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MAPS 2003 Conference

A MAPS' CONFERENCE
Healthy Mind, Healthy Body II
A Journey Into Wellness:
A Conference on the Health of Portuguese-speaking Immigrants
October 30, 2003
The Cambridge Marriott Hotel (directions)
2 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142

Mission
Our mission is to foster wellness in the Portuguese-speaking communities and to improve the quality of life despite one's social and economical condition. The current national situation breathes uncertainty. History has shown us that times like this are specially trying for immigrant populations. We need to promote justice, tolerance, opportunity, and quality of care to our immigrant populations, which, in pursuit of their own dream, have also helped build and develop this country.

Within the Portuguese-speaking world, we want to celebrate our similarities and our differences. In Massachusetts, three large communities - Brazilian, Cape Verdean, and Portuguese - share a language, historical roots, and large scale emigration due to lack of employment opportunities in their home countries. These communities have different verbal expressions, accents, and a dialect - Cape Verdean-Creole. The Portuguese immigration basically stopped in the mid 1980's, while the Cape Verdean community combines long time and new immigrants, and the Brazilian are predominantly recent immigrants. The immigrant experience is unique and poses particular challenges to each individual, depending on factors that include their race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, education, resilience, and support networks.

Objectives
Our objectives are to increase the visibility of our Portuguese-speaking immigrant communities, to gather knowledge on our populations, and to promote cultural competency by:
  • Identifying the various specific needs of our recent immigrant populations
  • Fostering quality of care to old and new immigrants
  • Developing the flow of reliable and preventive information within our communities
  • Promoting networking and referrals among multidisciplinary professionals
  • Promoting knowledge and research of these communities.
Target Population
This conference is for:
  • Health care and mental health providers and educators who work with the Portuguese-speaking communities, or other professionals who are interested in the sociological, psychological, anthropological, political, economic, legal, health and environmental factors affecting the lives of immigrant populations.
  • Portuguese-speaking community leaders and other community members who seek to have a better understanding and participation in the affairs of their own community.
 

 

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