NEWS RELEASE : 2020 National Civic Leadership Forum Builds Solidarity and Unity
| NEWS RELEASE September 20, 2020 |
2020 National Civic Leadership Forum Builds Solidarity and Unity
The Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) and Civic Leadership USA (CLUSA) close out the 2020 National Civic Leadership Forum (NCLF) today, Sunday, September 20, 2020. Since September 12, we have celebrated AAPI Unity through the Power of We. The week-long virtual conference has welcomed nearly 600 registered attendees, with over 19 ethnicities, 45% being under 40-years-old and 62% identifying as female.
“This forum belongs to the people who have spoken and those who have come and listened and learned” remarked AAUC President SK Lo. The breadth and depth of the 27 learning sessions and 100+ speakers (not including the cultural performers) are unimaginable in a regular top-down organized event. NCLF is truly an open, bottom-up, grassroots gathering where folks have spoken out about what concerns them.
In his opening speech, Andrew Yang stated, “We all share common goals, ideas, and ambitions for our families. … I think we’re just scratching the surface of the impact Asian Americans can have across the board.”
From community health and diversity talks to mobilization planning and policy, it has taken nine days with parallel sessions running each day to hear from 167 speakers, 25 sponsors, and 50 exhibitors. On September 18th, we celebrated our cultures and diversity through musical performances, a youth poetry reading, a dance session, and four lively cooking demos.
The virtual platform on Whova has empowered attendees to connect across sectors and cultures and from all around the country, to listen and learn and to take action. Fortunately, all live sessions are recorded and can be accessed on Whova and, after the forum closes, on the AAUC and CLUSA websites. Attendees may continue to network on Whova through September 25th.
“When we talk about the Power of WE,” plenary speaker Ty Bledsoe said, “we need to talk about the equity that we can leverage together.” At AAUC and CLUSA, we wholeheartedly agree and would like to share our joint statement on the highlight of this year’s NCLF:
The 2020 election is a historical moment for the Asian American and Pacific Islancer (AAPI) community. Our rapidly increasing share of the electorate, collective economic impact, and professional and civic achievements present a powerful, unparalleled opportunity for political engagement. Our votes matter.
Our votes matter to future generations. We must advocate for the common interest of the AAPI community, allied with other minorities, to build our collective American dream.
Our votes matter to the wellbeing of all Americans. America is strengthened by multicultural diversity when all ethnicities partake in our democracy. We have the obligation and privilege to shape the future of this nation with our unique contribution.
We celebrate our diversities while uniting under a common goal: increasing AAPI voter turnout and census participation, holding ourselves accountable and being counted. We pledge to reach out to our relatives, friends, organizations, and community to participate in the 2020 census and election at all levels of government.
Representation Matters. AAPI Votes Matter!
We are diverse; we are compassionate; we are empowered; and we are the future in this multicultural world. As Chef Ranjan Dey stated, “Know that you are not alone, the community is here to support you, all you have to do is ask.” The work in building coalition and unity for AAPI has just begun.
For more information on the 2020 NCLF, please visit the conference page on Whova.
About AAUC
Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) came into existence through the historic conference held in Alaska in 2018 in which 12 unique AAPI organizations and 20 leaders representing 5 major ethnicities: Chinese, Indian, Philippines, Korean and Japanese Americans were present. The group came together to define the core values and the platform of AAUC.
About Civic Leadership USA
The mission of CLUSA is to empower and organize the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) communities, to create a national network of civic-minded organizations and leaders and work in unity. CLUSA has a national network thru our grantees nationwide and resource development (monetary & human resource), access to APIA grant maker network as well as Civic leadership network database and Video training library in civic leadership & engagement. It provides grant programs in civic leadership forum, civic leadership internship, capacity building, technical assistance in Media/Web Dev/Resource Dev/Strategic planning. CLUSA will work with AAUC to establish a pipeline of APIA candidates to run for public offices in USA and to forge a national APIA coalition in civic engagement in USA.