To the Editor:
On Saturday, Feb. 18, the City of Somerville's Multicultural Affairs Commission held its first annual retreat.
Our agenda included conversations about why we joined the commission, our visions and aspirations for the future and possible projects to take on in the next few months.
We succeeded in developing an ambitious agenda for the coming year, including plans to celebrate the city's diversity and communicating important information more effectively to other-language communities.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to my fellow commission members, John Correiro, Michael Etchu, Monica Chianelli, Nelson Salazar, Netra Darai, and Roger Lau, for their hard work and good company.
On behalf of the entire commission, I'd also like to thank the community relations office of Tufts University, and especially Susan Grassl and Barbara Rubel for providing meeting space and working materials.
I'd also like to thank the Subway sandwich shop in Union Square for providing lunch and to the city officials - including [Somerville] Mayor [Joseph] Curtatone - who showed up on a Saturday to help us with our work.
Although the members of our commission come from very different backgrounds and bring very different perspectives to the challenge of promoting multicultural exchange, inclusion and empowerment throughout the city, our retreat reminded us how much we have in common and, above all, why we are so proud to call Somerville our home.
Aru Manrique
Director, Somerville Multicultural Affairs Commission
