'Achieving True Inclusion' is theme of 21st Multicultural Forum in March

'Achieving True Inclusion' is theme of 21st Multicultural Forum in March

"Diversity's Challenge: Achieving True Inclusion" is the theme of the 21st annual Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity, a two-day national training conference that will be held March 3 and 4, 2009, at the St. Paul RiverCentre.

Co-hosts are the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas and the Twin Cities chapter of the National Black MBA Association. The forum is presented by General Mills and receives support from more than 55 firms and organizations.

Ken Powell, chairman and CEO of General Mills, Dr. Nat Irvin, a diversity and inclusion futurist from the University of Louisville, and Luke Visconti, partner and co-founder of DiversityInc, will deliver keynote presentations.

The forum is designed for professionals who manage a diverse workforce or are responsible for diversity within organizations of all sizes. It also is recommended for anyone working with a multicultural clientele.

The first day of the forum features 14 professional development institutes that provide in-depth information on fostering workplace diversity and 24 workshops.

The second day features 36 workshops and specialty tracks, networking opportunities for the estimated 1,200 attendees from Minnesota and around the United States, and career and resource fairs with more than 200 exhibitors.

The forum began in 1988 as a two-hour videoconference and has grown into the region’s leading conference for advancing diversity in the workplace. In addition to the forum’s professional staff, more than 40 volunteers assisted with planning workshops, and more than 60 volunteers will help staff the conference.

Participants can choose to attend just the institutes or workshops on March 3, just the forum on March 4, or a combination of these. For more information or to register, visit https://www.stthomas.edu/mcf/, call (651) 962-4385 or e-mail bjvoorheesbl@stthomas.edu