3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Community in the Capital Fellowship Program: Orientation / Closing

Honoring the Resilience of our Communities

 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Welcome

9:30 AM - 11:o0 AM
Opening Plenary: The State of Our Communities
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities around the country are facing a new political and social reality. As targets of hate and institutional surveillance, our communities are experiencing heightened levels of fear that often impact their ability to be socially and civically engaged, but also politicize and move them to re-imagine the possibilities of engagement. We will open our Building CAPACD convention with stories from our member organizations about the innovative and inspiring strategies they are employing to address the new (and not so new) issues that are emerging in neighborhoods across the country. Given the state of our communities, what is our call to action today?

Speakers:
Fahd Ahmed, Desis Rising UP & Moving (DRUM)
Cat Le Bao, Southeast Asian Coalition (SEAC)
Mike Nguyen, VN Teamwork
Jes Phillip, Micronesian Islander Community (MIC)

Moderator:  Gordon Chin

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
AAPIs: A Look at the Rich Cultures & History of our Movement
2017 marked the 135th anniversary since the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the 75th anniversary of Japanese-American internment, the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots and today, the 16th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. These events are a reminder of our shared history of imperialism, immigration, migration, and xenophobia—they are also a reminder of our resilience, built through decades of community advocacy and organizing. In this interactive session, we will examine significant historical events and share stories of community empowerment to build and sustain a strong collective AAPI voice. We will engage together to ask, “How do we draw hope and strength from our histories to confront the current obstacles  that our communities face?” Join us as we remember and learn from critical moments that have shaped AAPI presence in the United States.

Speakers:
Lian Cheun, Khmers Girls in Action
Lucia Lin, Chinese Progressive Association (CPA)
Aleyamma Mathew, Ms. Foundation
Lahela Williams, Hawaiian Community Assets

Moderator:  Tom Ikeda, Densho

 12:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Lunch / Keynote and Networking Session 
Keynote Speaker: Na'alehu Anthony,’Oiwi Television Network/Polynesian Voyaging Society

​2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Adapting and Thriving in New Political Climates
The success of political movement-building efforts depends not only on our ability to engage individuals and organizations in our own network, but also adapt and respond to changing circumstances when there are immediate political threats. This past year, we have seen historic attacks on civil rights and different communities of color. This plenary will feature nonprofit leaders who will share stories about coming together, expanding their missions, and moving towards a united community in an uncertain political climate. By bringing diverse groups together, we can start to recognize the importance and strengths of each of our communities in the larger narrative, as well as the need for a common, deeply rooted, and broad- based movement towards justice.

Speakers:
Andrea Levere, Prosperity Now
Zandra Zuno Baermann, Unidos US

Moderator: Dean Matsubayashi, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC)

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
National CAPACD Cohort Networking Meetings
Members are invited to participate in one of the following programmatically-focused conversations to share best practices and lessons learned, and to receive updates on grant-related activities:
- Asset Building
- Housing Counseling (by invite only)
- Small Business (by invite only)
- Creative Placemaking (by invite only)

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Honoring the Power of Art Reception
Light refreshments will be served
Enjoy an evening dedicated to honoring art and its power to inspire hope and build solidarity across communities and generations. Attendees are encouraged to exchange innovative ideas and strategies for supporting art in their work to build healthy and thriving neighborhoods for AAPI communities.

Building and Sustaining our Work

​8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast

 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Capacity Building Workshops 1

• Data and Mapping for Community Change and Inclusion
  As practitioners and social justice advocates working with underserved populations, we often struggle with making the case for our community’s needs to our policy makers and institutions. Data and mapping are effective tools to further community based strategies for local advocacy campaigns, fundraising, and planning efforts. Join us for a conversation with experts in the field of data, mapping, and community based planning to learn effective tools to further your work.

  Speakers:
  Lena Afridi, Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD)
  Calvin Chang, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
  Levar Martin, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)

• Leading the Charge: How AAPI Youth are Mobilizing and Changing their Communities
  Looking for a little inspiration these days? Join this session to hear from National CAPACD members who have empowered and supported youth in their communities to be the change agents we need today, tomorrow and for generations to come. This conversation will focus on shining examples of youth-led movements, and what it means to be an adult ally in this work.

  Speakers:
  Joshua Fisher, AYPAL
  Khadija Jahan Khan, Advocates for Youth
  Zon Moua, Freedom Inc.

  Moderator: Alisi Tulua, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)

• Building an Intersectional Movement: AAPIs and Gender Justice
  As community based organizations our work is often framed around issues which impact our communities: housing, health care, or economic empowerment. But as black lesbian poet and activist Audre Lorde said, “There is no single issue struggle, because we do not lead single issue lives.” Join us for a conversation on how women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender AAPIs are impacted by racial, economic, and gender justice.

  Speakers:
  Shabab Ahmed Miraz, Center for American Progress
  Manish Lance, Raksha, Inc.
  Pheng Thao, Man Forward

  Moderator: Isyss Honnen, United Territories of Pacific Islands Alliance (U.T.O.P.I.A)

​11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
Keynote Address and Foundations for the Future Sneak Peek
Networking 

​1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Capacity Building Workshops II

• If not now then when?: Ally-ship and Coalition-Building in our Movement
  The political landscape today seems more divided and polarizing than ever before. But one glimmer of hope is that everyday Americans seem eager to act to protect principles of fairness, equity and social justice in unprecedented ways, as evidenced by the Women’s March to protests at airports to resist the Muslim ban. This session explores how local coalition building across multi-ethnic and multi-racial lines can create unlikely yet powerful alliances to combat threats against our communities. Panelists will discuss the importance of coalition building in today’s political climate, share examples of successful allyship within their own communities, and offer first-hand experiences on how the progressive AAPI movement can be an ally for other communities organizing for social change.

  Speakers:
  Inhe Choi, Hana Center
  Kabzuag Vaj, Freedom, Inc.

  Moderator: Deepa Iyer, Center for Social Inclusion

• Engaging Artists in Resistance and Mobilization Work
  This workshop will explore how creative collaboration between artists and activists has had tremendous success in inspiring and igniting communities into action. Presentation and discussion will cover various art forms as methods for building communities and promoting change. Participants will hear from a diverse panel of artists engaging in innovative work and will learn best practices for facilitating creative partnerships between community practitioners and artists. Equipped with an understanding of art as advocacy, participants will leave with tools to put to practice what they learned to inspire action in their respective communities.

  Speakers:
  Rebecca Chan, Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC)
  Man See Kong, Chinatown Art Brigade

  Moderator: Lorrie Chang, PolicyLink

• Putting the Next Generation First: Building a Leadership Pipeline
  Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are presented with a unique set of leadership development challenges and opportunities - especially within the current political climate. It is now more important than ever to develop a robust pipeline of progressive leaders who can continue to advocate, organize and inspire our movement for greater social equity. Join National CAPACD members and experts in the field to explore innovative and culturally appropriate strategies for cultivating leaders who can meet their full potential as champions for change.

  Speakers:
  Brent Kakesako, HACBED
  Zachary Darrah, Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries (FIRM)
  Helena Wong, Seeding Change
  
  Moderator:  Vega Subramaniam, Vega Mala Consulting

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Prep for Rally

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
#CounteractHate in #OurNeighborhoods Rally on the Steps of the Capitol Hill
As a coalition of Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations, we recognize that the strength of our neighborhoods and our country is its diverse people.  The current climate of hate violence, religious discrimination, and anti-immigrant sentiment are counter to the communities we strive to create.  This administration’s anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant policies have dragged our country backwards, and encouraged and emboldened hate against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, and Arab American communities. We envision inclusive thriving neighborhoods, where all people can live safely in their homes and communities, regardless of their religion, race, or ethnicity. Join National CAPACD and South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) as we stand together against racism, Islamophobia, and hate, and call for a safe America for all of us.

Moving Forward Together

 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast

 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Planning the Work Ahead: #OurNeighborhoods Strategy Sessions
After two days of hearing innovative programmatic, policy, organizing and advocacy strategies from across the country, now is your chance to share your own work with other convention attendees! These strategy sessions will focus on local policy strategies to address anti-displacement and gentrification in #OurNeighborhoods. This session will be led by our Community in the Capital Fellows, leaders from across the country and the Pacific Islands, who have trained with National CAPACD to develop their federal policy and advocacy skills over the course of the past year.

Choose a issue area that is impacting your local community, or one that you are curious to learn more about. Topics include:

1. Tenant Rights
2. Affordable Housing Development
3. Transit Oriented Development
4. Access to Public Space
5. Small Business Preservation

​10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
What's Next?: Townhall 
What is next for our movement? Our goal is that Convention Closing is not the end, but the beginning. Members will report back from caucus meetings about their planned next steps. And, more broadly, we will open the floor, townhall style, for all of us to talk about What Next for our shared movement. How do we continue forward the relationships started, the enthusiasm built, the alliances strengthened? How do we continue the momentum? What are our commitments to each other? How will we build communities of resistance AND communities that are healthy, thriving, and supportive?

​11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Closing
Keynote Speaker: Linda Sarsour, MPOWER Change