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By Holly Preston and Jennifer Freeman
prestonh@gactr.uga.edu; jdeprima@uga.edu
The rapid growth of Georgia’s Hispanic population over the past decade has influenced nearly  every aspect of daily life. “The Power of Latinos for a Stronger Georgia,” a major conference at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education July 30 and 31, will bring together experts to examine where the state stands and how best to serve the Latino population in the future.
Recent Census Bureau estimates show that the nation’s Hispanic population grew 46.7 percent between 1990 and 2000. In Georgia, the Latino population grew 300 percent, while total population increased only 26.4 percent. UGA has implemented many service and research programs to assess the needs of this segment of the population and evaluate their impact on the state’s resources and culture. This two-day conference will give experts a chance to discuss ways to deliver Georgia’s economic, educational and cultural services to Latinos.
Specific topics covered at the conference will include education, workforce and human relations, housing and family issues, biculturalism, and public safety. Speakers will include UGA faculty as well as business leaders, social workers and educators from throughout the state.
Judith Ortiz Cofer, award-winning author of such works as The Line of the Sun, Silent Dancing, and The Latin Deli, is one of the conference’s keynote speakers. Cofer, a native of Puerto Rico, is a Franklin Professor of English and director of UGA’s creative writing program. Through her poetry, fiction, and essays, Cofer seeks to bring Latino culture to life. Other keynote speakers are Arthur Murphy of Georgia State University; Sara Martínez Tucker, president of the Hispanic Scholarship Classic, San Francisco; and Maritza Soto Keen, director of the Latin American Association, Atlanta. The conference will open with a video presentation prepared by UGA’s Public Affairs office and conclude with a reading by Roberta Fernandez of the Romance languages department and a presentation by UGA student Ana María Flórez.
The Georgia Center’s main lobby will feature displays and resource materials from departments and schools that have programs and initiatives targeted to Latinos. In addition, the University of Georgia Press will hold a book signing during Thursday’s pre-dinner reception, beginning at 5:30, for their recent release, Latino Workers in the Contemporary South, a collection of essays edited by Arthur Murphy (one of the conference speakers), Colleen Blanchard and Jennifer Hill.
Following the conference dinner on July 30, the Ballet Mexicano de Lupita Sosa, also known as the Ballet Folklorico, will perform. The group, based in Gainesville, brings Mexican culture to life through traditional dance and song. |
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