Sunday June 7th, 2015, an audience of more than 150 people gathered at the Fleetwood Jourdain Community Center in Evanston, Illinois, for an event organized by J- Media in partnership with PII foundation for Social Development. The theme of the gathering was "Leadership and Integration: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." Three main activities were on the schedule: the official Launching of the newspaper Integration, the projection of a documentary on Grand Carlos, one of the influential leaders and a pioneer of the Cameroonian community in Chicago, and lastly a panel discussion.

Initially scheduled from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM, the event started at 12:30 pm, an hour late. The lack of punctuality was highlighted by the organizer as a recurrent issue that needs to be addressed. The problem of punctuality has become so endemic that lateness to any function is accepted and justified. Lateness leads to poor performance and is indicative of a lack of seriousness and consideration to others.

The first part of the event was the launching of the newspaper Integration. Under the leadership of Felix Pene, the event organizer, Integration has the ambition to provide fresh, accurate and authenticated information to the community. The launching of the newspaper marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Cameroonian community in the Greater Chicago Area and the State of Illinois. The newspaper was praised by community members in attendance who stressed the importance of using communication tools to connect people and create lasting

bonds that would ultimately benefit the diaspora in its entirety. The initiative reminds us that communication is at the heart of development, progress and integration

A documentary on Mr. Carlos Ngouh was projected. The choice to dedicate a 4-hour documentary on "Grand Carlos" as many call him is based on his leadership and community involvement abilities. Grand Carlos has served and continues to serve the community. Testimonies of some members of the community on the documentary proved that Integration team took on a commendable initiative by immortalizing the life of such a humble and courageous man.

The highlight of the event featured a panel discussion that was comprised of twelve people (6 elders and 6 youth). The theme: “Leadership and Integration: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” provided a rationale for the careful selection of panelists. The elders group was constituted of influential leaders and friends of Grand Carlos who have been in the Greater Chicago Area for more than thirty years. Members of the other groups included young professionals who were assigned the task of representing the voices of the youth. Interactions between both groups symbolized the present and the future. The panelists came to the conclusion that as a people, the Cameroonian community is divided and suffers from a lack of effective leadership, communication and community involvement; points that were subject to a heated debate. All attendees expressed the urgency of a change in the community.

According to one of the panelists, immigration to the United States from Cameroon has grown rapidly in recent years. The new wave of Cameroonian immigrants is diverse and includes skilled professionals, students, and less educated migrants. In general, African immigrant

educational attainment is exceptionally high. “In 2013, 38 percent of Sub-Saharan immigrants (ages 25 and over) had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 28 percent of the total U.S. foreign-born population and 30 percent of the native-born population” (American Community Survey of U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).

As new immigrants to the United States become increasingly diverse, there is a constant need to examine questions of who constitute the current immigrant population: what is their integration experience and how can they help their community members to achieve economic growth and success? Integration is not always a smooth and easy process. For this reason, communication plays a vital role in community development and community engagement. Effective Communication will therefore facilitate access to key information and advice regarding available options helpful in the transition period for immigrants.

The lack of effective leadership is one of the causes that creates division and promotes the spirit of individualism in our community. The Cameroonian community is moving from a collectivist-communitarian model of society to the individualist model with little emphasis placed on community. This is something that needs to be changed. The event actually featured and celebrated Grand Carlos, who has exemplified a servanthood and selfless leadership style. Grand Carlos's life as described in the documentary dedicated to him is the story of a courageous, adventurous man with love for his community who has done extraordinary things in the lives of many. His story seems accurately captured by the following quote "What you leave behind is not engraved in stone monuments, but what you have woven into the lives of others."(Pericles, Athenian statesmen circa 450BC).

The panelists also stressed the importance of having role models in the community. Listening to someone or witnessing his/her success may indeed give people a different perspective. Good role models set positive examples for the youth and help counter negative influences. The community needs people who will instill in others the values of hard work, encourage intellectual curiosity, and help shape social and economic development.

Furthermore, the discussion indicated that emphasis needs to be put on the essential role of the effective participation of Cameroonians in Illinois in developing and implementing strategies that will help their communities prosper. With immigration come challenges of navigating life such as managing employment, school, housing, health care etc. There is a need to face these challenges as a community and find ways in which Cameroonians can influence local politics and policy making to benefit the community.

Contextual factors such as existing policies, attitudes of the host nation toward immigrants and the size of the ethnic community may influence settlement. How social capital shape employment, professional growth and the integration experience of Cameroonian immigrants in the USA? Those are questions to which, as a growing and united community with educated, skilled and influential people, we should find solutions to facilitate settlement in this country.

In summary, the conference started a flame of hope, demanding from every member of the Cameroonian family to cherish the endeavor of keeping it alive.