HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/10/2013 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION
THURSDAY,JANUARY 10, 2013 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER
Office of Housing and Human Services
COMMISSION MEMBERS: Pam Spera (Chair), PG Narayanan, Zina Nourkadi,
Hans Gustafson, and Laura Kaczmarek
STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Manager- Housing and
Community Services; Heidi Wojahn, Recorder
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Camrie Vlasak, Kristina Busch, Jamie Bernard
I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Chair Spera called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Student Representatives Bernard and
Vlasak were absent.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded Nourkadi, to approve the agenda. Motion
carried 5-0.
III. MINUTES
MOTION: Nourkadi moved, seconded by Spera, to approve the November 8, 2012
minutes. Motion carried by informal consent.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
Kaczmarek reviewed her online research of Compassionate Action Network
International, an organization that started in 2010 in Seattle, and distributed copies of its
charter. It is a worldwide network of individuals, organizations, and cities with a tagline
of"Peace Starts Here". It is all about bringing the golden rule to life. To become an
official partner, cities and organizations have to apply by answering a few questions and
signing the charter. Not every applicant will be approved,but cities that are not official
partners may borrow from the network's documents and resources to run their own
compassionate campaigns. Trademark status is unclear. Proclamations are not required of
partner cities,but the network does want to know what cities are doing to further the
cause. There are currently six partner cities in the U.S. with over 50 actively organizing
worldwide, and over 92,000 individuals and organizations have signed the charter. The
network has a newsletter and a Facebook (FB) page with 80,000 likes. Discussion
ensued.
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January 10, 2013
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Spera and Gustafson questioned the religious aspects of the charter, while Nourkadi and
Kaczmarek raised concerns over the subjective language. Nourkadi also expressed
reservations about the unclear standards of the acceptance process. Koivumaki agreed it
is probably not something HRDC can pursue with the religious component. Spera
thanked Kaczmarek for her research.
Nourkadi reported she had received a letter from the West Metro Education Program
(WMEP) notifying parents of an opportunity to have their students apply to one of two
inter-district magnet schools. It is unclear whether the letter was targeted towards certain
people or sent out district-wide. While she likes the multicultural/interdisciplinary/arts
approach offered, she is somewhat bothered that integration is still being discussed in
2013. The same program should be offered in every school so students can be with all
kinds of kids and learn from one another rather than having to be shipped out of district
and separated. It needs discussion at a certain level. The timing of the letter is confusing,
too. Koivumaki said she can check with the district to get more information on who it
was sent to, what is behind it, and what FAIR stands for and report back. Busch added
Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) has a diversity club and fair.
V. REPORTS FROM STAFF
A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC)
No report.
B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS
No report.
C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF
1. Commissioner Resisnation
Koivumaki received notice from Commissioner Rozanski earlier today of his
resignation from HRDC. No additional information was immediately available.
There will be three openings to fill in March and recruiting starts now. Spera
volunteered to serve again if needed but said she wants to give others the
opportunity.
2. New Programs
There are a couple programs available via Koivumaki's office. One consists of
quarterly meetings with presentations on topics relevant to Somali moms. Last
week's meeting on domestic violence was well-attended. The other is a
citizenship class in which an adult learner teacher pairs with a Chinese volunteer
who is an EPHS student to help prepare Chinese people to take the citizenship
test. This ten-week class could expand to other ethnicities in the future.
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January 10, 2013
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3. 2013 Work Plan
HRDC needs to prepare a work plan to present at the Council Workshop on
February 5. Koivumaki reviewed a sample work plan noting it is a working
document and a commission document. As staff liaison, it is not her role to
determine what goes into the work plan or to see that items are implemented;
however some suggestions for things to include are the Human Rights Awards,
Who Are Your Neighbors Series, and One Voice Minnesota Project. This month
kicks off the Human Rights Awards process and the whole commission has a
responsibility to search for viable candidates. The Who Are Your Neighbors
Series is a joint effort between community education and the staff in Koivumaki's
office, but commissioners are needed to take a more active role in attending and
participating in the events. The next event is in early May and will highlight the
Somali culture. It will be more of a youth-oriented event focusing on cultural
understanding from an arts perspective. The subsequent event will take place in
November. One Voice Minnesota is a local network promoting welcoming
communities. They are interested in sending a representative to speak to HRDC
about their initiative, and it needs further research.
Narayanan recommended HRDC start a FB page. Spera and Nourkadi agreed this
would be a good way to interact with or receive feedback from the community,
although Spera asked if this would violate the open meeting law. Kaczmarek said
it would also need a moderator. Koivumaki will check with the city manager to
see if the commission can get its own FB page or if it should be a branch of the
City's FB page or website. She will also investigate the public meeting aspect.
Nourkadi suggested holding special public meetings where citizens are
specifically encouraged to bring forth issues for discussion. Narayanan supported
this idea emphasizing special marketing and publicity efforts would be needed. It
could be similar to the town hall format recently used by Council but focus on
human rights and diversity. Koivumaki said it would need to be called something
else,but it might fit into the community liaison activity on the work plan.
Nourkadi suggested HRDC work with other commissions. Koivumaki said they
have partnered with Bloomington in the past. Narayanan supported the idea
saying commissioners could attend one another's meetings and brainstorm. This
would be separate from the community liaison activity.
Spera said she likes the idea of reaching out to others,but that may be difficult
with the commission's limited funding. It might require coming up with a more
structured plan (such as the shows sponsored by HRDC during Black History
Month in the past) and targeting specific organizations and doing citizen outreach
to make it more inviting. Nourkadi said inviting speakers may provide an
incentive to draw people in.
Koivumaki stressed she can provide guidance and update the work plan as
directed by HRDC,but the commissioners need to take on the bulk of the work. It
would be good to have an educational component to each meeting,but there needs
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January 10, 2013
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to be planning and collaboration around the preparation of each agenda. The work
plan will be an ongoing agenda item. Tasks were divided as follows:
Social media—Narayanan and Busch (Kaczmarek—alternate)
Who Are Your Neighbors series —Spera and Nourkadi
Inter-city collaboration with other commissions - Kaczmarek
One Voice Minnesota - Everyone (review and answer One Voice questionnaire
as individuals/share ideas at next month's meeting); Kaczmarek (make
contact with organization and invite to do presentation at future meeting)
Community Outreach (Liaison Activity) — Gustafson and Narayanan
Presentations —Koivumaki
Narayanan asked Koivumaki to put an outreach event on the work plan for
October. One issue is there is no vehicle for reaching community groups to get the
word out. Kaczmarek concurred a contact list needs to be developed. Koivumaki
said she understands this is a problem across the board. She will add it to the work
plan and said Joyce Lorenz in communications may have some insight to share
with the commission in this area.
Commissioners should let Koivumaki know if they have ideas for presentations of
interest. Lorenz might also be able to confirm whether presentation topics can be
posted on the city calendar or not.
4. Human Rights Awards
Koivumaki distributed copies of the Human Rights Award application and
Manifesto. They will be on the city website, and she will send commissioners
links to the website and documents. Nominees must serve Eden Prairie.
5. Best Buy Grant
$5.10 remaining.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
None.
VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS
None.
VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS
The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, February 14, 2013, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie
Center, Room 125.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Kaczmarek, seconded by Narayanan, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0.
Chair Spera adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m.