POWER TO THE PEOPLE. Engage ’08, a project of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) and Mayor Tom Potter, introduces community leaders to the politics, personalities, and processes of local government to give them the practical tools necessary for meaningful participation. Pictured are (left photo) Asian Reporter columnist and IRCO project coordinator Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo) and (right photo) public health Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Kue and U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Sonny Tan speaking to the 50 participants of the first workshop held last month. The next session is scheduled for Saturday, April 19. (AR Photos/Nim Xuto and Ian Blazina)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #16 (April 15, 2008), page 11.

By Ian Blazina

Engage ’08, a project of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) and Portland Mayor Tom Potter, recently gathered a crowd of community elders and activists at Portland City Hall’s Council Chambers for the first in a series of civic leadership workshops aimed at engaging refugee and immigrant communities in local politics. At the workshops, community leaders are introduced to the politics, personalities, and processes of local government, giving them the practical tools necessary for meaningful participation.

Mayor Potter opened the session with a general introduction and welcome, and admonished the crowd: "It’s not only your city; it’s also your responsibility."

The goal of giving a legitimized voice to the historically marginalized groups is actively realized by placing workshop participants into specific advisory boards and budget review hearings deemed most important by the represented communities.

Instead of merely supplying feedback to people in positions of power, participants "will be at the table and able to apply [their] leadership and energy," said Lee Po Cha of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and the Asian Family Center.

Nearly 50 members of local Asian, Slavic, and African communities congregated at the weekend session to begin to formulate the capital and values each group has to offer to the greater Portland community and also to assess the needs that each group requires from local government. The pool of participants spanned three generations and included a large representation of women.

According to Asian Reporter columnist and IRCO project coordinator Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), each group has "spiritual capital, social capital, and cultural capital. America wants this so bad. America is missing what we have … and we will trade for financial and material capital."

"All this taxpayer money that Mayor Potter talked about came from our hard work, and we want it back to support our families," he added.

The weekend workshops continue through June, teaching community leaders how to build a positive community identity, work within Portland’s commission form of government, understand the dynamics of City Hall politics, and advocate effectively to satisfy community needs.

In addition to IRCO and the Mayor, participating groups include the Slavic Coalition of Oregon, the African Community Center of Oregon, APANO, and Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement.

The next session is scheduled for Saturday, April 19 at Portland City Hall, located at 1221 S.W. Fourth Avenue. To learn more, call (503) 235-9396 or e-mail <ronaultc@mail.irco.org>.