New Westminster is a community where everyone belongs and has the opportunity to connect and contribute. 

Collectively, we strive to recognize, inspire, and empower all residents by developing and nurturing relationships with and across communities. We recognize identities and values to support the development of welcoming, respectful, and inclusive processes, activities, and spaces and places. The social and cultural make-up of New Westminster has fundamentally changed and is more diverse now more than ever, and it is vital that we all foster a community in which everyone feels they belong.

Objectives

• People feel belonging through a shared sense of connection and identification with others. They feel accepted, included, and supported, and feel a sense of responsibility and commitment to the well-being of the community as a whole.
• People experience shared connection points, created through an environment where their ideas, impact, and contributions matter, and where new community members feel welcome and included.
• The City is a place where individuals, groups, and organizations are interconnected, linked, and work towards common goals and interests through community-building initiatives, and through platforms that facilitate communication, collaboration, and understanding among community members.
• Community connectivity creates a strong sense of belonging and social cohesion and enables individuals and groups to support each other.

Outcomes

• Belonging and Connectedness: Contribute to individuals, groups and organizations in New Westminster feeling a sense of belonging and connectedness individually and collectively.
• Greater Awareness and Appreciation: Celebrate the diversity across our city and share an understanding of community and culture.
• New and Growing Connections: Empower and support groups and organizations to more fully reflect the evolving diversity of the community and feel welcome to establish, grow, and evolve.
• City Services Alignment and Support: Equip City staff, services, and processes to reflect a range of diverse community needs to support community belonging and connecting aspirations.