Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA)

Labor, Militarization and the Human Rights Crisis in the Philippines

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures:
ASIAN LANG 412 Advanced Filipinoin conjunction with the United Asian American
Organizations, Filipino American Student Association and Philippine Study Group Association, present:

BITTER SWEETS:
Labor, Militarization and the Human Rights Crisis in the Philippines
--a chocolate buffet and film screening—
Thursday, January 31, 2008//7-9PM//Auditorium C, Angell Hall

Bitter realities are often glossed over – or sweetened - to distort
the truth. In 2007 alone, over 16,000 human rights violations have
been reported in the Philippines including extra-judicial killings,
kidnappings and torture. Learn why over 800 activists, students, religious persons and union organizers have been systematically murdered by the government's military, and how you can help.

*** Screening of the documentary "The Philippines- State of Denial" ***
$3 passes to an all-you-can-eat chocolate/dessert buffet
including homemade truffles, mousse pie and hot cocoa:
ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS AIDING THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES.
Due to the murder of two Filipino Nestle Union Presidents, no Nestle brand
chocolates will be used.

Speakers: Professor Joi Barrios, activist and poet from the University of the
Philippines; Professor Mark Nornes, Film Professor and Director of Graduate
Studies,Department of Asian Languages and Cultures

Email OurRootsOurRights@umich.edu for more information.

********************************************************

Sarita See
Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program in American Culture
The University of Michigan 3700 Haven Hall, 505 South State Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1045

OCA 2008 Scholarship Applications Now Available

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2008

Contact:
Douglas Lee | Senior Program Manager
202 223 5500 | dlee@ocanational.org

OCA 2008 Scholarship Applications Now Available

Washington, DC—OCA is pleased to announce that applications for the 2008 OCA Scholarship Program are now available online. Up to sixty $2000 scholarships will be awarded to incoming Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) college freshmen for the 2008-2009 academic school year.   OCA recognizes that scholarships and financial aid play an essential role in helping students achieve a college education.

"OCA is dedicated to education in the APIA community," said OCA National President Ginny Gong. "We recognize the need to provide opportunities for students who do not have access to the financial resources necessary to pursue higher education."

Although the average level of education for the APIA community is higher than the national average, the statistics are misleading. While there are many members of the APIA community who have advanced degrees, there are also countless others who are unable to attend college due to financial reasons. Through its many scholarships, OCA strives to achieve its goals of promoting civic participation, education, and leadership.

“For the 2008 OCA Scholarship Program, OCA offers a variety of scholarships to economically disadvantaged APIAs. OCA offers scholarships for students who can demonstrate financial need, high achievement, and for those who are the first member in their family to attend college in the United States,” said OCA Executive Director Michael Lin.

For more information on OCA’s scholarship programs and an application, students may go to OCA’s website at www.ocanational.org. The deadline for applying to the 2008 OCA Scholarship Programs is April 18, 2008.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year
Year of the Rat Stamp Kicks Off Series That Runs Through 2019

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In observance of the Chinese
New Year, the U.S. Postal Service will debut a new stamp series for the 12
different animals in the Chinese calendar. The series will continue through
2019. The first 41-cent stamp in the series is for the Year of the Rat, which
begins Feb. 7, 2008 and ends Jan. 25, 2009 and will be dedicated tomorrow in
an 11 a.m. ceremony at the Nob Hill Masonic Center, 1111 California St...

Click here to read the complete article.

March 29, 2008 (Saturday) 1-3 p.m.
Asian-American Gathering for Strengthening Relationships for Diversity - Include All of Us project at Chinese Community Center.

This gathering aims to bring people with disabilities and their relatives, friends and allies from Asian community.  Share tasty snacks, great conversation and learn how to influence the policies and projects adopted and promoted by Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC).
CAPA is proud to be one of the Community Partners in the Asian-American gathering.

Include All of Us project is to increase involvement of persons with disabilities and their allies from five culturally distinct populations in the activities and workgroups of the MDDC  and the Regional Interagency Consumer Committees (RICCs).  The five culturally distinct groups are African-Americans, American Indians, Arab-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Latino/Hispanic-Americans).  The project will support people with developmental disabilities from minority groups to voice their needs and concerns and positively impact Michigan's policies and projects.  Please contact Tony Wong at 1-800-292-7851 x 130 or tony@arcmi.org for more information.

Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council, http://www.michigan.gov/ddcouncil
Regional Interagency Consumer Committees, http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2941_4868_4897-14646--,00.html

Chinese Community Center address:
32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071
Phone: 248-585-9343

Flyer will be available at CAPA website, Calendar of Events section at later date.

International Leadership Foundation 2008 Civic Fellowships for Asian Pacific American College Students

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) will award up to 30 internships to help Asian Pacific American college students who will be future professional leaders in the arts, business, community, legal, and medical fields  ILF will help the students better understand the workings of American government. Each ILF Fellow spends eight weeks during the summer working for a federal government agency in Washington, DC. Any undergraduate student with at least a 3.0 Grade Point Average at a college, junior college, or university is eligible to apply. Applicants must be United States citizens. Interested students can get the application form and more information from the ILF's Web site at www.ILEADER.org, or call (202) 531-5031. Applications must be received by February 1, 2008.

VOCA-sponsored cultural competence and hate crime 101 training sessions available

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights, in partnership with the Department of Community Health - Crime Victim Services Commission, is pleased to announce additional Victims of Crime Act (VOCA)-sponsored "Building Cultural Competence" and "HateCrime101"  training sessions around the state. Training dates and locations are on the MDCR web site at www.miaahc.com under the training calendar page. The training begins in January 2008 and will be held in Calhoun; Emmet/Cheboygan; Genesee; Grand Traverse; Houghton; Ingham/Eaton; Kent; Macomb; Marquette; Muskegon; Saginaw; St. Clair; Washtenaw; and Wayne (in Detroit and Livonia) counties. Questions may be addressed to our email: mdcrcrt@miaahc.com.

February  1, 2008
Governor’s Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA) Meeting

8:45am a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Annual Leadership Conversation:  "Best Practices for Organizational Growth and Success." The keynote is Frank H. Wu, Dean, Wayne State University Law School. The meeting is open to the public and will take place at Automation Alley, 2675 Bellingham, Troy. R.S.V.P. to Lynn McNamara, (517) 241-4067 or mcnamaral@michigan.gov.

We invite you to participate in an interactive conversation with a panel of organization leaders who have developed best practices to help their organizations grow and succeed. To help us focus our conversation on questions that would most help your organization grow and succeed, please let us know what best practice questions you are most interested in exploring by including your questions at the time you R.S.V.P.  For more information about ACAPAA, click here: http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr-acapaa

January 13, 2008
Boggs Center Author’s Reception with Scott Kurashige

Scott Kurashige will sign and discuss his book, “The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles.” The reception is at 1:00pm at the Boggs Center, 3061 Field St., Detroit, MI. Angela Dillard is also featured, along with her book, “Faith in the City: Preaching Radical Social Change in Detroit.”

OCA seeks applicants for summer internship program

OCA Seeks Applicants for Summer Internship Program
Deadline to apply for summer internships: March 15, 2008

Washington, DC – OCA, a national Asian Pacific American organization dedicated to ensuring social justice for APAs, is seeking motivated and qualified students for its highly successful summer internship program. The internship will last approximately ten weeks and a stipend will be provided.

The purpose of the OCA Internship program is to cultivate future leadership by providing students with an opportunity to be involved in the political and public policy process. Summer interns will be placed at a federal agency, non-profit, or congressional office that matches their interest and work full-time. Past interns have been placed in the offices of Congresswoman Pelosi, Congresswoman Berkley, and Senator Durbin; at the Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Education Association, and the NAACP.

Interns can also be placed at the OCA National Center and work first hand with one of the largest APA organizations in the country. In addition to their placement, summer interns will be highly engaged in many OCA activities and be involved with grassroots organizing.

The OCA Summer Internship Program engages interns with numerous activities to incorporating all that Washington, DC has to offer. Interns participate in a summer brown bag series focusing on important issues in the APA and civil rights community. Interns have the opportunity to meet with members of Congress, APA staffers, and members of the APA Congressional Caucus. Interns also help research and develop toolkits that inform and determine best practices on important APA issues, such as hate crimes and bias, coalition building, and Asian American Studies.

In addition to the experience that Washington, DC has to offer, interns play a major role in our annual national convention held in Washington, DC on July 31 – August 2, 2008. The convention will feature speakers, entertainment and engage the entire community on pertinent issues. Once selected, applicants are strongly encouraged to make sure they are able to attend this signature event.

Applications and information can be found on the OCA National website at http://www.ocanational.org. Complete applications must be postmarked by March 15^th and an interview will be done for selected applicants. Selection will be complete by April and a firm commitment is required at the time. Interns will be responsible for travel to and from Washington, DC and housing as well.

Internships are also available during the winter, spring and fall sessions at the OCA National Center.

Cable industry and APIAVote announce “Our Time to Vote”

On Dec. 13, Comcast, in partnership with Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote, announced the launch of “Our Time to Vote,” a year-long, non-partisan voter education and registration campaign designed to increase voting in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities served by the cable industry. Click here to view public service announcement: http://www.apiavote.org/documents/multimedia/comcast-psa/comcast-psa_1.html