Over the next few days we will post detailed outlines of each track delivered at the Create WV Conference Nov 12-14, 2007, at the Stonewall Resort. We encourage you to provide feedback, ask questions and forward to friends and colleagues who may get a lot out of these important discussions.

There has been a lot of discussion about tolerance and diversity in West Virginia over the past few months. The Megan Williams nightmare, immigration debates and the fact that West Virginia was the only state in the U.S. to get whiter during the last census update have all combined to force West Virginians who care about our future to scratch our heads and begin some open, honest dialogue.

The following agenda for the Tolerance track is designed to continue this dialouge and hopefully provide some blueprint action items for each community  interested in becoming more inclusive. NOTE: You might consider forwarding this to your local religious leaders, business and community group leaders or others with a strong interest in this topic. 

Preparing for Immigration

Facilitator: Mark Grey, Director of the

Iowa

Center

West Virginia

Sharing Power (or “Playing Well with Others”)

Facilitator: Mark Grey, Director of the

Iowa

Center

When you attract people to your community to grow your economy it is important to make them feel welcome. One important way to integrate them into the community is to involve them in decision making. Instead of fostering an “old guard” versus the newcomers mentality, the community can actively find ways to come together as one community. This session will discuss practical ways for people to share power and governance of their community.

Building an Inclusive Community – Part 1: Assessment

Facilitator: Maggie Potapchuk, founder of MP Associates
Session 3, 1:45 Tuesday

Learn how to use the Inclusive Community Assessment tool, created originally for predominately white communities, based on work in

Clarksburg

,

West Virginia

Building an Inclusive Community – Part 2: Strategies

Facilitator: Maggie Potapchuk, founder of MP Associates
Session 4, 3:00 Tuesday

The first part of this workshop will be to share what other

U.S.

Engaging Youth in Creating Communities

Facilitator: Cindy Carlson, Director of the

Hampton

Many communities want young people who are skilled in leadership, teamwork, and citizenship. They want young people to thrive and respond to business and industry demands in their community. They want a community where youth would want to live and work after college. This session will review some example programs that aim to accomplish these goals and discuss successes and lessons learned.

Building a Case for Diversity

Moderator: Paul Sheridan; Panel: Al Emch, Diane Strong-Treister, Ryan Gates – Session 6, 9:45 Wednesday

Being inclusive and hiring a diverse workforce is not only a good and moral thing to do, but it is also good business. Research shows that companies with more diverse management and workers make more profits. Come and hear WV business people tell their stories of how this has worked for them.

Addressing Hate and Bigotry

Facilitator: Paul Sheridan – Session 7, 11:00 Wednesday

Creative workers like and need new ideas to keep them fresh and creative. They are not attracted to areas that have an image of intolerance, hate and bigotry. How should we address these issues in order to create livable communities for all the residents and attract more creative workers? This session will discuss these issues and offer practical examples.