2020 NCLF Closing Ceremony Highlights- the stories of the “The POWER of WE”!
The 2020 NCLF End With Communities Collaborating and Strengthening “The Power of We”
This long anticipated 2020 National Civil Leadership Forum (NCLF) closing ceremony was held on Sep. 20th, 2020 via video conferencing. The ceremony was presented in four different categories, which included Asian Americans’ video and essay award, music performance and dialog with composer/musician. There were also inspiring speeches and joint statements from community leaders. Politicians, professional organizations and hundreds of attendees came together on this special day to express “The Power Of We”, which composed of We are Compassionate, We are Diverse, We are Empowered and We are the Future.
The event was live streamed and could be viewed on Ding Ding TV, YouTube and Zoom for registered guests across the country. The closing ceremony was kicked off with the In Time of COVID-19 Video Contest Award Ceremony, honoring acclaimed filmmakers.
A total of 35 entries of one-minute video were submitted. First round comprised of 20 semi-finalists who were voted by the viewers. The award winning videos were selected by a diverse panel of judges. Seven videos featured during the ceremony with the filmmakers’ acceptance speeches. Joel Wong, Judge Chair Of The Contest stated, it’s important to see Asian Americans sharing humanistic stories and uplifting spirit during the pandemic. The positive energy from “The Power Of We” will help us get through this tough time together.
Dr. Xiaoyan Zhang, AAUC Public Relations Committee Chair, introduced 5 compositions that received the Asian American Reading Essay Award. The content was based on participants thoughts and reflections after watching a significant number of Asian Americans docuseries.
Later the attendees enjoyed a beautifully music “Consolation” composed by award-winning musician Phil Young. Touched by the stories of people suffering from the pandemic, Phil was compelled to create and share this compassionate music.
After the COVID-19 video, essay and music category, it was time for Keynote Speech. Lloyd Doggett, US Representative /Congressman (TX) thanked Asian Americans who dug into their pockets to pay and obtain personal protective equipments, especially the face masks for the essential and front line workers.
As powerful Asian Texasan community are growing rapidly, Mr. Doggett urged everyone to vote in this most critical election in order to leave no Asian Americans behind. Carol Moon Goldberg, President of League of Women Voters (CA) gave a brief history on the movement of female voters. She explained that the right for women to vote didn’t come easy. It took 72 years of organizing protests, letter writing and speeches to make it happen. She emphasized the importance of each vote using raindrop as an example. When enough of the raindrops are accumulated, it then becomes the power of the storm.
Dr. SK Lo, 2020 NCLF Chair summarized the dynamic events happened in a 9 days marathon. She thanked all the organizers, volunteers, professional teams, performers, over 160 speakers and more than a thousand attendees. Through discussions, presentations and fun activities, participants learned from a dynamic team of community leaders to be empowered and benefited from their wisdom.
Lastly, ethnic community leaders from different part of the U.S. voiced the importance and the meaning of “The Power of We”. Meaningful personal experiences were also shared during the Joint Statement, emphasizing the need to unite and collaborate.
To wrap up this meaningful event, everyone held hands virtually and showed off the Joint Statement to represent the determination to continue working together to get through the pandemic through “The Power Of We”.
As Sandy Chau, Chairman of CLUSD stated in the closing remarks: “In order for our body to work efficiently, we need all the parts, including hands, eyes, legs and ears etc. Therefore, if we want to make an impact and have our voices to be heard, let’s work together to maximize the impact.
Music sound track permission by www.Sirismusic.com and Phil Yang.