The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR on Tuesday (May 23) announced the names of 107 small, large and medium-sized companies as well as 41 organizations of civil society awarded in Italy with the 2020-2021 edition of the logos Welcome and WeWelcome. The companies and organizations received the award for their commitment to promoting the integration of refugees in the labor market. Nominees included Barilla, Carrefour, Decathlon, Gucci, Ikea, Leroy Merlin, Mutti, Nespresso, and Reale Mutua, among others.

The award ceremony will be organized on June 13, as part of celebrations for the 2022 World Refugee Day, during a public event hosted by the City of Rome.

From a prize to an inclusion program

The prize, which has reached its fourth edition, "valorizes the great commitment of the world of business towards refugees," organizers said. "After growing in terms of the number of participating companies, today 'Welcome - working for refugee integration' doesn't only represent a prize, but a real program of labor inclusion.

In recent years, thanks to the project, several corporate partnerships have been set up between Italian companies and civil society organizations. The support to refugees has increasingly become an important focus of policies on diversity and inclusion implemented by companies operating in Italy."

During four editions of the project, over 350 businesses have been awarded for promoting the integration into the labor market of over 10,000 beneficiaries of protection.

Positive synergy for integration

"Welcome represents for us a particular reason of pride," said Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino. "The project shows in a clear way how the synergy between the private sector, institutions and organizations of civil society can have a strongly positive impact on everybody, for refugees themselves and for the entire productive sector."

Cardoletti went on to say that the initiative "confirms the great potential in terms of knowhow and professional ability which refugees bring to host countries and which can represent an added value for firms operating in Italy."

The project is supported by Italy's labor ministry, industrial employers' association Confindustria and the Global Compact Network.