City of Aurora’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs receives 2026 City Cultural Diversity Award

The city of Aurora's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs (OIIA) was selected as a finalist for the 2026 National League of Cities City Cultural Diversity Awards. This recognition highlights the city's Immigrant Integration Plan, as an innovative initiative that promotes participation, collaboration and support for local immigrant and refugee communities.

The Immigrant Integration Plan, first approved and released by Aurora City Council in December 2020, guides OIIA's efforts to facilitate engagement and collaboration with Aurora's immigrant and refugee communities by identifying the most critical issues and implementing strategies to address them. The plan's innovative initiatives include supporting small businesses, fostering civic engagement, offering citizenship and naturalization courses, providing ESL classes and creating opportunities for leadership development, among other programs and strategies.

"As the most diverse city in Colorado, the city designed this comprehensive plan to help integrate immigrants and refugees into Aurora's cultural, economic and civic life," said Ricardo Gambetta, Manager of the Office of International and Immigrant Affairs. "OIIA's mission is to support and recognize the increasing contributions of the city's international population, thus leading the initiatives stated in the plan is essential for these efforts, and this award is a reminder that we're moving in the right direction."

The award ceremony was held during the National League of Cities' Congressional Conference in Washington, D.C., this Tuesday, March 17. The Immigrant Integration Plan earned runner-up honors, with council members Alli Jackson and Amy Wiles accepting this nationally recognized award on behalf of OIIA during the ceremony.

The National League of Cities is an organization comprised of city, town, and village leaders focused on improving the quality of life for their current and future residents. For more than 100 years, the NLC has supported the advancement of local governments and gained the trust of more than 2,700 cities across the nation.

As one of the few cities in the U.S. with a comprehensive strategic Immigrant Integration Plan, the city of Aurora, under the leadership of OIIA, continues to engage with local immigrant and refugee communities to adapt existing strategies. As part of these efforts, OIIA is currently implementing a supplemental assessment to better understand the needs of the city's diverse population, including focus groups in English and Spanish, as well as promoting a survey to gather community feedback. More details on how to participate in the survey will be shared on OIIA's social media at Facebook.com/InternationalAurora. The information gathered through this assessment will be supplemented by data from a demographic study conducted by George Mason University in Aurora.

About the Office of International and Immigrant Affairs

The Office of International and Immigrant Affairs was created to facilitate the successful integration of immigrants and refugees into the city of Aurora's civic, economic and cultural life. The office oversees the development and implementation of a strategic citywide plan regarding policy, programs and initiatives toward the local immigrant and refugee populations. Additionally, OIIA leads international efforts to establish strategic global partnerships, manage official protocol activities and events and serves as a liaison to the international community. For more information, visit AuroraGov.org/OIIA.