Heritage Center director invited to present at conference in Brazil

posted on July 30, 2012

Peter Strong, director of The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School, will be traveling to Salvador-Bahia, Brazil next week for an international conference organized by Brooklyn-based Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Inc. 

Out of thirty-two organizations invited to present workshops at the conference, The Heritage Center was one of four to receive full scholarships covering travel and other costs. Funding for the scholarships was provided by Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), which has been a strong supporter of The Heritage Center in recent years.

The title of the symposium is “Global Axé Diasporic Conference: Connecting Youth and Community”, and participating guests will be presenting innovative models for youth empowerment, cultural community development and global transformation. Strong is excited at the invitation to take part in such an important and potentially transformative gathering:

“Being invited to speak about The Heritage Center at the Global Axé conference is an honor for our organization and for me personally. I hope that by sharing our planning and programming efforts on a global stage, we will not only get quality input from other indigenous communities on how to better serve our community, but we hope to stimulate the preservation and celebration of local indigenous artistic practices and items within communities around the hemisphere.”

Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Inc. utilizes arts and culture as a means to heal and develop communities of the African Diaspora. For 23 years, Ifetayo has offered African-centered programming to develop cultural awareness, provide arts instruction, strengthen academic support, and to enhance health and wellbeing.

Ifetayo's mission is to prepare young people and their families for all aspects of their lives through comprehensive and holistic programs that help to empower them to become self-sufficient and productive adults who are actively engaged in the improvement of their communities. For more information, visit www.ifetayo.org.  

For more information about the Global Axé Conference, visit www.globalaxe.org.