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100 Years Of The International Institute Of St. Louis

Carmen Dence is the founder and director of Grupo Atlantico, Akif Cogo is the founder of St. Louis Bosnians Inc., and Anna Crosslin is the president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis.
EVIE HEMPHILL | ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO

The International Institute of St. Louis has been a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees to the area for 100 years. Its mission is to foster a more connected community to benefit not only immigrants and their families, but the wider community as well. 

According to IISTL President and CEO Anna Crosslin, most of the organization’s events are “geared toward trying to demystify ‘the other,’ so that people are less fearful.”

“They can find out that there are, in fact, shared values and behaviors among people that go beyond the visible differences,” she said.

Monday on St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske talked with Crosslin, as well as the founder of St. Louis Bosnians Inc., Akif Cogo, and the director of Grupo Atlantico, Carmen Dence.

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Tonina Saputo. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.

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Emily is the senior producer for "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.