Representatives from all over northern Idaho and eastern Washington gathered Saturday to take part in the first Northwest Coalition of Human Rights meeting.
“Today’s main goal is to bring all human rights activists together to build a network,” said Carmen Suarez, Director of Human Rights, Access, and Inclusion at the University of Idaho.
Organizations, such as the Center for Health Education and Economic Resources assisted in putting on the event along with the Latah County Human Rights Task Force.
In the first hour of the meeting, individuals talked about projects they have participated in to remedy human rights issues. This part of the morning was a follow-up to an action-oriented conference called “Finding the Center” held last April.
Denise Carl, ASUI coordinator of student engagement and leadership programs talked about the creation of Campus Conversations at UI. Carl began Campus Conversations to encourage open dialogue between students and faculty about the social expectations that exist on campus. Campus Conversations take place the first Tuesday of every month from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Idaho Commons.
Bev Bafus, a volunteer at the Trinity Food Pantry, spoke about poverty levels in Latah County. With help from the community, the pantry has been able to feed about 80 families. Ellen Magnuson, English as a Second Language teacher in the Moscow School District, began an International Parent Night for the Moscow School District, inviting families that are learning English as their second language. It enabled the parents to interact with teachers and become more involved in their child’s education.
Tony Stewart, an original founder of the Kootenai County Task Force, recounted the history associated with the organization and gave personal recommendations to Suarez and her vision of the coalition during his speech.
“I have seen numerous organizations begin with the best of intentions,” Stewart said. “But they lose focus and eventually collapse.”
Joann Muneta, chairperson of Latah County Human Rights Task Force, ended the event by speaking about a renewed coalition for the Northwest. The Latah Human Rights Task Force will support the coalition, so Muneta said teamwork and networking are of greatest importance at the moment.