HISTORY

Created in 2013 by Mayor A. George Pradel, the City’s Cultural Outreach Program helps foster connections with residents of varied and diverse cultural backgrounds. The program was a result of the diversifying demographics of Naperville with Indian American population getting close to 10% of the cities population. Mayor A. George Pradel said of starting the program. “It is so important to make sure all of our cultures are connected within the city and that we embrace our unique backgrounds and use them to help make Naperville the wonderful City it is. Krishna Bansal, a Naperville resident was appointed as ambassadors to the Indian community residing within the City reporting to the Mayor’s office. The ambassador chosen for this position would help City staff and the community as a whole embrace and foster connections within the Indian communities. In addition, the program was aimed to help encourage members of the community to be actively involved in civic life and understand the structure and function of Naperville’s government. The community outreach chairman was also tasked with the opportunity to assist with local and international economic development opportunities and cultural outreach in the business sector. To carry out this mandate, Krishna formed an organization of residents to help achieve these goals in 2013. In 2014, the Indian Community Outreach Organization received the non-profit status.