What Is The Heritage Council?

For generations, the citizens of Albuquerque have taken pride in the fact that the cultural diversity of the city is its strength. The establishment of the Heritage Council in 1997 aims to celebrate and preserve diversity, and encourage open hearts in the people of Albuquerque. Formed by the Arts Alliance as part of the implementation of the Cultural Plan, the Heritage Council is comprised of volunteers representing the diverse cultural community of Albuquerque. They include Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Indonesian, Swedish, German, Filipino, South African, Indian, French, Native American, Honduran, African American, Hispanic and Jewish.

The Heritage Council encourages inclusion of all cultural and ethnic groups present in Albuquerque. Please call (505) 268-1920 if you would like to join the Heritage Council. The Heritage Council's mission is to foster appreciation of multiculturalism in Albuquerque by recognizing, publicizing and celebrating the contributions of the many cultural groups that make up the Albuquerque community. The Heritage Council does so by focusing on heritage preservation, cultural education and intercultural communication.

What Are The Heritage Council's Objectives?

• To promote understanding of the intricacies of diversity and the elimination of stereotypes.
• To establish and fund a Heritage Archives that identifies and documents the origins and characteristics of all ethnic and cultural groups in the Albuquerque area.
• To promote education about the history of New Mexico and Albuquerque through public and private schools, museums, cultural centers, language classes and cultural seminars.
• To create a spirit of welcome and acceptance through intercommunication among cultural groups and city-wide participation in cultural events and celebrations.

• Publication of a quarterly Ethnic Calendar since April 1999.
• Completion of the Albuquerque Ethnic Arts Survey which provides an overview of cultural representation in the city of Albuquerque. This document was completed in August 1999 by Heritage Arts Services.
• Development of a pool of cultural presenters and performers to provide outreach in the schools and in the community, and to help promote an appreciation of the various cultural identities present in Albuquerque.
• Oversees a comprehensive cultural survey of ethnic populations in the greater Albuquerque area with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Provision of networking opportunities with the diverse cultural groups present in the city, and creation of discussions on intercultural issues that arise in the community.
• Participation in city-wide activities celebrating Albuquerque's cultural arts and history.

• Expansion of the pool of cultural presenters and performers.
• Creation of discussion groups to unite the various cultural associations and oral history projects active in Albuquerque.
• Organization of cultural seminars to encourage the sharing and knowledge of the city's cultural gifts and resources.