FARMINGTON – Mainers engaged in the work of resettling and supporting Maine’s Somali community will speak Tuesday, Nov. 30, at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The panel discussion titled “Somalis in Maine: Negotiating Gender, Race and Class” will take place from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in Room 205 of Ricker Hall on campus, with a reception to follow. The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend.

The program will cover the circumstances and process of the refugees’ departures from Somalia and arrival in Maine. It will include a discussion of the needs of the refugee community and an overview of the services that have been developed for refugees in Maine. There will be ample time for questions, the organizers said.

Panelists will include Susanna Dunlap, program manager of the Refugee Services Program for Portland; Jen Babich, director of Refugee and Immigration Services for Catholic Charities of Maine; Fatuma Hussein, director of United Somali Women of Maine; Qamar Bashir, case manager with the Portland/Lewiston Refugee Collaborative; and Hussein Ahmed, employment counselor at the Portland/Lewiston Refugee Collaborative.

The program is sponsored by the UMF Diversity Committee and the college’s women’s studies program.

More information may be obtained by calling Lee Sharkey, assistant professor of English and women’s studies at 778-7370.