Workshops & Panels

This is a tentative schedule - more will be added soon!

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Of Home and Heart: Combating Domestic Violence in the Asian American Community

Panelists: Fronthy Nguyen

Domestic violence is a tragedy that affects all segments of the U.S. population, but Asian American women may face unique challenges. Language, cultural, legal and economic barriers leave battered Asian women especially vulnerable to abuse. NYAWC services empower women to overcome these barriers. This workshop, taught by Fronthy Nguyen of the New York Asian Women's Center, will address the issue of DV by identifying and defining domestic violence, dispelling myths and teaching realities about DV within the Asian American community, and by informing participants about how and where to get help.

From Russell's Race to Yellowface: on stage, screen, and behind the scenes

Panelists: Raymond J. Lee, Carla Ching, Linda Chan, Loraine Sammy

From stereotypes of the Asian woman as deceitful “Dragon Lady” in the fledging years of filmmaking to the yellowface casting in Miss Saigon of the 1990’s, fast forward to 2010 and we must ask what has changed? Through the activism following injustices such as Miss Saigon profound contributions by Asian Americans have been made, from untraditional casting in Shakespearean roles to the portrayal of deeply complex characters in the film Better Luck Tomorrow. Yet Asian American actors and artists on stage, screen, and behind the scenes continue to face deeply rooted and interconnected issues of racial discrimination, orientalism, stereotypes, tokenism, and yellowface to this day. Most recently, protests against yellowface have been raised over the casting of white actors in lead roles of Asian and Inuit characters in the film The Last Airbender. Now in 2010, nearly a century since Anna May Wong became the first Asian American to star in a Hollywood production, we must unpack the sociopolitical, historical, and cultural layers of these issues as we continue to build dialogue, educate, and challenge those who deny our integral presence as Asian Americans.

Entrepreneurship: Making our OWN Opportunities

Moderated by: Ramon Gil

Panelists: Ray Brijmohan, Sarah Chung, Christina Seid, Glenda Villajuan

Owning and running your own business is one of the best paths to autonomy and financial independence. It allows you to bypass office and racial politics (No glass ceilings), gives you the ability to get out of the rat race, and gives you complete control of your destiny. No one can lay you off, the success (and failure) of the company is entirely up to you and in return, you reap all the rewards. There is also the added benefit that business owners help build political influence and a more powerful voice for the Asian American community. But entrepreneurship is not for everybody. This panel will address the pros, cons, challenges and necessary qualities for entrepreneurship.

Sponsored by: The Asian-American Entrepreneurs Network builds community among Asian Pacific American business owners through online content, business referrals, social networking and quarterly events. For more information, please visit http://www.aen-nyc.com

Community Expressions: Bridging Art, Literature, and Activism

Panelists: Henry Chang, Kekoa, Glenda Bautista

Art is a catalyst for change. Yet, in times of economic crises, funding for the arts is usually the first to be cut. This workshop will revalue and re-celebrate the crucial role of community arts, or community-based art, which envisions social change in our communities through various media – from visual arts (e.g. fine art and video) to music and literature. From different disciplines and cultural backgrounds, author Henry Chang and graphic designer Kekoa will share their role in shaping Asian American communities through their work and their understanding of “community arts.”

Being Multiracial, Multiethnic, Multilingual: Asian-descent AND --- in the Age of Obama

Panelist: Dr. Teresa Wiliams-Leon

The workshop will explore, examine, and interrogate multiple identity experiences of multiracial, multiethnic, & multilingual Asian-descent Americans. We now have a President who is multiracial, multiethnic, and international. He has also been affectionately referred to as the first "Asian Pacific President" as well as the first African-descent President. "The first sister," Maya Soetero-Ng, is Indonesian-European American. Much has been written, discussed and examined over the past 20 years in literature, social sciences, student movements, & ethnic studies about mixed-race/multiracial/multiethnic/Amerasian/Hapa populations. As race continues to be center & front in public discourse in more visible ways than ever before, what will the increasing presence of Asian-descent multiracials mean for Asian American youth and their place(s), their space(s), their personal/public identities in the American racial landscape. The workshop will integrate some of the racialized discourse of the public identities of President Obama, Tiger Woods, Kimora Lee Simmons, Apolo Ohno, reality show divorcee Jon of Jon & Kate

Slicing Up the Pie: Towers and Tenements in Chinatown and the Lower East Side

Panelist: Bethany Li

Have you noticed the towering, luxurious "affordable housing" condos sprouting up in New York City's Chinatown and the Lower East Side (LES)? Squeezed between the bustling business centers of Midtown and Wall Street, Chinatown and LES have been the target of profitable real estate plans, involving many "affordable" development projects built in low-income, immigrant communities. Yet we ask ourselves: affordable for whom? This interactive workshop will explore the true definition of "affordable housing", reasons for this overdevelopment, and how low-income tenants of Chinatown and the Lower East Side are engaging in anti-gentrification campaigns to protest being out bid for their own homes. We will step into the shoes of various players at the table – including tenants, landlords, government, small business owners, and developers (including universities). Then, we will ask ourselves: What is our role in this problem as college students? Is gentrification of our communities really inevitable?

Longing and Belonging: The Idea of Home in Asian American Literature

Panelists: Luis Francia

Readers can enjoy Asian-American literature without knowing specifics about the writers' cultures. But learning more about the unique history and experiences of Asians in America makes their novels and stories all the more compelling, allowing the reader to enjoy these works in a more informed context. This workshop focuses on how contemporary Asian-American authors re-imagine notions of home, tradition, sexuality, and memory, sometimes by exploring the tensions of being rooted in America while also being seen as an outsider. What is "American"? Where are the intersections with traditional customs and religions? How can Asian-Americans claim a place in the culture for themselves in light of past events like the American colonization of the Philippines, or the Vietnam War? Writers discussed in this workshop include Maxine Hong Kingston, Jessica Hagedorn, Carlos Bulosan, Chang Rae Lee, and Jumpa Lahiri.

Beyond Gaysian: Creating a Voice for the LGBT Community

Panelists: Pauline Park, Dennis Chin, Glenn Magpantay, Olympia Moy, Nadira Persaud

How do we navigate the space between multiple identities, such as race and sexuality, to form a more inclusive sense of praxis that more fully suits our needs? Queer Asian American community members, professionals, and activists come together to discuss their experiences and their involvement in the struggle for visibility, acceptance, and rights. Learn more about challenges faced by the LGBT community in a panel discussion featuring representatives from various local organizations.

Crisis at South Philadelphia High: Asian American student leaders enacting change

Moderated by: Helen Gym

Panelists: Wei Chen, Duong Ly, Bach Tong and Hao Truong, Nancy Nguyen

On December 3 2009, more than two dozen Asian immigrant students were beaten inside and outside of school in a series of assaults at their South Philadelphia High School - a school where community advocates had raised concerns for more than a year about dramatic anti-Asian violence against recent immigrant students. In response, more than 50 Asian immigrant students conducted an 8 day boycott of South Philadelphia High in order to raise attention to anti-Asian violence and demand a District response. In the process they raised citywide, national and international awareness of the issue and built a platform to combat racial violence by demanding accountability and responsibility from school and District administration. In this panel this dynamic team of student leaders and activists of South Philadelphia High School and the Asian American community of Philadelphia will tell their stories of the issues they faced and embarked to overcome. The many efforts and triumphs of these activists are proof of the possibility to bravely overcome adversity through leadership, team work, and determination.

Advocating Change: Asian Americans in Activism

Panelists: Suki Terada Ports, Wayne Ho, APICHA, Grace Meng

The image of the activist often calls to mind the civil rights movements of the 1960s. This panel seeks to rework this image to include different and more modern modes of activism. Panelists Suki Ports, Wayne Ho, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, and APICHA will discuss activism for and by Asian americans for rights at different levels, whether in healthcare, education, or policy and law. Learn how to engage in and continue your activism beyond the college campus, even as you navigate the "real world."

FiRE's iVOW to fight Violence Against Women

Moderated by: Zabrina Collazo

Panelists: FiRE

Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment will present their iVOW to Fight VAW workshop, to empower members of the Asian American community to take a vow to fight violence against women (VAW). FiRE, a grassroots Filipino women’s organization in New York City, has launched the nationwide educational campaign to address violence against women, an issue that is often silenced in the Filipino community. Through the workshop, speakers from FiRE expose the "Seven Deadly Sins Against Women" to expand the definition of violence against women to include rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, limited access to reproductive healthcare, sex trafficking, prostitution, and militarization. Members of FiRE share their analysis of these problems, whic have a deep-rooted and systematic connection to the effects of American colonialism and expansion abroad.

The workshop will also teach participants how to protest through a mock rally, as well as show them how to become involved in other ways in order to fight violence against women.

Deportation is Wrong!!

Panelists: Dimple Rana, De Guerilla

“Born outside, raised in the States! Deportation is a big mistake!” Cambodia and the United States signed a Repatriation Agreement in 2002 to deport over 2000 Cambodian Americans and destroy countless families, effectively creating a huge crisis in the Southeast Asian community. This workshop aims to examine U.S. immigration law, history, and its debilitating effects on the Cambodian American community. Participants will learn how to get involved in community actions and campaigns against deportation. Workshop presenters will also provide opportunities for participants to assist those who have been deported to Cambodia since the Repatriation Agreement was signed.

Deported Diaspora (DD) works to raise awareness of the unjust U.S. Deportation System through organizing, education, and art. Internationally, we promote and assist re-integration programs for deported people in Cambodia & Cape Verde.

Breaking the Silence: Asian American Mental Health

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Panelists: Sel J. Hwahng, Tazuko Shibusawa, Niraj Dilhiwala, Kit Ho

Among all ethnicities, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the least likely to seek help for mental illness. Yet studies show that Asian American youth exhibit high rates of depression, anxiety and suicide and that elderly Asian American women have the highest suicide rate of all women aged 65 and over. Many Asian Americans are also at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder due to trauma suffered before or during immigration. How does one begin the process of talking about mental health issues within an Asian American family? How do positive mental health outcomes for Asian Americans go beyond just "health" and really impact how we function in U.S. society? How can we advance the progress made by community health workers and health professionals? In addition to the general social stigma associated with mental health, there exist a number of cultural, economic and language barriers that further prevent access to quality mental health care for the Asian American community. This panel seeks to examine these difficulties and explore the linkages between mental health and social well-being.

Asian American Film Industry

Panelists: Yunah Hong, Christine Choy

With the development of film as a dominating force in the entertainment industry, it became globalized as many countries began to make films in their own languages, and at the same time became nationalized as it began to represent and embody the particular culture of its makers and their people: classical Hollywood cinema, Japanese films of the 50’s, Hong Kong Kung Fu wave, and Asian American film, which began in the 1960s and the 1970s as a reaction against the Asian representations in mainstream Hollywood films. In this workshop, Christine Choy and Yunah Hong, as directors of Asian American films, will discuss the phenomena of the Asian American film industry and the issues of identity, generational conflict and history raised in the films. They will present parts of their own works and share their own experiences working within the American industry, the conflicting relationship with Hollywood and the difficulty of producing Asian American films in America.

Asian Adoption: issues, identities, and intersections

Moderated by: Victoria Chau

Panelists: Jeff Cylkowski, Marissa Martin, Susan Becker, Barbara Lee, Marie Tae McDermott

Every day in the U.S. and internationally Asians are being adopted into families ethnically different from their own, often resulting in crises of identity that are uniquely complex and distinctly separate from the experiences of those who have grown up in traditional Asian families. As transracial adoptees, will they practice the culture of their adopted parents? Will they feel accepted into the ethnic/racial community of their adopted families? How do their networks of friends, significant others, other people of color, and adoptees influence their connections to the world and themselves? Considering W.E.B Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness in constantly seeing one’s self through the eyes of others as well as their own, transracial adoptees embody a positionality within Asian American society that compels questions of multi-consciousnesses, complicating intersections of family, race, and culture. Through viewing an excerpt of Barbara Lee's film Adopted and in hearing the individual perspectives of Korean adoptees from varied backgrounds we strive to develop a dialogue that will not only discuss questions of identity, but will seek to address ways in which we may educate and activate our communities to overcome political, socioeconomic, and cultural issues within the Asian adoption community.

Gender Narratives: An Exploration Through History, Media, and Culture

Moderated by: Andrea Ng

Panelists: Patrick Rosal, Sonjia Hyon, Chyng Sun

Asian Americans live in a bicultural world where they experience contradictions between their heritage and American culture. They observe American notions of gender roles through interactions with peers, and Eastern notions of gender roles through family and ethnic community socialization. At the same time, Asian Americans face many gender stereotypes to which they may feel the pressure to conform. But how were these stereotypes formed? To what extent are they true, and how should we go about addressing them while still developing our own gender identity? How do family structures and relationships affect the way we perceive gender? By examining the way history, culture, poetry and film has influenced the notion of gender, and vice versa, this panel will challenge the normative binary of Asian American gender roles and explore the spectrum in between what is traditionally “male” and “female.”

Youth in Action: Foundations for Mobilization

Panelists: Nina Sharma, Kristy Nguyen, Sasha Ahuja, Yves Nibungco

YOU are the future of this country. YOU are the next generation. Sound familiar? We've all heard it before, but these panelists take these statements one step further by working with youth and young adults to foster the skills they'll need to be their own future. Join Sasha Ahuja of SAYA, Nina Sharma, formerly of the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Kristy Nguyen of APEX, and Yves Nibungco of AnakBayan, to discuss the importance of creating a safe space for youth to share, process, and react to their experiences on multiple levels; effective strategies for building such spaces; how to get involvement and funding; and their experiences in working with youth. This workshop aims to inform and empower participants to become involved themselves.

Food in Motion: Asian Americans Changing the Culinary Landscape

Moderated by: Melissa Zhang

Panelists: Emery Huang, Joseph Tien, Thomas Yang, Christina Seid, Jerome Chang

How do Asian Americans affect America's ever-fluctuating culinary scene? We are no longer constrained to close-quartered, run-down, stone-walled Chinatown spaces, but instead are branching out into new areas, new methods of distribution, and new integrations of food and culture. Even the idea of a traditional recipe has been taken with a grain of salt, challenged, and pushed to shape what the American public understands as “Asian food." As our modes of innovation and representation change, so does the American palate, and thus, Asian cuisine in America as we know it.