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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 03/14/2013 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Pam Spera (Chair), PG Narayanan, Zina Nourkadi, and Laura Kaczmarek 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-elect Kaczmarek called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. Commissioner Spera and Student Representatives Vlasak and Bernard were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Nourkadi to approve the agenda. Motion carried 3-0. III. MINUTES Koivumaki said the dollar amount under Item V.A. Human Services Review Committee should be clarified as "approximately $64,000". MOTION: Nourkadi moved, seconded by Narayanan, to approve the February 14, 2013 minutes as amended. Motion carried 3-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS Koivumaki announced two nominations had been received for the Human Right Awards. Commissioners reviewed the nominations. Hammer Residences, Inc. was selected as the winner in the non-profit category. Commissioners should plan to attend the awards ceremony in May, date to be determined. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) - Koivumaki No report. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 14, 2013 Page 2 B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS- Koivumaki A statement comparing reported crimes of bias in Eden Prairie will be presented at an upcoming HRDC meeting after the Commission is fully seated. Narayanan requested the statistics be added to the minutes on an on-going basis for tracking purposes. C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF—Koivumaki/Fenrick 1. New Commissioners Four new commissioners will be joining HRDC next month. They are Jenny Buckland, Connie Iacovelli, Sana Elassar, and Sandra Filardo. Kaczmarek and Narayanan will take over chair and vice-chair duties respectively. Spera has been appointed to the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPQ and was recognized, in absentia, for her years of dedication and service to HRDC. 2. Who Are Your Neighbors The next session in the series is Thursday, May 2, 6 pm in the Heritage Room at City Center. The Somali culture will be featured with a focus on art form. Narayanan inquired if this event can be marketed to schools to encourage young people to attend. Koivumaki said she will check on this through Community Ed. 3. July 41h Event Koivumaki said she and Fenrick met with Park and Rec about the July 4th event at Round Lake. HRDC was invited to staff a booth. Narayanan said highlighting a cultural event on stage would attract attention and teach about a particular culture better than a booth. Koivumaki said it might be too late in the planning stages for this. Nourkadi said HRDC could collaborate with community cultural groups to arrange for costumed dancers. Kaczmarek echoed Koivumaki's concerns stating it would be difficult to plan something too elaborate at this late date. Koivumaki recommended a booth with cultural games and henna as those activities tend to draw people in. Food vendors could also be encouraged to participate. She circulated a list of vendors and asked commissioners to add names to it. Narayanan said HRDC should request a stage for next year. Patricia said perhaps the Somalis could be approached to present their music. Narayanan suggested asking for a tent,rather than just a table, under which multiple groups could perform. HRDC could coordinate it. It could house multiple booths and different cultural groups could be asked to staff it. Koivumaki will check on this with Park and Rec tomorrow. 4. One Voice Project Fenrick reported she had attended a training program for the One Voice Minnesota initiative, a project of The Advocates for Human Rights. One Voice is promoting community conversations in which stories are gathered. From those, a report is generated about what a welcoming community looks like. Meetings need to be completed by July. It would likely involve one meeting during which commissioners would be present to record stories. Representatives from the Bloomington and Richfield human rights commissions were also in attendance at HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 14, 2013 Page 3 the training. Fenrick discussed with them the possibility of planning a joint meeting, separate from HRDC's regularly-scheduled meeting, so advocates could present to all three commissions at one time. Kaczmarek, Nourkadi, and Narayanan all expressed interest. Fenrick will look into meeting date options and follow up via email. 5. Possible Collaboration with Heritage Preservation Commission The Minnesota Humanities Center has a grant opportunity to fund small-circle conversations with immigrants and long-time residents. It is to collect stories of their history and how they got here. This could be a good project to work on in conjunction with HPC and would involve commissioners listening to and recording stories, possibly in video story format or mini documentaries. Fenrick is looking for feedback from HRDC before going to HPC. The commissioners agreed it was a good idea. Kaczmarek offered to help write the grant. Fenrick said there are multiple ways to use this project to benefit the community. Koivumaki said Council wants all commissions to have a more visible presence and regular updates in the newspaper. 6. Human Rights Training Fenrick reported she has been attending training which looks at social justice, diversity, and adversity issues through a human rights lens. She would like to share a condensed version of what she has learned when training is done. Narayanan suggested this be shared with Council as well. Koivumaki said a good time to do that would be during HRDC's annual presentation to Council. 7. Somali Moms Group Somali Moms is a monthly meeting of concerned mothers needing help with a variety of issues. The most recent meeting focused on better communication with the schools. A guidance counselor from the high school talked about access, conferences, and career help. There are plans to collaborate with school, city and community leaders on future meeting topics. 8. Youth Job Fair A youth job fair is in the works for April in conjunction with the City, Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Workforce, school district, and the library. Representatives from the mall and Valleyfair plan to be in attendance. Topics will include applications and interviews, etc. 9. Best Buy Grant $5.10 remaining. VI. OLD BUSINESS None. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 14, 2013 Page 4 VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS Narayanan said we need to be more proactive in educating kids multiculturally. He wants to know what the schools currently teach and find out how to involve community leaders so kids are exposed to other cultures. Fenrick said this is likely coordinated on a district level. The district can be invited to do a presentation for HRDC on what curriculum is offered. Narayanan addressed the publicity of HRDC on the City website. Koivumaki said Joyce Lorenz in Communications plans to attend a future HRDC meeting to present the webpage and show some interactive community features available. Feedback can be given at that time. Narayanan requested action items be listed in the minutes as a running item. He will provide an example. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, April 11, 2013, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Nourkadi, to adjourn. Motion carried 3-0. Chair-elect Kaczmarek adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.