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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 04/11/2013 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY,APRIL 11, 2013 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Laura Kaczmarek (Chair), PG Narayanan (Vice Chair), Zina Nourkadi, Jenny Buckland, Sana Elassar, Sandra Filardo, Connie Iacovelli STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Patricia Fenrick, Staff Heidi Wojahn, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Camrie Vlasak, Kristina Busch, Jamie Bernard I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Kaczmarek called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Student Representatives Vlasak and Bernard were absent. Introductions and an ice-breaker game took place. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Fenrick gave a brief explanation of Robert's Rules of Order. MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Nourkadi to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. III. MINUTES MOTION: Nourkadi moved, seconded by Narayanan, to approve the March 14, 2013 minutes. Motion carried 3-0-4 with Buckland, Elassar, Filardo, and Iacovelli abstaining. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. SUBCOMMITTEES Kaczmarek said with the new commission, it is a good time for HRDC to have a fresh start. She would like to see the Commission be more effective by keeping meetings moving along as well as forming subcommittees. Groups of two to three people would work on different tasks and bring results back to the Commission for decision making. Regular meeting time can be used for brainstorming. Narayanan brought up the open meeting law. Koivumaki said subcommittees need to be smaller than a quorum, four people in the case of HRDC. Staff is not part of the HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 2 quorum. Information can be communicated, but business cannot be conducted and no action can be taken via email. Narayanan and Nourkadi agreed commissioners should come prepared so meetings are more productive. Buckland asked if subcommittees can handle planning and implementation as long as the group has agreed to it. Fenrick and Koivumaki replied they could. Narayanan said per last month's meeting,he was to send a template to Fenrick to track action items. Action items are embedded in the minutes and difficult to quickly identify. The template would show who is assigned to particular action items and could be used to drive meetings. Fenrick said she had received the template and would address it under Old Business. B. OATH OF OFFICE Fenrick explained commission members would be taking an oath of office together. Koivumaki said this used to be mandated for all commissions but the requirement had been discontinued. It is being reinstated across the board. Koivumaki administered the oath and asked commissioners to sign it with herself and Fenrick serving as witnesses. Fenrick distributed paperwork to collect additional information from new commissioners. C. UPCOMING EVENTS - Fenrick A youth job fair will be held April 23 in the lower level of the Eden Prairie Mall. The Commission is also co-sponsoring a Know Your Neighbors event Thursday, May 2 in the Heritage Rooms at City Hall. This event will feature Mohamed Duale and local Somali youth and will focus on Somali arts. Details about both events have been forwarded electronically to commissioners who are encouraged to pass the information along to others. Kaczmarek inquired about the $20 dinner fee for Who Are Your Neighbors. Fenrick said scholarships are available on an as-needed basis. Further information is available from Ann Coates in Community Ed. Iacovelli asked about advertising and recruiting businesses for the job fair. She also inquired if there would be booths and if businesses would be accepting applications at the fair. Fenrick said it is being advertised at the library, through the Career Resource Center at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS), and via the internet and word of mouth. Buckland has been helping recruit businesses. There are 14 businesses so far•, additional suggestions are welcome. There will be booths, and youth may submit applications at the fair. Narayanan asked what the connection is between the job fair and HRDC. Fenrick said everybody is connected with youth, and part of the fair is about access. It was prompted by immigrant youth asking for help finding jobs last summer when it was too late to look for summer positions. Narayanan asked if there was a list of key communities they should be targeting. Buckland suggested commissioners create a contact list together so they are prepared for marketing future events. Filardo said it would be important to focus on community youth rather than organizations covering a HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 3 larger geographical area. Working with somebody involved with diversity at the EPHS would make more sense. Fenrick said while open to all youth, it is mainly an Eden Prairie-focused job fair. Nanette Missaghi oversees cultural liaisons for the district so she will contact her. Another reason for bringing it before HRDC is commissioners are ambassadors. Announcements are shared so commissioners can inform the community and connect with their own networks which are broader than HRDC's. Filardo inquired about starting a Facebook page so events can be shared. Koivumaki said the Commission cannot have its own page,but there is a way to accommodate this through the City website. There are plans to have the Communications Department explain at an upcoming HRDC meeting how the website works and how boards and commissions can access it. Fenrick said she will check into May as a possibility. Buckland asked if Facebook pages can be created for individual initiatives such as One Voice. Koivumaki said this was unlikely. D. DOCUMENTARY AND WORKSHOP Buckland announced a documentary conversation taking place this Saturday at the Minnesota Humanities Center(MHC). The documentary is about first immigrant parent access and engagement in education. Families are needed to participate in the documentary. There is a full grant for the program. MHC is also running a workshop that day led by two American Indian women called"Increasing Engagement through Absent Narratives." The purpose is to build community through story and engage all immigrant groups and non-immigrants in the education process. It is open to all, and there is no charge for HRDC commissioners to attend as invited guests. Fenrick said she would forward the information electronically to commissioners. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) Fenrick and Koivumaki explained the history and purpose of HSRC to the new commissioners. Fenrick said it is relevant to the Commission because the City gives general fund grants to 501(c)3 social service agencies helping people in need in the Eden Prairie community. Commissioners are encouraged to spread the word when the Request for Proposal (RFP) comes out in July. Koivumaki said there is also a historical link because HRDC used to make the decisions about spending city tax and federal block grant dollars. While that evolved over time, one piece kept was staff would report back to the Commission on their work. This information is recorded in the minutes for transparency. Filardo asked who writes the RFPs. Fenrick said 501(c)3 service organizations apply to the City. HSRC reports on the allocation recommendations. HRDC provides oversight because it confirms funds are being fairly balanced throughout the community. Narayanan asked who reviews the RFPs. Fenrick said the staff committee (HSRC)reviews them,but Council makes the final decision. HRDC HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 4 reviews the recommendations and has an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions,but it is primarily an FYI item. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS Fenrick and Koivumaki explained bias crime reporting to the new commissioners. No new activity to report. C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF - Fenrick Item V.C. was addressed out of order between items IV. and V.A. 1. Youth Summit Fenrick is working with the International School of Minnesota, EPHS, and two Art of Hosting facilitators to conduct a world cafe style conversation around belonging, inclusion and welcome sometime in May. At the end of May, students will then have an opportunity to participate in a youth summit consisting of ten metro area high schools which have gone through a world cafe style discussion about welcome and inclusion. Ten representatives from each school will be together to discuss what the barriers are keeping us from feeling connected and included and how we overcome them. Iacovelli asked if commissioners could attend to observe or at least get a report back. Fenrick said she will ask if adult volunteers are needed. She will be involved as part of the process of compiling information following each conversation, so she intends to report back. This will help inform them about youth in the community. 2. Human Rights Awards The Human Rights Awards will take place Tuesday, May 21 at 7 pm at the City Council meeting. As chair, Kaczmarek can make the presentation or delegate the task. Koivumaki said it will be at the top of the agenda and a small reception will follow. Whoever can attend should. Hammer Residences, Inc. was chosen as a recipient. Fenrick said she will send out a reminder. 3. Commisioners Banquet The annual commissioners banquet is Wednesday, May 15 in the Garden Room at City Center. There will be dinner and a speaker. All are invited and encouraged to attend. Business attire is appropriate. Koivumaki stressed student commissioners are welcome. Filardo asked if spouses are invited, Narayanan asked for a meeting request to be sent, and Elassar asked if it would be acceptable to wear ethnic clothing. Fenrick said yes to all. 4. Best Buy Grant $5.10 remaining. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 5 VI. OLD BUSINESS A. ONE VOICE PROJECT Fenrick proposed a task force be formed for the Advocates for Human Rights (AHR) One Voice project. One Voice is an opportunity to listen to and collect information from community members about what constitutes welcome and what are barriers to welcome. The purpose is to create a best practices document for civic and community leaders about being a welcoming community. AHR has provided a list of suggested questions which Fenrick distributed. Since the conversations are framed through the lens of universal human rights, Fenrick also provided commissioners with an abbreviated version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In order to be included in the AHR report, conversations must take place before the end of July. The task force would work on details prior to May 9, such as format and timing, and lay out a plan for the Commission to approve next month. At that time, Commissioners would have an opportunity to sign up for various duties. Fenrick attended the City of Brooklyn Park conversation. She distributed a copy of the agenda for their program which can serve as a guideline for Eden Prairie. Brooklyn Park held one large-group discussion and then broke up into smaller groups for table discussions. If using a similar format, small group facilitators would need to be identified and trained. Involvement from both community and commission members is needed. Volunteers are needed to facilitate and record information. Kaczmarek sought clarification about the project. Iacovelli asked which City staff was involved and if volunteers are needed to run both large and small group discussions. Fenrick said she is the staff person involved. The project is an opportunity for Eden Prairie residents, particularly those from different cultures, to talk about welcome,belonging, and inclusion. It happens through small group discussions with someone taking notes. Because it is an HRDC-sponsored initiative, the Commission needs to be involved in some piece of it whether it be marketing, for example, or volunteering or recruiting others to serve as facilitators. A three-person task force plus Fenrick would meet to draw out an action plan of steps and a timeline. Buckland said the task force should determine what the desired outcomes are, how the information will be used, and what the expectations are of the participants in terms of their right to respond. Koivumaki replied One Voice will take the information from the community conversations and compile a report. It is important Eden Prairie participate given its diverse population. Fenrick said AHR will compile the report with the State of Minnesota. The report is due out in the fall. Eden Prairie and other communities participating in conversations by the July deadline will be included in the report. If HRDC wants more training on the One Voice project, it may combine with the Bloomington and Richfield human rights commissions at a separate time to do so. Nourkadi asked what will be done with the information after the report is generated and what the agency will do with it. Fenrick said the purpose is two-fold. One is for AHR to put together something to inform civic and community leaders about what HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 6 best practice welcome looks like. The second piece is the Commission will have the information which may spark other projects or initiatives. Narayanan said HRDC should review the report in the fall and come up with welcoming framework to disseminate to schools. Kaczmarek agreed we can make it useful to others and asked Fenrick how she envisions the conversation format. Fenrick said she had one large session with no specific number of people in mind. Koivumaki said HRDC started a similar event called "The Gathering" about eight years ago. They partnered with the school district and brought people together to talk about their immigrant experiences in Eden Prairie. It was an open podium format, and they were pleasantly surprised by the positive comments. Filardo said the questions they were given serve as a good guide. Fenrick said the questions can be tweaked but the spirit should remain the same so they are conducive to generating the report. Buckland, Filardo, and Iacovelli volunteered to serve on the task force. B. COLLABORATION WITH HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Fenrick said she is still awaiting word from the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) if they are interested in partnering with HRDC as part of a Minnesota Humanities Grant. The purpose of the grant is to support programming which enables communities to share their stories and practice weaving storytelling into their community-powered, problem-solving activities. It allows for the recording of people's stories. Eden Prairie does a good job of remembering the past; it is also important to document the changing colors of Eden Prairie and what will one day become history. A way to do this would be through video documentaries or written form. Fenrick plans to write the grant which is due at the end of July. It must be done through a 501(c)3 organization. Kaczmarek reminded Fenrick she wants to help. C. JULY 4th EVENT Fenrick reported Parks and Rec has sent out a public notice actively recruiting diverse food vendors. This is a change from last year. She intends to check into information regarding the stage. Filardo asked if the food vendors would be local. Fenrick said they do not have to be from Eden Prairie. There is a fee for having a booth. Koivumaki said they are trying to infuse an international flair into the event since the International Festival was not drawing the audience they had hoped. Narayanan revisited his idea from last month about having a multicultural tent rather than a single booth. Different groups could staff their respective tables under the tent and present their cultures through clothing, art,jewelry, and other means. It would be up to the City whether or not they would be permitted to sell items. Koivumaki said a subcommittee would need to form in order to share this vision with Parks and Rec. It would require coordination. Fenrick asked for volunteers to serve on a task force with Narayanan. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 11, 2013 Page 7 Filardo asked if others thought a cultural tent would be welcome on the 4th of July - a day to celebrate America's independence from Britain. Nourkadi said it is a day for everyone to celebrate. Culture and diversity is what makes up America. Food, dance, and ethnic wear are what people would most be interested in. Buckland said the International School has an annual international festival and food is the big draw. Being late, they should start small and approach local restaurants. Filardo agreed saying while America is made up of many different cultures, her experience tells her pushing too hard might turn people off. Iacovelli asked what percentage of people attending this event are immigrants noting ethnic vendors could pull them into the event. Filardo said there is a lot of diversity at the event. Kaczmarek and Nourkadi also shared concerns about there not being enough time to pull together anything on too large of a scale. MOTION: Narayanan moved to propose to the Parks and Recreation Department that HRDC sponsor a multicultural tent at the July 4th event. Motion died for lack of a second. Narayanan requested the work plan be reviewed at next month's meeting. He also inquired about the order of agenda items stating it makes more sense for Old Business to be addressed before New Business. Buckland agreed. Koivumaki said she is unsure whether or not this is something HRDC has the power to change but she will check. Fenrick said she will look at fall as a time to have Missaghi make a presentation to the commission about multi-cultural education in the schools. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS None. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, May 9, 2013, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. Filardo stated she is unable to attend. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Iacovelli moved, seconded by Narayanan, to adjourn. Motion carried 7-0. Chair Kaczmarek adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m.