The Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens (MAHC) has convened and organized the annual Mesa Latino Town Hall for more than a decade. This half-day conference brings together 300+ Latino community members, elected officials, civic leaders, educators, students and parents to discuss issues affecting the Latino community while celebrating its diversity and ways to create positive change. The Mesa Latino Town Hall is a one-of-a-kind event in the East Valley that has received in-kind and financial support from a cross section of organizations in our community including, but not limited to, Mesa Community College, Mesa Public Schools, SRP, Mesa Arts Center, The Arizona Republic, among others. The Mesa Latino Town Hall includes culturally relevant opening video, keynote speaker, plenary session and 3-5 workshops.

Timing: Historically, this annual event has occurred in late October/early November.

Objectives:

The objective of the event is to create an atmosphere of cultural celebration while bringing a greater recognition of and appreciation for Mesa’s Latino community. This has occurred for the last decade and will continue to occur by:

• bringing together a cross section of Mesa’s community including elected officials community & civic leaders, educators, parents and community members in a venue that does not otherwise occur in our community

• sharing information to help Mesa leadership understand from a statistical perspective the changing demographics of our community in general and growth of Mesa’s Latino community specifically

• providing culturally relevant experiences (past events have included dramatic, musical, video, etc..) that help Mesa’s community leaders come together in a celebratory manner