LOUISVILLE — The Office for Immigrant Affairs (OIA) has won a highly competitive grant to support public service projects conducted by U.S. and International Exchange Alumni, which will support a groundbreaking initiative in Louisville to create a series of Global Language Cafes for inclusive communities. The initiative is led by Dr. Monica Lakhwani, language access coordinator, OIA, CDAF project team lead and Jesse Sanders, cultural orientation coordinator with Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM).
“From the annual WorldFest celebration to the new Office for Immigrant Affairs and our robust programs for refugee resettlement, Louisville has always been one of the nation’s leading cities for new Americans,” said Mayor Greenberg. “The Global Language Cafes: Creating Inclusive Communities project will provide community members with an opportunity to learn new languages in the city while boosting small business services and immigrant-owned businesses. We are very excited to see this project come to life.”
Lakhwani and Sanders are both Fulbright Alumni, affiliated with U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, with time spent in Philippines, Nepal, Thailand and Kazakhstan. Their funded community service project is related to this year’s CDAF themes of Building Community Through Arts, Sports, Language, and Technology as well as Rights, Refugees, and Migrants. Lakhwani and Sanders are leaders in building bridges of understanding that strengthen our community.
“The Global Language Cafe is a unique opportunity to learn some of the languages and cultures in our community,” said Amos Izerimana, director, Office for Immigrant Affairs. “We are continuing to create inclusive, welcoming environments.”
The Global Language Cafes project aims to foster cross-cultural connections and language learning within Louisville’s diverse communities. These cafes will serve as vibrant hubs where people of various backgrounds can come together, share snacks, coffee, and conversations, and learn new languages.
The program will create opportunities for language facilitators wishing to grow their experience. With the ExchangeAlumni and Global Ties U.S. funding, Lakhwani and Sanders plan to create community language learning cafes over the course of 8 weeks to be held in various immigrant-owned coffee shops. This project is fully endorsed by both the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Kentucky Refugee Ministries.
The Global Language Cafes will be held 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at various immigrant-owned coffee shops around Louisville. The Global Language Cafes will run for eight weeks during July and August. The full list of locations and times can be found here.
