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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 02/13/2020APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 7:00 P.M., Eden Prairie Center Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Katherine Lucht, Leslie Philmon, Rehmatbai Sumra; Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Tyler Aman STUDENT MEMBERS: Caprice Steidle, Najma Ali, Nicole Mayer, Stavan Bhakta, Winifred Halm De-Souza COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Vice Chair Missaghi called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commission Members Chair Leeper, Lucht, and Elassar and Student Members Ali and Mayer were absent. Sumra arrived at 7:25 p.m. and Aman left at 8:05 p.m. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Vice Chair Missaghi had the Commission introduce themselves along with the members of Eden Prairie Family School and World Without Genocide. Greg Olson, a resident from the Rotary Club was also in attendance. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Yerks said to strike A. – MN Department of Human Rights Policy Priorities 2020 in New Business as Elassar was absent. MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Aman, to approve the amended agenda. Motion carried 5-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 9, 2020 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Philmon, to approve the January 9, 2020 minutes. Motion carried 5-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES February 13, 2020 Page 2 A. EDEN PRAIRIE FAMILY SCHOOL – LYDIA NELSON Lydia Nelson started her presentation by stating she has been working on programs for adult English classes that do include child care. She stated she started looking at needs for community assessment in 2018 and found many parents in Eden Prairie wanted to take English classes but the barriers are child care and transportation. Ms. Nelson said they established a program for kids to prepare them for school while the parents attended English class for adult literacy and English skills. She said they still need to establish transportation options as this is the largest barrier. In November and December of 2019 parents in Family School participated in a series of writing classes to write down stories of their lives. Two guests were present this evening that participated in the class and shared their stories they have written with the Commission. Aliweyd thanked the speakers and commented he went through the same thing when he moved here and said he could not speak English either. Vice Chair Missaghi also thanked the guests as did Aman. B. WORLD WITHOUT GENOCIDE – CLAIRE WILLETT Ellen Kennedy, founder of World Without Genocide introduced Claire Willett. She is a high school student and works as a page at the State Capital. Ms. Kennedy said that CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) was passed in 1979 by the United Nations. This is also known as the Bill for Women’s Rights. Ms. Willet stated some of the challenges women face are such things as; 1 out of 4 college women will be sexually assaulted; second is that every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted. She pointed out women make 80 cents to the dollar that men make. Ms. Willet pointed out the core principals of CEDAW are equality, non-discrimination, and state obligation. There are 6 parts and 30 articles to CEDAW. She stated that the United States has not ratified CEDAW and one of the obstacles to ratification is misunderstanding. Ms. Kennedy said on Sunday, March 8th it is International Women’s Day and suggested it would be nice to have everyone reach out and discuss this topic and take a stand. Ms. Willett said that on August 4th-6th, 2020 there is a conference called Politics, Propaganda and Genocide. Ms. Willett also pointed out that Duluth reviews CEDAW annually. Vice Chair Missaghi asked Ms. Willett what gives her hope. She said her generation gives her hope. VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS: 1. PROP Empty Bowls – This will be held on Tuesday February 18th at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. Lunch will be from 11am – 1:30pm and dinner will be from 4-7pm. Sign up can be done on the PROP website. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES February 13, 2020 Page 3 2. 2020 Legislative Forum on Disability – This event will take place on Monday, January 13th from 1-3pm at the Minnesota Senate Building on 95 University Ave. W. in St. Paul. The event is free and open to the public. A preview of disability issues in the 2020 legislative session will be discussed. B. OHCS UPDATES 1. Census 2020 Outreach Activities – The Census Applicant Day at OHCS was February 12th from 9am-2pm. Yerks said they assisted a dozen residents with applications. The Census Education Workshop at the Community Center will be on February 20th from 10am-12pm. This workshop will discuss the census and importance of it. The Census Completion Support is yet to be determined. This will start in late March but they are still trying to figure out processes. C. HRDC UPCOMING NEWS 1. March Meeting – The Eden Prairie Housing Task Force will present at the March HRDC meeting and will be led by Joan Howe-Pullis. D. SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES 1. Iftar Subcommittee Meeting – This subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, February 19 at 6 pm at Eden Prairie office in the mall. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. WORK PLAN PRESENTATION Bhakta said the presentation with the City Council went well. He said they plan to do Culture in Motion, PeopleFest! and the student project Passport to Pop Culture. B. PEOPLEFEST! MEETING UPDATE Yerks said they went over the schedule to finalize everything because they need to get the flyers to the Marketing Department to be mailed to all of the houses in Eden Prairie because the deadline is coming up. She pointed out the City will be having its first parade in 60 years on May 30th, and the PeopleFest! Committee is planning on joining in to get the word out on the parade. The thought was to have different cultures and ethnicity represented and to wear their traditional clothing and be with the PeopleFest! group in the parade. Jeff, from the Lions Club Planning Committee for the parade will be help get the information needed to get everything organized. Also, Jennifer is secured as the Marketplace volunteer. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES February 13, 2020 Page 2 C. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS Yerks said there are 6 awards so far. They are as follows: - 2 Individuals: Fadumo Hassan and Farrah Osman - 3 Non Profits: ESTHER Homes, Chain Reaction Theatre and Free Bikes 4 Kidz - 1 Business: Umi’s Boutique VII. NEW BUSINESS A. MN DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY PRIORITIES 2020 This will be continued to the March meeting. B. COMMUNITY IFTAR UPDATE Aliweyd gave the update and said the goal of this event is to bring everyone together. He said the meaning of IFTAR is to Break of Fast. This will be the first time this event will take place in Eden Prairie. Yerks said this will take place on May 7th in the Garden Room from 6 -10pm. Aliweyd said he would like two rooms for prayer; one for males and one for females. C. ONE EDEN PRAIRIE SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATE Philmon said Elassar, Lucht and herself have not met yet. Yerks pointed out the name of the subcommittee was Native American Heritage Subcommittee and said she would like to see this name get changed in the future. D. PASSPORT TO POP CULTURE UPDATE Steidle gave the update and said they are teaming up with the club at Eden Prairie High School called Dare to be Real. They are waiting for approval from the School Board and the tentative date is April 7th. Skeie said he would like to discuss Genocide at the next meeting. Yerks said she would like everyone to familiarize themselves on this topic for the next meeting. IX. UPCOMING MEETING A. MARCH 12, 2020 X. ADJOURNMENT HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES February 13, 2020 Page 3 MOTION: Philmon moved, seconded by Skeie, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm