BostonAPP/Lab Notes from April 29, 2019

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Staff from AgenciaALPHA, bringing their own stores and their experiences working with immigrant communities, will help set a framework forbrainstorming responses to these and other challenges. Among the participants: Patricia Sobolvarro, Executive Director; Damaris Velasquez, Director of Programs, and Vilma Galvez, Director of the Legalization Department. All of us have stories to tell. How can all of us ensure that those stories are not forgotten? ​

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NOTES

• Visual/audio stories

  • Visible on a central “platform” (digital, physical)

  • When visiting, you can contribute your story

  • Story-telling is also empowering

• Networking:

  • With whom?

  • Looking for (voluntary) contributors

• Documenting what already exists

  • Designing a system for ongoing documentation as more stories emerge

• Allowing each “community” to have its own voice, while seeking common themes/elements of a common language

• Possible prompt to generate stories:

  • “What’s the meaning of ‘citizen’?”

  • Immigration and racism

• What now?

  • Follow through with Lara Saavedra’s compiled list of potential targets for next steps

  • Leverage community organizations:

    • Local neighborhood groups

    • Community Development Corporations

    • Metropolitan Area Planning Council resources

    • Department of Neighborhood Development

    • Local schools/school systems

      • Cf. Ilan’s work at Solomon Schechter School, Newton

      • Armenian Heritage Park+Eliot School curriculum: “Geometry as Public Art: Telling a story, celebrating the immigrant experience”