COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Staff for the City of Coldwater have been undergoing cultural diversity training in recent days.
The Tibbits Opera House has hosted Salwa Mohsen from Aira of Coldwater for presentations on Yemen culture.
The training for the staff was focused on the Yemeni community and how they interact with them.
Coldwater City Manager Jeff Budd told the City Council Monday the discussions have been frank and he was glad staff members took part.
The program is part of a Heritage Grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. Tibbits was the recipient of two Heritage Grants from the M.H.C. for a variety of programming related to Coldwater’s local Yemeni community.
Activities through the grants will continue through the spring through partnerships with the Arab American Society of Coldwater and Aira, which is a new nonprofit aimed at empowering Yemen-American women.
Also funded through the grant will be an exhibition on the history of Yemeni immigration in Coldwater, which is scheduled to open at the Tibbits next month, as well as last month’s showing of documentary films which examined the 2011 revolution in Yemen.
