Events

Fund for an OPEN Society

because separate can never be equal.

Events

Email: open@opensoc.org

NJ Office: 973.821.4198
Fax: 973.313.9712
MN Office: 763.566.4332

PA Office: 215.546.0511

For notes and links related to past events, visit here.

Text Box: Friday September 26, 2008 1—4 pm Wondering how the arts can be a force in building your community?
Find out from the experts why and how the arts build community in older cities and suburbs. Strengthening Diverse Communities Through the Arts will promote the value of the arts for increasing local investment and community engagement in diverse neighborhoods. Local officials will learn how to use their arts assets to weave together diverse communities. They will examine models of success as story tellers present the successful arts programs from which their communities have benefited. Two panel sessions – the first outlining the concepts and strategies for using arts as development; the second describing success stories from various communities – will bring together people from various disciplines and various backgrounds. A complementary session will be held at November’s NJLM conference. Walter K. Gordon Theater
Third Street, between Linden & Pearl Streets
Camden, New Jersey DIRECTIONS REGISTER ONLINE or by phone 973.821.4198 Keynote speaker: Honorable Nina Mitchell Wells, NJ Secretary of State Speakers include (partial list, subject to change): James Verzella, Senior Vice President, Keating Building Corp. Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt, Professor of Social Work and African American Studies, Richard Stockton College Virginia Oberlin Steel, Rutgers University at Camden, Center for the Arts Mayor James Quinn, Millville, NJ Freeholder Louis Cappelli, Jr., Camden County Anthony Gibbons, Developer and Fund for an OPEN Society Board Member Presented in partnership by:
Fund for an OPEN Society
The NJ 1st Suburbs Network
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Campus at Camden
- Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs
- Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
With support from: Rutgers University’s Center for Government Services and Professional Development Institute, the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

Text Box: Look for OPEN at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference Booth # 555 And at the screening and discussion of the new documentary film The New Neighbors: How One Town Created a Vibrant, Integrated Suburb Wednesday , November 19, 2008 9:00 AM – 10:40 AM and repeated at 2:00 PM – 3:40 PM Room 311 Atlantic City Convention Center Following the 30 minute documentary, there will be an open discussion with the audience, filmmaker Andrea Torrice, the Mayor of Pennsauken Jack Killion and Barbara Heisler Williams, executive director of Fund for an OPEN Society. The documentary follows two townspeople in Pennsauken, a first suburb of Camden, who see racial integration as the first step in revitalizing their community. The partnership between these two citizens, one black and one white, leads to community-wide dialogues about race and housing. Working with an integration consultant from Fund for an OPEN Society, the city council enacts policies that have made Pennsauken one of the most vibrant, racially integrated suburban communities in the country today. The documentary was made possible by major grants from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation. This screening and discussion will be repeated in the same room, once at 9:00 AM and once at 2:00 PM. Seating is limited in the screening room 311.

September 11, 2008 at 12pm
Foreclosures in the First Suburbs
with Bridget MacLean-Lai of Newark/Essex Foreclosure Task Force

The foreclosure crisis continues. Whole blocks, neighborhoods and communities are affected. New Jersey's first suburbs must address the concerns of the individual home-owner and the impacts on the entire community.

September 25, 2008 at 12pm
First Suburbs as Green Communities
with Fred Profeta, Deputy Mayor for the Environment, Maplewood, NJ

First suburbs are well positioned to be the cleanest, most efficient, most sustainable communities in New Jersey. Learn what a local community can accomplish, and share the methods and projects you've been working on.

Registration required. The call in number will be provided in advance to those who register here.

Text Box: Especially for leaders of First Suburbs in NJ — Dial in during lunch hour to learn, share ideas, and connect The Virtual Brown Bag lunches keep elected officials, local business administrators and community leaders current on state policy matters and abreast of opportunities and partnerships to benefit their communities. Each session includes a presentation and time for open discussion.

Text Box: ON THE HORIZON Mapping and Marketing Assets Leadership in a Diverse Community Transportation and Congestion Master Plans and Community Goals