Within the last 10 days, the subject of diversity surfaced on list as it relates to museums. At that time, I offered a courtesy copy of a newsletter called Dialogon, which promotes understanding among diverse populations. A number of you took me up on my offer for information. Last night, I received the note below, indicating that the newsletter would be changing servers and instructions for accessing the new site. I am including that information here for your reference. I'd also like to clarify something. It was suggested at the time that the purpose of my note offering this information was to squelch, or at least served to squelch, dialogue about diversity. Some behind the scenes dialogue ensued, and one of the questions that surfaced was, "Why are museum professionals so wont to discuss this topic?" Including the old homilies about America the melting pot, we live in an incredibly diverse country, with huge pockets of dissimilar people in terms of physical and cultural attributes. Frequently, we or within a couple of generations, came from different places and brought our unique behaviorisms and perceptions with us. Now, in terms of a more globalized world a la the internet, even greater opportunities for intermingling--and potentially clashing until we come to understand one another--exist. I'm blessed to have a very multiracial, multiethnic family. Each of my mother's four children had offspring with someone from a different culture. It has often brought great joy and regular epiphanies, but not always without a little "pain" in the understanding process. Truly, I believe diversity is to be celebrated and should not be ignored. I wholeheartedly encourage the group to examine this topic and to consider enrolling in the subject newsletter. I believe synergies should be sought, where possible, and differences celebrated. Through many hours of community service, I have had opportunities to work with a number of nonprofit and civic organizations. When working with a couple of Native American exhibitions, I suggested that, since this is Southern California, where there is a huge Asian immigrant base, and, where scientists believe that all Native peoples in North and South America derive from 4 Asian women and 1 Asian man who crossed the Bering Straight long ago, we look at ways of "reuniting" and "marketing" to this extended family. In the workplace, I once put together a Thanksgiving feast. The workplace population, comprised of engineers and economists, a large percentage of which were from foreign lands, was quite diverse. I asked everyone to bring a dish they would have enjoyed in their homeland. It was quite thrilling, as the food stuffs came together, to overhear the dialogue and understand how same people were. Someone from another country brought in a dish. Someone else from a different country said, "Hey, we have that, too, but we call it . . . " We share the commonality of people. With compassion, interest, and understanding, we can celebrate the people we are and the differences that make us all unique. In understanding ourselves and our peer group, we can better serve our target population base. Thanks for considering. -> >To: "Interracial Dialogue" > <[log in to unmask]> > >Subject: [dialogon] NEW LIST-SERV ANNOUNCEMENT > >List-Unsubscribe: > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > >List-Software: Lyris Server version 3.0 > >List-Subscribe: > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > >List-Owner: > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > >Reply-To: "Interracial Dialogue" > <[log in to unmask]> > >X-Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> > >Sender: [log in to unmask] > > > >Dear Friends, > > > > Here is the official announcement and > instructions for the new DialogOn > > ListServ. Please print or save this message for > future reference. > > > >As you know, we have moved our web site and > services to another hosting > >provider, and the list has undergone some changes > as a result. I do hope > >that you will find the new format simple, enjoyable > and a continued > >resource for dialogue among you and your > colleagues. > > > >The list will no longer operate from e-mail alone. > New messages are now > >entered into a text box on a web page we have > created for you, and allow > >you the opportunity to preview messages before they > are sent to the > >group. In addition, you will need to re-subscribe > to the new list to be > >included in future mailings. Please visit > ><http://www.livingdemocracy.org/dialogueon.html>http://www.livingdemocracy. > > >org/dialogueon.html to subscribe to the new mailing > list. > > > >You will not need to unsubscribe from the old list, > as we will be shutting > >down the service as of this Monday. > > > >On each message you receive from the DialogOn > ListServ, there will be a > >link in the footer to respond to the current > message or create a new > >message. I believe this is fairly straightforward, > though please don't > >hesitate to contact me if you have any questions > whatsoever. > > > >To prevent nonmembers from spamming the list, we > have protected the email > >form with a password. This > >password is "diversity". > > > >Thanks for your patience as we make this > transition. > > > >Sincerely, > >Trish Mellett > > > >***************************** > >Tricia Mellett > >Growing Design > >net.growth strategies > ><http://www.growingdesign.com>http://www.growingdesign.com > > > ===== Indigo Nights [log in to unmask] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send online invitations with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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