The Anoka-Ramsey Community College Department of Diversity and Multiculturalism and Alumni Relations Office will present, “Culturally Speaking: The Ignorance of Assumptions between the U.S. and the Middle East,” Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6 to 8 p.m. in the Legacy Rm. SC270.  The public is invited to this free event.

The guest speakers include alumna Mary Coons, the award-winning author of “Culturally Speaking: Promoting Cross-Cultural Awareness in a Post-9/11 World.”  Coons’ book was a finalist in the USA Book 2008 Best Book Award in Non-Fiction, and it was a third place finalist in Midwest Independent Publishers Association 2008 Midwest Book Achievement Awards in the culture category.

Coons will be joined by Maryam al Sheroogi, who works in the Ministry of Education in Bahrain, a small island country in the Persian Gulf. al Sheroogi has been granted a two-week business visa for this series of presentations, which include Anoka-Ramsey, the University of Minnesota-Duluth and an Interfaith Council event.

“The hope for this event, far beyond sharing the accomplishments of a distinguished alumna such as Coons, is to start a conversation,” says Anoka-Ramsey Director of Alumni Relations, Michael Wall. “Whether an audience member agrees or disagrees with any assumptions presented matters less than the opportunity to engage in this conversation, to share what we believe, and to hear the experiences and beliefs of others.”

“As a community member, Anoka-Ramsey Community College feels a responsibility to provide educational opportunities surrounding pressing issues, such as race, religion, gender and economy as to provide a forum for civil public discourse,” adds Marcellus Davis, the college’s Director of Diversity and Multiculturalism.”

For more information about the timely and engaging events at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, visit www.AnokaRamsey.edu.

Maryam al Sheroogi (second from left) and Mary Coons (fourth from left), the award-winning author of “Culturally Speaking: Promoting Cross-Cultural Awareness in a Post-9/11 World,” at a recent event at a Naval Support Activity base in Bahrain. Coon and al Sheroogi will speak at a free, public event at Anoka-Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids Campus, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6 to 8 p.m.