| Home > Government > Boards and Commissions > Human Rights Commission > Agendas and Minutes > 2011 > March 23, 2011 Minutes |  |
Human Rights Commission
Red Maple Room
March 23, 2011
MINUTES
Members Present:
Chair, Debbie Dwyer
Vice Chair, Jeff Billington
Theo Anderson
Daron Bolat
Natalia Fominykh
Joy Murorunkwere
Josh Richards
David Smith
Members Absent:
Maria Carvalho
Guest Present:
John Carter
Staff Present:
Janet Kelly, Staff Liaison to the Commission
I. Convene
Meeting was convened by Chair Debbie Dwyer.
II. Approval of Minutes:
Both Minutes December and February (with sentence change) were approved.
III. Chair Report:
A) Welcome Visitors
Chair welcomed visitor John Carter.
B) Additional MLK Discussion (Plans for Subcommittees)
The Commission determined that they would split up into committees that would include the following:
C) Hometown Holiday Involvement
Staff asked who would be available for the entire time that there were booths open during the Hometown Holidays Event on May 28 and 29. The dates and times for availability are:
Languages for booth:
Staff will reserve the Wheel of Chance once more and the Commissioners will think of questions that are related to human rights and diversity.
IV. Staff Report:
A) Upcoming Forum (Staff, Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Bolat)
Discussion about the forum took place particularly around location. It was suggested that we look at changing the previous location of VisArts to a more centralized area. There were several suggestions made including City Hall and subsequent to the meeting, the Annex for the Twinbrook Center was chosen.
The Commission thought that May 5th might be a good date. There will be a focus on religious rights globally and interfaith collaboration to foster tolerance and religious appreciation. Subsequent to the meeting, it was decided to change the date to May 12.
B) Golden Years Event Update
Since there is still construction going on at the Senior Center and there would be too much change in format of the program if it were moved, there was a suggestion to move the program to next year and include the new Senior Center Service Director on the planning.
C) Diversity Leadership Project
The Unity and Diversity Group will be working on an upcoming project to visit Middle Schools with the tape that developed for the MLK program. They will focus on the feeder schools. Principals are being called to see if there exists interest. Staff will keep the Commission posted about the results.
D) Multimedia Contest
The schools have the packets regarding the contest and the contact people will distribute the information.
E) Engaging Diverse Cultural Groups
The Commission began discussion regarding how to engage various diverse groups into HRC activities and other City programs.
V. Open Forum
A) Voter Registration
There was a question posed about re-certification for voter registrants. Staff will check to see if there is a need for any refresher courses or trainings.
B) Disparity in Payment for Women
Commissioner Murorunkwere brought up the issue that there still exists a fair amount of wage disparity between men and women. It was suggested that Commissioner Murorunkwere look into the matter to see if there is a major problem that exists in the area and report to the Commission anything that she thinks that the HRC could do that might be related to the Commission's mission.
C) Divestment.
The Commission is looking to see if there are any updates that they need to be aware as they pursue the request for divestment. Staff will attempt to contact person from the County that has been involved in the divestment process to see if there are any changes in policy that have been made to consider changes within Sudan.
VI. Old Business
There was no old business.
VII. New Business
There was no new business.
VIII. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. The next meeting will be at City Hall 7:30 p.m. on April 27.