MBBI-LA Hosts, “The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue” 04/15
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 12, 2017 – The Mediators Beyond Borders International Los Angeles Chapter is pleased to present a groundbreaking lecture and interactive training, “The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue.” This one-time event will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2017 1-4 pm at the LA84 Foundation, 2141 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016.
The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue includes a short panel presentation to provide information on immigration law/immigration rights today and the immigrant experience. It will be followed by an interactive, facilitated, community dialogue to elicit individual members of the public and other participants’ attitudes toward immigration and to provide tools for understanding varying perspectives on difficult issues in effective public discourse about immigration to the United States.
This event addresses historic issues relating to the current national climate on temporary, permanent and refugee migration to the U.S., and attempts to understand the rapidly changing immigration laws—with a view toward facilitating conversation now, and in the future, around these issues in productive ways. It stands to be a blueprint for future dialogues and presentations on these issues as this is the first event of its kind.
The panelists include Elahe Amani, Moderator, educator and administrator at California State University Fullerton, Director of Technology and Deputy Coordinator of Title IX; immigration, human rights and family law attorney Michael Kazemi, who litigates, educates on the faculty at Saddleback College and consults on USAID projects abroad; immigration lawyer Alice Yardum-Hunter, Certified Immigration Specialist, on LA County Bar Assn.’s Executive Committee, author and speaker; Dorit Cypis artist, educator, award recipient, author, social justice conflict mediator and founder of multiple organizations and events around conflict resolution; Dania Alkhouli, Syrian American writer and poet born and raised in California and co-founder of A Country Called Syria which educates the public on contributions and history of Syria; and Apolonia Morales, Political Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. He is a former labor and lead organizer of PICO National Network across various faith institutions.
After a 45-minute presentation by the speakers, trained mediator facilitators will break out into small groups to dialogue. They will elicit what the participants heard that applies to their own situation, and ask questions arising from participant expressions. This will deepen the dialogue and determine what was heard in the group that suggests constructive steps to support that person’s ,or another’s, rights relative to immigration. Thereafter, participants will debrief their experiences to the rest of the entire group, share next steps, takeaways, and close.
MBBI-LA is a local Chapter of Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI)— an international mediation organization which focuses on supporting dialogue during conflict and differences within and between local SoCA communities. MBBI is a non-profit organization of professional mediators and conflict transformers dedicated to building a more peace “able” world through building local skills for peace and promotion of mediation worldwide. The location of the event at LA84 Foundation is within the historic West Adams area near downtown Los Angeles. The LA84 Foundation is a nationally recognized leader in support of youth sport programs, public education with thought leaders and was originally created after the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
For further information, RSVP, or make a donation of $10.00 in advance write to: losangeles@mediatorsbeyondborders.org. Donations are accepted at the door. For further information call MBB-LA Chair, Estera Borcsa at 714 603 3815.