Annual Preservation Conference’s Afternoon Sessions: A Focus on “Identifying and Partnering with Diverse Populations”

On Saturday,  March 6,  in a panel moderated by HDC Board Member Franny Eberhart, Jane Cowan, Byron Saunders, and Valery Jean offered new ways preservationists could develop programs to reach out to diverse communities.

“You have to decide how your program will be funded, schedule visits, prepare lesson plans, prepare a budget, decide who will teach it,” said Cowan, who created at an architectural education program for the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts.  Cowan’s other tips for audience members who were considering developing an architectural awareness program included partnering with a school or educational organization early in the process, choosing a grade level, and setting specific learning goals.

Valery Jean, development director of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), also had advice for those developing historical preservation projects. Jean said that it was important to “recruit people and keep people engaged, identify a mission and a goals, continuously assess and reevaluate your project, and encourage empowerment.”

Preservation Conferences Afternoon Session

Preservation Conference's Afternoon Session

Byron Saunders, executive director of the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, said that preservationists should be mindful of trying to understand the language and culture of different communities.  Saunders said that when the Prime Minister from Netherlands came to visit the Wyckoff Farmhouse in Brooklyn, New York, the Prime Minister was surprised–and extremely pleased–when sixty children from the Caribbean greeted him by singing a song in Dutch.

Conference attendee Alice La Brie said that this part of the conference appealed to her most. “I want to know more about how preservation helps communities.  One woman said that preservation increases the economic value of communities, and that argument really appealed to me. I’m less interested in the artistic aspect of preservation, and more concerned with ways we can help communities to preserve their history and economic value.”

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