Happy historical Monday, Chicago! After months of citywide community participation, the City of Chicago today officially released the Chicago Cultural Plan 2012. This is the first plan, since 1986, designed to strengthen the city's arts and cultural sector. The final plan and executive summary can be downloaded at chicagoculturalplan2012.com.

Being part of the cultural planning team and providing the social media and marketing outreach was a great honor for weetu. This role in implementing the social media allowed the cultural planning process to extend beyond traditional town hall meetings and neighborhood conversations by creating opportunities for wider and more diverse audiences to share their own vision for Chicago's cultural future.

This morning's release event, held at Manuel Perez Jr. Elementary School in Pilsen, was an inspiring celebration which included a collaborative performance by the students, Yo-Yo Ma (yes, the real one), and celebs Renee Fleming and Damian Woetzel. Additionally, Mayor Emmanuel spoke to the plan as enhancing Chicago's reputation for creativity, innovation and excellence in the arts. He then generously dished out high-fives to some excited students. Commissioner Michelle Boone, who spearheaded the cultural planning initiative, was also on-hand with an enthusiastic introduction of the final Chicago Cultural Plan 2012.

Besides for the love of what we do, weetu was inspired throughout this planning process by our passionate implementation team which included Amina Dickerson [Dickerson Global Advisors], Lisa McDonald [Research Explorers], Nick Rabkin, Amanda Carlson and Lord Cultural Resources.