Cleveland.com: Global Ties Akron to launch international ‘Global Threads’ magazine

Global Ties Akron is one of only six organizations in the country to be awarded state funding for a cultural heritage project to be unveiled at the Akron Art Museum.

“Global Threads” is an online international magazine that will launch Sunday, April 22 from 1-5 p.m. at the museum. The launch will include a cultural exchange with food and art exhibits.

The magazine was developed in a partnership with Creative Economy Group Serbia, a non-governmental organization focused on cultural heritage preservation and the economic impact of creative business in Serbia. The magazine will be available post-launch on Global Ties website.

The project, the inaugural Communities Connecting Cultural Heritage Exchange, was funded through the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Programs Division and the global nonprofit World Learning. Global Ties and the Creative Economy group, which have a shared interest in preserving cultural heritage, competed against organizations from around the world.

The goal of “Global Threads” is to promote cultural heritage preservation, said Michelle Wilson, Global Ties Akron executive director.

“In our case, we’re focusing in the Akron area on how our refugees and immigrants preserve their cultural heritage through performance art, visual art, cuisine and heritage languages,” Wilson said.

The economic impact in Akron of the immigrant community is also a focus for the magazine.

“It also has an aim of helping the community see what our new neighbors are doing,” said Global Ties vice president Theresa Minick.

Many immigrants have launched small businesses, such as restaurants, convenience stores and grocery and clothing stores, primarily in North Hill, Akron’s international neighborhood.

Akron’s immigrants and refugees hold $137 million in annual spending power and contribute $17 million in state and local taxes each year, according to a Knight Foundation-funded study, “New American Economy, Welcome to Akron,”

Content for “Global Threads” was created by honing the skills of eight University of Akron, Kent State University and Ohio University students. The students, who applied for the project, worked through online modules with local media professionals to develop stories about members of the Bhutanese/Nepali community through multimedia journalism.

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