The Social Justice Group of Weston Council on Aging and the Weston Public Library present Inclusion: Building Bridges. Breaking Barriers on Thursday, September 21 at 5 pm at the Weston Public Library.

Thursday, September 21 marks the 22nd Anniversary of the International Day of Peace declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1991. In recognition and support of the goals of peace and unity throughout the world by the
Assembly, the Social Justice Group of the Weston Council on Aging and the Weston Public Library are presenting a panel discussion. Aconteceu um imprevisto (are you using your new Portuguese?) and one of the original speakers has had to bow out, and a new one has arrived for the discussion.

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Walter Francisco Mena, a native of El Salvador, has spent many years in San Salvador and Colombia participating in and developing leadership and community, and organizing among the residents. Walter also has led other activities that empowered the communities to work toward self-sufficiency and independence. For the last twenty-five years, Walter has continued his mission of helping immigrants in the US to successfully integrate into and sustain their families in their chosen communities. He has been a strong leader and advocate in assisting them with housing, jobs, health care, childcare, school enrollment and transportation issues. Walter is currently the Executive Director of The Welcome Project, a community organization based in Somerville, MA., which assists families in Immigrant communities develop individual and community leadership skills to increase and strengthen their participation in the life and livelihood of their communities. His desire for his constituency is for them to achieve full freedom and justice in this
society through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in every aspect of American life.

The Owl has not received a biography for Julie Nowak but in perusing LinkedIn, you can see some information on a career that includes LGBTQIA+ Initiative Coordinator for Springwell, Inc. where she leads the Pathways initiative with outreach to rainbow elders, offering free intergenerational events and gatherings focused on LGBTQIA+ older adults. In addition, the Owl was fascinated to see Julie’s upcoming talk at Lexington Rec Programs called “Modern Pronouns” about affirming language and “new” pronouns like “they/xe”. There is always something to learn.

The panel will be moderated by Allison Palmgren, the Assistant Director of the Weston Public Library.

In the spirit of the Day of Peace, please join us for an educational and inspiring conversation.

To sign up for this program, please call the Weston Public Library at 781-786-6150 or use the QR code on the image.

International Day of Peace presentation

Thursday, September 21, 2023
5:00 pm-6:15 pm

Weston Public Library, 87 School Street, Weston