A Thank You Message From Global Minnesota

On July 10, I mentioned on this blog that I had been invited to speak at Global Minnesota. I did make the presentation and described it on my Swahili blog. Subsequently, I have received a letter of appreciation from Global Minnesota, which says:

Dear Dr. Mbele,

On behalf of Global Minnesota, I would like to thank you for speaking at the Global Conversations program on "African Folktales to Contemporary Authors" at the Minneapolis Central Library on July 12.

Your extensive knowledge and skillful storytelling captured and kept our audience's attention throughout the program. The program was both informative and entertaining, and the feedback we received from the attendees and our partners was extremely positive.

We were also so pleased that you brought your daughters to the program and rekindled an old MIC/Global Minnesota connection.

Thank you for partnering with us on this program and helping us in our mission to bring greater awareness and appreciation of African culture to the general public in Minnesota. We look forward to engaging with you again on future Global Minnesota programs!

I can only say that I am always ready and happy to share whatever knowledge I have that people want me to share with them. I have a high regard for Global Minnesota. I got to know about it when my daughter Assumpta worked there as alluded to in the letter above. I look forward to future collaboration.

Afrocentric Dialogues for a Peaceful World

Today I went to Minneapolis for a small meeting of several people convened by Mohamed Dini, founder and director of the Center for African Peace Research (CAPR). Four of us met, at the Somali Mall in South Minneapolis: Mohamed Dini, Ajar Quevi, Mohamed Salad Muhamad, and Joseph Mbele.

We introduced ourselves and affirmed our commitment to the goals of CAPR. We agreed to retain those goals and focus on their implementation. We affirmed the idea that came out of the last meeting: to start where we are, here in the Twin Cities.

We should work with communities, organizations, agencies, schools,and other institutions interested in, or in need of, creating cultures of peace. This will build both real life experience and more credibility for CAPR. We briefly discussed funding opportunities and agreed to consider these as the need arises.

After the meeting in the Somali Mall, three of us went to Columbia Heights to meet with colleagues from the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) of the University of Minnesota whom Mohamed Dini had contacted--Vanessa Abanu and Yuichiro Onishi. In less than an hour, we covered much ground, exploring areas of mutual interest between the AAAS program and CAPR.

The AAAS program is planning to revamp its curriculum and foster more engagement with the community. We can work together in the areas of coalition building, fostering unity among disparate African and African Diaspora organizations, including student associations to help promote pan Africanism. The resources and methods we can use include performances, workshops and outreach programs.

One of our most memorable conversations concerned the opportunities our collaboration is bound to create for students, especially internships. Through participating in our programs, students will gain first-hand experience of real life issues affecting our communities--such as conflicts--and ways of addressing them. In many ways, such as demographic and cultural, the Twin Cities and adjacent areas are a microcosm of the world.

(The photo above, taken at the Big Marina Grill & Deli in Columbia Heights, features, left to right, Mohamed Salad Muhamad, Mohamed Dini, Joseph L. Mbele, Vanessa Abanu, Yuichiro Onishi).