SBCR to address
U.N. conference,
American Planning Association SBCR Coordinator Mack McCarter heads to New York, San Antonio for national meetings For release April 19, 2006 Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal Coordinator Mack McCarter will be sharing the community renewal model this week with two prominent groups with international influence. McCarter has been invited to chair a session at the Infopoverty World Conference this week at the United Nations in New York City. The theme of this year's conference is "Fighting Poverty to Create Prosperity for All." McCarter is leading a session on sustainable development on Thursday, April 20. SBCR has been selected by Infopoverty as a community-building model for the world, with the development of community renewal in Cameroon, Africa, serving as a pilot project. Infopoverty is coordinated by OCCAM, a charter office within the United Nations charged with delivering information and communication technology to promote healthy communities throughout the world. Pierpaolo Saporito, president of OCCAM, came to Shreveport last year to sign a cooperative agreement with SBCR, combining the power of social technology with information technology to promote healthy communities throughout the world. Also, McCarter and SBCR Renewal Team Director Tom Watts are leading a three-hour workshop on the philosophy, concepts and methods of community renewal at the 2006 American Planning Association National Planning Conference in San Antonio on Saturday, April 22. Sunday morning, April 23, McCarter will serve as keynote speaker for the APA Prayer Breakfast and then serve on a panel discussion on "Working with Faith Communities." The American Planning Association's national conference attracts more than 5,000 regional, urban, rural and transit planners from across the country and abroad. Leading experts will speak on innovative solutions to address the challenges of growth and change communities face - affordable housing, community revitalization, natural resources and the environment, pedestrian safety, transit, and water resources - just to name a few. Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal is a nonprofit effort to restore safe and healthy communities through caring relationships. Founded in 1994, SBCR reaches at-risk youth through Friendship Houses built in impoverished neighborhoods, strengthens education through the Adult Renewal Academy, partners with The Fuller Center for Housing and connects caring partners who turn their neighborhoods into safe havens of friendship and support. Contact: David Westerfield, director of communications
(318) 425-3222
davidwesterfield@sbcr.us |
