Dispel the myths. Dr. Dowell Myers, Professor and Director, Population Dynamics Research Group at the University of Southern California, highlighted the need to educate receiving communities about the facts of immigration. Dispelling myths about immigrants and immigration is the cornerstone of the One Voice Minnesota initiative, which makes Immigration 101 presentations and toolkits widely available through the Energy of a Nation website to help us all to counter untruths about immigrants with real facts.

Meet at the library. Hilary Pennington of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation suggested relying on libraries as places to reach immigrant and receiving communities alike. One Voice Minnesota members know the value of working with established civic institutions to build welcoming communities. Our network includes city offices, police departments, human rights commissions, school systems, and higher education partners along with immigrant and refugee organizations. Great work, like the Austin Human Rights Commission's human rights film festival, highlights the power of meeting people where they are to open conversations about immigration. And just this past Fall, we've developed promising new relationships with our local public library system.

Engage in Civic Engagement. Fatima Shama, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, New York City, called for communities to engage state and local governments in understanding the tremendous assets immigrants bring with their determination, talent, and dreams. The One Voice Minnesota initiative provides members with tools to understand how public policy affects Minnesota's immigrants and refugees and how to engage in productive conversations about these proposals.

Hold Democratic Institutions Accountable. Mitch Ackerman from Service Employees International Union, highlighted the importance of America's two historically democratizing systems - labor unions and public education. The One Voice Minnesota initiative will begin our human rights monitoring project to assess Minnesota's climate of 'welcome' by understanding how well Minnesotans' basic human rights are fulfilled.

A Human Rights Approach. Ai-Jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, spoke of the importance of rooting our immigration policies in our values and in organizing our communities. The One Voice Minnesota initiative is rooted in the belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, justice, equality, freedom and peace, and that we all must work to ensure that this vision is achieved.

Starting Spring of 2012, the One Voice Minnesota initiative will begin exciting work to monitor Minnesota's climate of 'welcome' measured by these key indicators: 1. Safety and Security (legal, economic, political, cultural and social), 2. Accountability (human rights must be protected by rule of law and compliance), 3. Non-Discrimination (all people are entitled to human rights without regard to race, religion and status), and 4. Civic & Community Participation (all people are entitled to active, free and meaningful participation in contribution to and enjoyment of social, political, economic development).

Together we will document the experiences of newcomers and long-term residents alike, identifying barriers and best practices for creating welcoming communities. This monitoring project will result in a Blueprint for a Welcoming Minnesota which we hope will help shape the policy discussion surrounding refugees and immigrants in the coming years.

For more information on the monitoring project, go to the Energy of a Nation website here. For details on how to get involved with the project, contact Michele Garnett McKenzie at mmckenzie@advrights.org.