The forums assemble diverse individuals with the common goal of bringing members of the AAPI community together and ensuring their voices are heard in the voting booth, DingDingTV.com reports
— Silicon Valley Innovation Channel-Ding Ding TV partnered with Civic Leadership USA and 8by8 to host the 3rd Civic Leadership Forum 2012 – Your Vote is Your Voice event on July 20, 2021. They joined with Asians Are Visible, United National Asian Americans, and Silicon Valley Insider to connect individuals concerned about Anti-Asian Hate Crimes, What Can We Do Together. The event brought together individuals searching for answers to questions regarding AAPI unity and voting.
“We need to understand the barriers to AAPI unity and how to increase the effectiveness of AAPI votes today. Political participation and representation in the Asian American community need to increase and the StopAsianHate movement must endure for years to come. Participants were asked to come up with possible solutions to these challenges,” Diana Ding, speaking on behalf of Ding Ding TV, explains.
This is the third forum held in 2021 addressing needs within the Asian American community. The first forum, held in March, was titled “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes, What Can We Do Together” and was followed up in April by a forum titled “How to Talk So Teens Will Listen.” The forum held in July consisted of two panels. Participants took part in How to Let Your Voice Be Heard and Making Every AAPI Vote Count.
“We were thrilled to have Bing Wei moderate the first panel. Fiona Ma, the California state treasurer, took part in the discussion along with former Congressmember Mike Honda. Greg Tanaka, the founder of 8by8 and a Palo Alto Councilmember, also participated in the discussion as did his co-founder of 8by8 Tyler Ratcliffe,” Ding continues. During the discussion, the panel members talked about the various methods that could be used to encourage AAPI community members to vote and take part in the election process to ensure their voices are heard.”
During the discussion, Ma and Tanaka talked about running political campaigns and engaging community members. They focused on the importance of having information readily available in multiple languages. Furthermore, they suggested taking part in local boards and commissions or working in political campaigns to ensure the AAPI community is properly represented. All participants in the discussion emphasized the need for ongoing dialogues between communities and the creation of coalitions.
“You don’t have to be white to be heard. You don’t have to be loud to be heard. You don’t have to speak perfect English to be heard,” Mike Honda explained.
Keith Koo moderated the second panel Making Every AAPI Vote Count and is well known for his work as a radio and podcast host. He is an angel investor and entrepreneur as well. Sato Bon, the founder of AsiansAreVisible, took part in the discussion along with the president of National Asian Americans United Joel Wang, and Anthony Ng, the executive director of Civic Leadership USA.
They emphasized the importance of using positive language to change current perceptions of the AAPI community. Wong discussed how AAPI votes could be made more effective, such as with the help of the block vote concept, and united around common goals such as education and health care. All participants agreed opening a dialogue with other communities is critical to moving forward within the AAPI community.
Sandy Chau, the founder and chairman of Civic Leadership USA delivered the keynote speech. During this speech, he shared the following message, “You have to register. You have to be educated. And you have to participate. Also, to unite, we Asian Americans need to have a common cause and value.”
Ding Ding TV and Civic Leadership USA came together in 2016 to create Civic Leadership Forum in an effort to provide the next generation of the AAPI community with a platform. Using this platform, they can take part in civic engagement and leadership. At the same time, the forum strives to build a national network of AAPI organizations that are civic-minded and bring the leaders of the organization together to work as a cohesive unit.
India Currents joined the partnership in 2017, and the partners hold four forums annually. More than 2,000 individuals have taken part in the event, and the content now reaches over 200,000 individuals across the country.
About Ding Ding TV:
Ding Ding TV, a California Corporation, is a Chinese American tech new media in Silicon Valley.
Contact Info:
Name: Diana Ding
Email: Send Email
Organization: DingDing TV
Address: Santa Clara, CA, 95051
Phone: (408) 244-8883
Website: http://www.dingdingtv.com/?p=74250
Source: MarketersMedia
Release ID: 89051969
