnkd.in/eH_7ddtt

Thank you to City Council President Doug Shipman (he/him)'s team, Aaron Johnson and Jordan B Kemp, as well as Justin Kirnon for helping us welcome Swedish Parliament Member Carl Nordblom to Atlanta! Mr. Nordblom met the City of Atlanta to discuss the November presidential election and gain insights into early voting and opportunities and challenges for our city. We appreciated the exchange of ideas and processes to highlight the uniqueness of our respective democratic processes.

Check out Atlanta’s newest mural, which also happens to honor the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta-Lagos sister city relationship! Nigerian born artist?Chinemerem Omeh?highlights a mixture of Georgia and Nigerian roots in his piece “Old Tunes Awaken the Young Spirit.” A young woman dances to the beat of traditional African music with dogwood trees displayed in the background. Thank you to?City of Atlanta - Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs and?Invest Atlanta?for your partnership to bring together over 50 people for a special reception to unveil the mural, and to?Egwu International?for a performance to celebrate the occasion. We also recognize the work of the Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta, and Dr. Augustine Esogbue, Chair of the Atlanta-Lagos Sister City Commission, for their continued support of the Nigerian community in Atlanta and our office. You can check out the mural at the corner of Peachtree St. and Decatur St. in Downtown ATL!

At MOIIA, we love bridging cultures among our youth! We had the pleasure of helping facilitate a youth exchange between students from Atlanta's sister city, Stadt Nürnberg, and high schoolers from Benjamin E. Mays High School. The students from Nuremberg visited Atlanta during the 2024 presidential elections to see first hand how U.S. elections work, the political environment in Atlanta, and learn about the city's civil rights history. They also spent a morning at City of Atlanta for a productive discussion on voting rights and the voting process with Rafael Aragón from Mi Familia Vota. A special thank you to Trevor Williams from Global Atlanta for speaking to the students from a journalist perspective at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, and to our friends at Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta for introducing them to a bit of German culture in ATL.

Doing Business with the City is back! MOIIA is partnering with City of Atlanta Department of Procurement and Invest Atlanta to highlight how your business can bid for contracts, become a City of Atlanta vendor, and access small business resources. ?? Wednesday, November 20th ? 10 am - 12 pm ?? Uptown Atlanta (575 Morosgo Drive) Spots are limited! Secure your seat at: https://lnkd.in/e6XkavkX ________________________________ ?Cómo Hacer Negocios con la Ciudad está de vuelta! La Oficina del Alcalde de Asuntos Internacionales e Inmigrantes se asocia con?City of Atlanta Department of Procurement?y?Invest Atlanta?para informarle cómo su compa?ía puede participar en contratos, convertirse en proveedor de la Ciudad de Atlanta y acceder a recursos para negocios peque?os. ?? Miércoles, 20 de noviembre ? 10 am - 12 pm ??Uptown Atlanta (575 Morosgo Drive) https://lnkd.in/e6XkavkX