By Maegan McGowen
Item Correspondent
April 08, 2008 12:50 am
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World Cultural Exchange is an organization whose focus is to create appreciation for diversity among ethnic groups.
“The idea is to expand the experience for persons in this general area by bringing people in from other areas and other ethnic groups,” said Warren Moore, vice president of World Cultural Exchange.
According to Moore, this is done through the presentation of music, discussion, food, clothing, hobbies, culture and various artifacts that can displayed.
“It should be a hands-on experience, and in some cases, a face-to-face experience with some of the other ethnic groups,” he said. “Strangely enough, we have various groups in this immediate environment that don’t interact, but they have a real appreciation for what makes them who they are.”
Ahia Shabaaz, executive director of WCE, believes in the importance of gaining knowledge about other cultures.
“It’s important to expose children to as many different cultures as possible so they can develop an appreciation for other groups and a tolerance for them,” she said. “You don’t have to believe in everything, but you should certainly be able to tolerate differences.”
World Cultural Exchange organizes events each year for community members that allow them opportunities for learning and participation in other cultures.
Events at the Wynne Home Arts Center include field trips for Huntsville ISD, African dance classes, children's photography classes, adult cooking classes, ‘Dinner and a Film’ and children’s art classes.
“We did a first-grade field trip for Huntsville ISD in January and had 500 students in a two-day period,” Shabaaz said. “I was in the kitchen so I taught them how to ice cupcakes and about the history of the Wynne Home.”
Shabaaz said WCE did a photography class in March where children learned basic techniques.
“They went out and took pictures in Huntsville with Polaroid’s,” she said. “Then they will get a disposable camera to practice with, and they can develop their own shots later.”
Last year, WCE held origami classes, dances, and featured food from West Africa and Japan at the opening of the Wynne Home. They also participated in a student exchange program with Japanese students, and were part of the Fair on the Square where they sold clothing, art, toys, books, etc. from different countries.
WCE is also involved in the Sam Houston Folk Festival, and this year it is responsible for the African proponent of the African-American history tent.
“In addition to that, we’ll be teaching square dance, African dance and ballet folklorico,” she said. “We will also be providing free food samples Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as presenting traditional dances from Africa, Mexico and South America. We will perform those forms of dance as well.”
According to Shabaaz, WCE will teach children to make butter, grind corn and make jewelry. They will also provide story tellers and teach about traditional instruments from Africa, as well as art work, clothing and artifacts.
“We will be giving out free historical handouts, and they get to eat nuts and fruit and sample the traditional food,” she said. “We spend most of our time doing the Folk Festival.”
In addition to her work at WCE, Shabaaz is a nurse practitioner at Touchstone Neurorecovery Center in Conroe, and organizes events combining her clinical work and her passion for teaching community members about other cultures.
“WCE organized an Annual Family Day at Touchstone Neurorecovery Center where we taught western dancing and performed some as well,” she said. “We also performed cultural dances from Mexico and South America at Women’s Healing Empowering Women, based in Houston, at their first fund raiser in Willis.”
Shabaaz has an extensive background in dance, and will be participating in many of the dances WCE is performing at the Folk Festival.
“I had a dance company 30 years ago in Nashville, and I’ve always loved dance,” she said. “I was trained on the East and West coasts. Dance has always been a play thing for me, and my play time has developed into a more serious hobby.”
Traveling is another one of Shabaaz’s hobbies, and contributed to her interest in other cultures.
“I’ve traveled through other countries to find out information, and I’ve always been interested in traveling,” she said. “I’ve been to two countries in Africa, France, China, South America, Central America, just about all the islands and Canada. I try to work in multi-cultural environments as much as possible, and I thought it would be neat for other people to learn about other cultures through discussion, food and dance.”
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