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| GlobalPittsburgh Immigrant Entrepreneur 2016 Awardees |
In two
forums recently, Mayor Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh has made it clear that the
city welcomes newcomers from other countries: “we wanted to let them know the
city has their back”.
At a Feb. 21
gathering at the home of Gisele and John Fetterman, mayor of Braddock, Mayor
Peduto signed a “shared commitment” which included a pledge to welcome to the region “all nationalities, faiths, and
cultures” not only for reasons of morality and justice, but also because “our
economy, our institutions, our culture, our vibrancy…are all strengthened when
we uphold the rights of all of our neighbors”.
In addition to the two Mayors Fetterman and Peduto, the declaration is
signed by The Most Rev. David Zubick, Roman Catholic bishop of Pittsburgh, The
Rt. Rev. Dorsey McConnell, Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Aaron Benjamin
Bisno of Rodef Shalom, Imam Abdu’Semih Tádéşe of the Islamic Center of
Pittsburgh, United States Senator Bob Casey, Allegheny County Executive Rich
Fitzgerald, and others.
The Braddock meeting was followed on March 10 with
a meeting between Mayor Peduto, Pittsburgh police chief Scott Schubert, and
other city officials with representatives of local Latino, Muslim, Turkish and
Sudanese and refugee organizations. Mr.
Peduto acknowledged the anxiety and “concern coming from the Latino community
and the Muslim community”, drawing attention to the efforts of the city’s
Welcoming Pittsburgh initiative to create an hospitable environment for
newcomers.
GlobalPittsburgh will hold the Second Annual
Immigrant Entrepreneur Celebration in December 2017, building on the success of
2016’s event where, with Mila Sanina of Public Source and Susanne Cook of Cohen
& Grigsby presiding, awards were presented in six categories to immigrants
who have made a notable contribution to the city’s economic and cultural life: Dorit
Brauer, Masa Uzicanin, Edgar Alvarez, Viviana Altieri, Dr. Jacques
Chelly, Anne Flynn Schlicht, Luis von Ahn and Mikhail Khalil.
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