Cultural Connections Committee

Minutes from Cultural Connections Committee Tuesday June 16th 2015 Members Present: Thomas Lopez ( Chair ), Lavonne Campbell, Jenny Maxwell , Karen Emis-Williams, Bernadette Melton- Plante (secretary ) Fouad Mahfuz, Andrew Smith , Jennifer Hosking, Bruno Soares, , Mark Hastbacka, Sharon Dalton and Carlos Camacho. Guests: No guests today Absent: Paul Bergeron, Dendrea Smith, Jared Barbosa, Mary Ann Melizzi- Golija, Lavonne Colon, Janeth Orozco Sanchez and Maria Bola- Ferrifro. 1. Thomas Lopez opened the meeting at 3-40PM; The Mission statement was read by Jennifer Maxwell, explaining the mission of the Cultural Connections Committee is to encourage understanding and appreciation of Ethnic Diversity in the City of Nashua and to facilitate communication between the ethnic community and city government (NRO 2-94). 2. May 2015 minutes were approved unanimously with Jennifer making a motion to accept and having it seconded by Andrew. 3. A motion was made by Fouad to accept the agenda and was seconded by Jen Hosking’s. 4. Thomas Lopez gave a chair report to the committee stating at this point Nashua will not be having an Oath Ceremony for new citizens on July 4th 2015 of this year .The major stumbling block is the time restraints and USCLS need to know the event is well organized. The committee agreed to work towards trying to have this event take place in 2016. What is required is a letter providing a description of the event which would have to be provided by Parks and Recreation outlining the layout of the event. The letter would be a gift letter to the City. This needs to be a community supported event. Bruno Soares stated he believes you need to have 10-15 people attend to meet the requirements of USCLS Bruno agreed to look into this and provide clarification at the next meeting in July. It was shared by Jen that Nashua Public Library would be interested in hosting an Oath Ceromony.Tom stated that he Maryann and Bruno will continue to have discussions regarding this process. 5. Tom reported on the activities of the “Summer Blast Off”. Both Sharon and Karen attended part of the Summer Blast Off and reported they heard good public feedback that the food was well received and the multi-cultural part of the event was very successful. Karen and Sharon would like to see this event occur next year and it was suggested the committee reach out to emerging leaders of colour.It was nice to see people talking about their different cultures and for some people who usually don’t feel a part of anything they were able to feel like a shining star. It was unfortunate that the sound was not of good quality. 6. Tom reported on the first French/Francophone festival that is scheduled for June 28th from 10- 00AM to 4-00PM at the Le Parc de Notre Renaissance in Nashua on Water Street. Tom asked for member’s to please help set up and volunteer their time on Saturday. Tom reported there will be a dedication by the Mayor of the murals painted on the park walls by various artists, a French music sing along by Richelieu club member Roger L ‘ Heureux on the accordion, hot dogs and ice cream, face painting and activities for the children. Music will be provided by two Nashua Bands Cassette and Hunter. 7. Tom reported on the Yoga Festival that is scheduled for Sunday June 21st at Roby Park to celebrate International yoga from 9-00AM to 11-00AM. 8. A discussion was held on the Gate City Initiative and Karen reported on the projected range of refugee arrivals and refugee population per community for 2016. Manchester has a projected arrival of 150 individuals which is estimated at 30-40 families which would include Bhutanese, Iraqis, Rohingya, Congolese, Somalia, Sudanese and Afghans. For Nashua projected arrivals are 50 individuals, 10-15 families estimated and the refugee population would be Bhutanese, Iraqis, Rohingya, Congolese, Somali, Afghans and Sudanese. Karen also reported on the plans for the symposium scheduled in late October which will be called “ Recognizing Opportunities of Diversity “ that is scheduled to be held at Rivier University in the Dion Center. The Mayor has agreed to provide the Welcome and as a guest speaker several members are hoping to speak with Jose Vargas to see if he would be available to speak at this event. Karen reported although still in the planning stages it is hoped that there can be a section on “ American Dream “ where real live and stories ( panelist of refugees, immigrants and students can share their experiences). It is hoped a continental Breakfast can be provided and at lunch. The committee is suggesting they would have a Business Award Ceremony. For breakout sessions it is hoped Law Enforcement can be present which would include ICE, NPD, Attorney General and the state police and that a Business break out session would occur that would include Business (OGN) and Economic Impact. Karen reported that the committee is currently looking for sponsors for this event, as they would like to keep this event free to service providers and participants. 9. Andrew reported on the Nashua RED project along with Carlos. The objective is to provide training for children and youth on how to interact with the Police. Andrew reported that Heartwood has agreed to make a video but they are currently looking for a new videographer. The focus of the video is to provide a series of educational programs focusing on positive police interactions. Andrew also reported that the funds for this project are currently still with Governor and Council. Andrew also reported on the community conversations they have held and that it was a very good event on Race and Justice and everyone from the Police Department to the people attending felt very positive about the experience. Andrew reported that the groups meet on June 8th to review the program and decided they would like to repeat it and that the Nashua Telegraph did a very nice article on the event.  10. Carlos reported on giving a presentation to the Adult Learning Center 2 weeks ago and Sharon stated that this was a great experience for the students and everyone was able to have an open dialogue and not feel intimidated. 11. Tom reminded the committee members about the Leadership of Greater Nashua program and that the deadline for applications is June 26th 2015. Tom reported that scholarships are still available through “One Greater Nashua “and one of the qualifying factors is that you need to be a minority in order to apply for a scholarship. Tom reported he believes that 5 scholarships are available. 12. Discussions were held on the Map Your Neighborhood Program which is to improve access to office of emergency management for minorities. The purpose of this is to identify who in your neighborhood is disabled, where the children living and what are are the needs of other people in your local communities. This has been identified as been very important especially after the fire on West Hollis Street last month. 13. It was suggested that the Crime Watch Meetings change their name to Neighborhood Watch Meeting with the hope that this will increase attendance the major focus of these meeting is to ensure that everyone can live in safe neighborhoods. Traditionally attendance is small in the downtown area’s picking up in attendance as you move further away from the downtown area. Some of the meetings are going to be held at Saint Louis Church with the hope of improving attendance. 14. Tom reminded everyone of the upcoming events, Yoga Day June 21st, French Cultural Festival June 28th, Fairy Tale Festival July 18th, Latino Festival July 26th, India Independence Day August 10th and Down Town Art Festival September 13th. Tom reminded members we need assistance to have tables at all of these events. Carlos made a motion to close meeting at 4-45PM and this was seconded by Bernadette. Respectfully Submitted Bernadette Melton- Plante