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Monday, 22 June 2009 |
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Dear Friends of WIE, Womens Inter-Cultural Exchange is not just important, it is essential as an arm of our community. While Charlotte is a warm, welcoming and vibrant city we have not yet achieved an acceptable level of multi-cultural trust. We truly believe WIE is destined to be the catalyst that brings together first women, then families, then the community. We bring women together not to complain about past injustices, although we certainly want to remember our past, we bring them together to celebrate sameness, to explore differences, and to discover how we can make a difference in each others lives and in our community. We attempt to say, through word and actions, that we all belong to the human race, and we belong together. We've learned over the years that there is strength in unity - there is comfort in unity. WIE is poised to put together a giant and colorful grid work for social unity and justice. Charlotte is just the beginning. We truly thank you for your continued belief in the WIE dream—to help women build trust across race and difference. |
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Monday, 22 June 2009 |
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To trust - to place confidence in someone or something - while easy to define is a complex concept. However, it is not only a business essential in today's global market - it's something we have to have in our personal lives as well. If Charlotte is going to build a community of cooperation and support, individuals must engage in honest communication and work to build long-term trusting relationships. When trust is established, people are more willing to work and socialize together - a declining trend identified by Robert Saguaro in 2000 BetterTogether Report on civic engagement. By the early 2000s not only had American volunteerism and community participation declined - "even purely pleasurable get-togethers were becoming increasingly scarce" - a trend that has continued to plunge since the 1980's.When asked how we can better serve the community at our 2008 Town Hall meeting the need for increased, long-term social interaction among women from different races and cultures was at the top of the list. The call came for: smaller forums within communities; informal and social get togethers; small meetings in different communities; more opportunities to meet women from other cultures and to dialogue!
To answer this appeal, the Women's Inter-Cultural Exchange has created Cross Cultural Chats for members of WIE. Cross Cultural Chat groups will: Be comprised of 8-10 women from a variety of cultural and racial backgrounds who will meet once a quarter; Groups will be intentionally structured to include as wide a variety of "difference" as possible; Each group will be provided guidelines, discussion questions and evaluations for each meeting.
Meetings will be held in WIE member's homes. It is the goal of this program to build trust among women of Charlotte - one relationship at a time - leading to a stronger and more equitable and more inclusive community.Watch your email for more information about this exciting and groundbreaking program. The program will formally kickoff in early June.If you are interested in participating in a group, please contact Laura Everett at
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