The Slifka Program, Coexistence International, and Theatre Without Borders present:

Acting Together on the World Stage:Setting the Scene for Peace
Actuando Juntos: Trabajando Por la Paz en el Escenario Mundial

October 4-8, 2007
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA



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Pieces of the Coexistence Puzzle: Part II



Safety and security among immigrant communities in Waltham, MA


Leaders of Waltham immigrant communities have framed this workshop to explore creative ways to address pressing concerns about safety and security, particularly among women. The workshop builds on a growing relationship between Brandeis University and Waltham communities; conversation will also draw on the expertise of theatre artists who have worked with immigrant communities in other parts of the world. This conversation will generate ideas for effective action that can be taken to increase the safety of people in local immigrant communities and also strengthen the relationship between members of the Brandeis community and the university’s neighbors.


Questions for Discussion:

  • In what ways do women and young people in Waltham’s immigrant communities feel safe and unsafe? What threats to their security do members of these communities experience?
  • What resources within the communities exist to strengthen the fabric of the community? Can these resources be mobilized to strengthen safety and support people to address conflicts non-violently?
  • How can issues of domestic violence and gang violence be framed in ways that don’t stigmatize the community or add to people’s vulnerability regarding their immigration status?
  • How can the Brandeis/Waltham partnership incorporate creative and complementary approaches in projects designed to support local immigrant activists?
  • What can be learned from successful community-building theatre projects in other parts of the world?


Background Reading:


Participants:

  • Mark Auslander (Facilitator) is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Director of the new interdisciplinary MA Program in Cultural Production at Brandeis University.  He has collaboratively curated exhibitions of African and African-American art, as well as family and cultural history.
  • Amanda Brown (Rapporteur) is an undergraduate double Theatre and Peace, Coexistence & Conflict Studies major at Brandeis University.
  • Marci Diamond is the President of the Board for the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing and the Director of Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Services, Massachusetts Department of Health.
  • Joan Serra Hoffman has been working in the field of violence prevention in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America for over 15 years. Her research and program interests include youth rehabilitation, youth and community development, and comparative and cross-national urban and youth violence prevention issues.
  • Britta McNemar is Coordinator for Waltham Family School, an Even Start Family Literacy Program in Waltham which aims to promote literacy and education for entire families.
  • Mithra Merryman, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has presented victims of domestic violence in court.  She has addressed the needs of Latina women in Waltham and has begun teaching local community organizations about immigration and domestic violence.
  • Jane Oslin volunteered as a rural community extension agent for Peace Corps Niger, where she also started an adult literacy program.  Upon returning to the U.S., she worked as the producer for “Cambridge Green,” a weekly TV show addressing environmental justice issues.
  • Thomas Pineros Shields is lecturer in Sociology and studying for his Ph.D. at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University
  • Eugene van Erven is a senior lecturer/researcher at Utrecht University.  Dr. van Erven is conducting original research into community theatre productions designed to address relations between the Muslim immigrant communities and their non-Muslim neighbors in cities in the Netherlands.
  • Roberto Varea is a professor of theatre at the University of San Francisco, where he is co-founder of the Performing Arts and Social Justice major, and teaches theatre to incarcerated women at the San Francisco County Jail’s Sisters Project.
  • Karla Zevallos is the President of the Board of Directors of Breaking Barriers, a community organization based in Waltham that addresses the needs of immigrants.  She is also the Community Advocacy Coordinator at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence.