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		Advocacy and Policy Arts Advocacy WESTAF is engaged in a number of projects designed to increase the region's capacity for advocacy directed to the advancement of public support of the arts in the West. In May, 2002, state arts agency executive directors and state arts advocacy leaders from the WESTAF region met in Portland, Oregon. They discussed ways to move the appropriations and general support for state arts agencies in the region forward. The group will continue to meet and information that emerges from those convening is available through the WESTAF office. Cultural Policy Forums As part of WESTAF's commitment to strengthening the financial, organizational and policy infrastructure of the arts in the West, the organization has sponsored a series of forums on cultural policy at the Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado (the proceedings from these forums are available here ). The goals of these forums are to provide an opportunity to reflect on the cultural policy issues particular to the West, to introduce cultural policy practitioners in the region to one another, and to expand the acquaintance of national and international discussions of cultural policy with thinking and thinkers in the West. Metro-State Initiative WESTAF sponsors a task force composed of city and state arts agencies. The purpose of the Metro-State Task Force is to consider ways city ands state-level arts agencies in the West might collaborate. Preliminary Task Force recommendations include: the development of new arguments in support of public funding for state and urban arts entities; the creation of mechanisms to foster arts leadership in the West; continuing conversation regarding how WESTAF can provide services and work more continuously with urban arts entities; and the need for WESTAF to take a lead in sponsoring regular convening of urban and state arts agencies in the West. Multicultural Initiative Recognizing the increasing ethnic diversity of the West, WESTAF has adopted a set of organizational core values and goals that will make it more representative of and responsive to the cultures of the region. The plan for activities in this area is based on the report of WESTAF's Multi-Cultural Task Force, a group of 13 individuals from across the region who advised WESTAF on ways it could increase its commitment to the diverse peoples of the region.