California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit

2010: “AAPI 3.0: Preparing For a New Era of Leadership, Advocacy & Organizing”

Dear Friend:

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 7th Annual California Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Policy Summit which will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center on May 3rd and 4th. Confronted with one of the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression, API communities will face even greater challenges as resources and services have become more limited. As a result, it is imperative for community members, organizations, and elected officials to coalesce and organize to ensure a strong and effective voice in the local, state, and national public policy discussion.

Last year, the Summit aimed to build a stronger policy platform by focusing on four policy tracks: civil rights, education, health & human services, and housing & community development. Our theme of “Connecting the Dots” continued to build on previous Summit efforts through strengthening community coalitions and recognizing intersections in our policy advocacy. Our theme for the 2010 Summit, “AAPI 3.0: Preparing For a New Era of Leadership, Advocacy & Organizing,” articulates our goal to equip participants with skills to implement solutions to problems, and to develop more strategic and deliberate methods that advance our community’s political, social, and economic well-being.

To that end, the Summit will feature skills building workshops that incorporate real community problems to help participant grow into stronger advocates, organizers, and leaders. Participants will have a chance to apply these tools in Caucus sessions that allow participants to connect and strategize under shared experiences and issues. In addition, we are bringing back legislative visits where participants will advocate for their legislative, policy, and budget issues with legislative members.

The API Policy Summit marks a significant opportunity for California API community members and organizations to empower themselves and their community at the California State Capitol. We look forward to your participation at the 2010 Summit!

Sincerely,

Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani, Co-Chair
API Joint Legislative Caucus

Assemblymember Van Tran, Co-Chair
API Joint Legislative Caucus

Nitasha Sawhney, Chair
California Commission on APIA Affairs

James Santa Maria, Chair
Asian American Education Institute

Santosh Seeram-Santana, Legislative Advocate
Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality

Diane Ujiiye, Executive Director
Asian & Pacific Islanders California Action Network

API Policy Summit 2010 Registration Form (pdf)

Scholarship Application Form 2010 (doc)

API Policy Summit Gala Banquet Invite (pdf)