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Cross-Cultural Engagement In St. Louis

Used With Permission: Mary Schanuel

Taking advantage of our community’s diversity can be a challenge.  While people of different ethnicities, cultures, and ages are all around us we can often find ourselves on the outside looking in.  Host Don Marsh talks with guests about ways non-profit and arts organizations can engage new and underserved communities and improve their diversity.

Engaging communities and improving diversity are the topics of a conference this week called “Cross-Cultural Engagement: Building a Diverse and Dynamic Community.”  In addition to keynote speaker Howard Ross, there will be a performance by the Urban Bush Women, which uses cultural expression as a catalyst for social change.

Guests

  • Howard Ross, Founder and Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross Inc. and author of "Re-Inventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose & Performance"
  • Jill McGuire, Executive Director, Regional Arts Commission
  • Cecilia Nadal, Founder and Executive Director, Gitana Productions

Highlights

Jill McGuire said engaging people of diverse communities needs to be a worldwide effort.  As far as St. Louis is concerned she said, “St. Louis is really moving forward and looking at engagement.”

Cecilia Nadal said, “With the kinds of problems we have in St. Louis with the number of people who are poor, we have to change the paradigm.  If we do not we are going to be left with a city that continues racial and ethnic isolation.”

Howard Ross said research of human behavior has evolved remarkably over the last thirty years.  “Overwhelmingly human beings are biased and we have it for a reason because it is a survival mechanism and bias can show up in a negative way and a positive way,” said Howard.

Related Event

Gitana Productions and the Regional Arts Commission present a conference called “Cross-Cultural Engagement: Building a Diverse and Dynamic Community” on October 11 and 12 at Webster University, Community Music School

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Alex is the executive producer of "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.
Mary Edwards is a producer for St. Louis Public Radio's broadcast program, "St. Louis Symphony."
Don Marsh served as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air" from 2005 to 2019, bringing discussions of significant topics to listeners' ears at noon Monday through Friday. Don has been an active journalist for 58 years in print, radio and television. He has won 12 Regional Emmy Awards for writing, reporting, and producing. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in 2013, and named “Media Person of the Year” by the St. Louis Press Club in 2015. He has published three books: his most recent, “Coming of Age, Liver Spots and All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old,” “Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist” and “How to be Rude (Politely).” He holds an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.