Engagement: Concrete Strategies that Work January 29, 2015 Photo - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Fostering Community Engagement and Welcoming Communities is supported by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR/ACF/DHHS)

January 29, 2015

Photo Credit: Nancy Farese & TIRRC

Fostering Refugee Leadership and Engagement: Concrete Strategies that Work

Today’s Agenda

• 1. Opening Remarks

Kenneth Tota, Deputy Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement

• 2. Overview

Jessy Molina, Director of Education and Training, Welcoming America

• 3. Refugees and Civic Engagement

Helen Ho, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice

• 4. Supporting Refugee Leaders

Ruth Lalhma Chhuani, Community Leader, Providence, Rhode Island

• 5. Moderated Discussion

Kenneth Tota, Deputy Director, ORR Presidential Memorandum for Creating Welcoming Communities and Fully Integrating Immigrants and Refugees

• We believe that the most impacted

people should lead efforts for change.

• While we do a great job providing

services for refugees, we can achieve even better results by creating space for refugee leadership.

• Refugees are the experts in their own

needs and how to meet them. We must make room at the table for the experts.

• They know the issues. They have the most

accurate and up-to-date information about what the problems are and how to solve them.

• They have the most at stake
• They will be more committed to long-term

success

• A group working together is always more

powerful in the long-term than the efforts of a few leaders

• “Doing for” people reinforces a charity model,

whereas “doing together” builds power

• Ella Baker, Civil Rights activist

Envision your role as creating space for and developing leadership in others.

• Organizers should stay in

the background

• Develop trust in

communities

• Help people to define what

they want

• Guide people to achieving

their goals

From the Zinn Education Project (www.zinnedproject.org)

• Facilitated meetings (with clear facilitator, timed

agenda, decision points)

• Train all group members to facilitate meetings
• Create group agreements and processes for

participation that prioritize all voices

• Rotate facilitation
• Rotate opportunities (particularly for leadership

development activities)

• Envision yourself as “holding the space” for
• thers to participate

• Relationship building (Extended, personal

group and individual check-ins, storytelling, socialization time over food, etc.)

• Commit to open, honest and transparent
• communication. Share knowledge and

information.

• Commit to group decision-making
• Be aware of the images you promote in

public (on websites, media, promotional materials, etc.)

• Engage cultural traditions and values of

participants (Food, music, ritual, etc.)

• Acknowledge and accept responsibility for

mistakes

• Why are they coming to this

meeting? Where is their collective self-interest? Help people to identify and define what they want. This is usually a “values” conversation.

• Work to help people design and

facilitate a process for defining the needs; do not try to control the process or outcomes yourself

• Even if you think the ideas are not

“right”, allow the group to make its

• wn mistakes.

• Use practical, hands on exercises to develop a plan for setting and

reaching goals.

• Share resources on problem analysis, power analysis, defining

targets, developing and refining strategy, communications, evaluation and more.

• Celebrate wins, and celebrate losses in a way that acknowledges the

growth and power of the group

• Ensure there are smaller, incremental goals that build to larger ones.

“There is one thing you have got to learn about our

• movement. Three people are better than no people.”

– Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights activist Start where you are, with who you have.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta

MISSION COMPONENTS

Community Organizing Public Policy Legal Education Leadership Development / Capacity Building Civic Engagement

Pan Asian Action Network (PAAN)

PAAN: A coalition of 39+ Asian immigrant and refugee grassroots groups committed to collectively advocating for human rights and increasing Asian American political engagement. Started in 2008.

Working with the Myanmar Buddhist Association

First visit to the Temple

Photos of Leaders

Pictures of National Chin Day Ceebration

Myanmar Buddhist Association at Protest

Group works to increase voter engagement

2014 This American Votes Partners

1. American Chin Community of Atlanta (ACCA) 2. Asian American Law Students Association

• f Emory University (Emory ALSA)

3. Atlanta Chin Baptist Church Development Organization 4. Bhutanese Association of Georgia 5. Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta (KAAGA) 6. Korean Undergraduate Student Association of Emory (Emory KUSA) 7. Somali American Community Center, Inc. 8. University of Georgia Asian Law Students Association 9. Vietnamese American Community of Georgia (VAC-GA) 10. Zahau Nunphung Pawlkawm 11. Angkor Resources Center

This American Votes

Quote

2014 Grassroots Campaign Training

• Jan. 2014 – Front page, Atlanta

Journal Constitution

PBS Documentary Politics of the New South | America By the Numbers: http://tinyurl.com/politicssouth

How do I work with Refugees?

Depends on how you view things:

• How do I view myself in the relationship?

– Teacher, Provider, Representative  Student, Partner, Ally & Advocate

• How do I view the refugee in the relationship?

– Client, ‘Receiver,’ Helpless  Teacher, Partner, Empowered

• What is my goal?

– Primarily to get a self-identified project done (transactional, short-term) vs. building a relationship (transformational, long-term)

• Take time to LEARN what motivates, what drives that

community: Have you asked?

• Bottom up development: Are refugees at the table when

decisions are made, when programs are developed or assessed?

• Take time to connect with the right spokesperson or

ambassador = respect, credibility, reciprocity of need

• Speak to what we all believe, our values

and how we see ourselves

• Be sensitive to barriers / don’t assume

it’s apathy

• Feelings drive behavior

more than reason

LESSONS LEARNED Re: Motivation, Messaging

Keys to a Successful Working Relationship

What are the keys to a successful working relationship?

• Trust and Respect
• Shared values
• Shared goals
• Equity
• Caring, over time

• BUT. . .
• This kind of transformational relationship

building is rarely linear

– Takes time – Takes humility: seeing yourself as an ally vs. savior, being mindful of race and class dynamics – Takes flexibility, doing “non-work” stuff – You really have to want it – Even then, it doesn’t always work

• You need to have a supportive supervisor who

buys in to the philosophy of empowerment

Thank you!

P.O. Box 922021, Norcross GA 30010 www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org Helen Ho, Executive Director hho@advancingjustice-atlanta.org 404-585-8446

REFUGEE COMMUNITY LEADER RUTH LALHMA CHHUANI

WHY ARE REFUGEE LEADERS IMPORTANT?

• New refugees need assistance beyond what

resettlement agencies provide; refugee leaders can provide an extension of services

• Provide on-going support to refugees beyond

Reception and Placement

• Serve as Ambassadors for resettlement agencies

and their refugee communities

MY ROLE AS A REFUGEE LEADER

• Advocate
• Interpreter
• Mentor
• Basic needs assistance
• Cultural orientation
• Home visits
• Community engagement

SUPPORT FOR REFUGEE LEADERS

Resettlement agencies can provide refugee leaders with the following support:

• Professional development: leadership courses,

interpreter trainings

• Monetary stipends
• Engage refugee leaders with community partners

REFUGEE WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP GROUP

• Established to bring together

refugee women leaders to promote empowerment and skill building

• Group is made up of refugee

women from: Bhutan, Burma, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iraq

“To educate a woman is to

educate the world.” Marie Uwera Democratic Republic of Congo Member of DIIRI Refugee Women’s Leadership Group

GOALS OF WOMEN’S GROUP

• Provide support to new refugees
• Engage in meaningful dialogue to discuss refugee issues
• Participate in trainings to learn new skills
• Connect with community groups
• Forum for refugee women to collectively identify ways to

address the needs of the refugee community in Rhode Island

MY VISION

Establish a job training center for refugees Provide refugees with skills to achieve self-sufficiency

Type your questions in the Q&A Box

Moderated Discussion

Speaker Contacts

• Helen Ho, Asian Americans Advancing Justice,

hho@advancingjustice-atlanta.org http://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/

• Ruth Lalhma Chhuani, Nupuii79@gmail.com
• Jessy Molina, Welcoming America,

jessy@welcomingamerica.org

Welcoming Refugees Communications Contest

• What - A national communications contest for

refugee service providers and community collaborators

• What We’re Looking For - Great examples of

positive communications about refugees

• What You Could Win - 3 Grand Prize Winners will

receive an all-expenses paid trip to the 2015 National Immigrant Integration Conference

• Stay Tuned for Application Details in early

February

Join Us! Deeper Dialogue

Thursday, February 5, 2015 @ 12:00pm EST

To join us, send an email to hannah@welcomingamerica.org with Name: Organization: Location: What you would most like to discuss during the call: