Article offers principles, practices for effective multi-cultural communication
Media Contact: Mark Gould
Director, ALA Public Information Office
(312) 280-5042
NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 6, 2009
CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) Public Information Office announced the release of
“Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication—Library Edition,” written by the Metropolitan Group, a leading strategic communication and resource development agency specializing in work with libraries.
The article defines eight principles and practices for effective multicultural communication, and highlights the important, integrated role multicultural communication plays in creating social change.
Click here to download
“Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication—Library Edition.”
The promotion and distribution of the article is a joint effort of ALA’s Public Information Office and the Metropolitan Group. Earlier this year, the Campaign for America’s Libraries and the Metropolitan Group launched ALA’s largest-ever bilingual advertising campaign—
en tu biblioteca—promoting library usage among Latino communities across the country.
“If you are not thinking about communicating to multicultural audiences, you should be. This material offers excellent recommendations that enable communicators to effectively amplify their messages with changing audiences.,” said Mark Gould, Director, Public Information Office, American Library Association. “.PIO has developed multi-cultural initatives in the past , and we felt others would find this information useful.”
“Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication—Library Edition” highlights tangible actions to demonstrate how each of the eight principles for effective multicultural communication can be applied in a library context.
It draws on the Metropolitan Group’s experience working with libraries of all types and sizes and many leading nonprofit, business and public sector organizations engaged in multicultural communication, as well as its experience collaborating with and on behalf of many cultural communities and advocacy organizations.
“In our increasingly diverse world, engaging all members of our communities and cultural backgrounds has never been more critical,” said Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, Metropolitan Group’s president and creative director. “Effectively engaging diverse audiences is key to sustainable attracting and retaining customers, ensuring long-term voter support, increasing philanthropic support, strengthening consumer loyalty and attracting new volunteers and advocates.”
The Metropolitan Group presented a workshop on this topic at the PR Forum at the ALA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA. in 2007.
About Metropolitan Group
Metropolitan Group is a full-service social change agency that crafts and integrates strategic communication, resource development and creative services that empower libraries and other social purpose organizations to build a just and sustainable world. Metropolitan Group was founded in 1989 and has offices in Chicago; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Group specializes in developing and strengthening public awareness, involvement and public and private funding for libraries of all sizes and types. The agency has extensive experience working with public libraries; state libraries; local, statewide and national partnerships; research libraries, archives and special collections; library associations; library foundations; and advocacy coalitions that include libraries. For more information about MG, contact Brian Detman at (503) 223-3299 or visit
www.metgroup.com.
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