South Asian Summit 2013

South Asian Summit 2013 April 19-22, 2013 | Washington, DC Hosted by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)Sp and the South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA) at American University Washington College of Law and as part of the Founder's Day Celebration. Friday, April 19th ChangeMakers Reception True Reformer Building 1200 U Street, NW, John Anderson Lankford room, Washington, DC 20009 Metro: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green/Yellow) 6:00PM – 8:00PM ChangeMakers Reception With special guest Pramila Jayapal, founder of OneAmerica The ChangeMakers Awards recognizes individuals, programs, and organizations that have made a significant impact on social justice in the South Asian community in the US. Awardees Sukhjinder Kaur Dhariwal Bupendra Ram Silk Road Rising Dr. Aparna Sharma [posthumously] th Saturday, April 20 Summit American University Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016 Metro: Tenleytown-American (Red); Free Washington College of Law shuttle available Tracks Each session is assigned a track to assist participants in navigating the many panels and workshops offered at the Summit. Participants are welcome to select any session in each timeslot, regardless of track. Each session is marked with a helpful sign indicating the track: Issues: Issues that affect South Asians in the U.S. Skills: Individual skills and organizational capacity-building skills Strategies: Better practices and tools 8:00AM – 9:00AM Registration & Breakfast* Outside of Room 603 *Note: Breakfast concludes at 9AM. 9:00AM – 10:00AM Welcome and Reflections on In Pursuit of Justice Room 603 Sherry Weaver (Washington College of Law) Benish Anver (South Asian Law Student Association) Deepa Iyer (South Asian Americans Leading Together) 10:10AM – 11:25AM Session 1 (Please choose from the following options) 10:10AM – 11:25AM Identity as an After-Thought: Inclusivity of Indo-Caribbean and Diaspora Communities in South Asian Organizing Narratives Room 401 South Asian Americans are an unquestionably critical stakeholders in the national narrative of politics and community organizing. Migration, specifically in the form of immigration, has flattened the identify of the "diaspora" and erased the narrative of major diaspora communities with roots in South Asia. In particular, the term "diaspora" has evolved to refer to non-resident communities, 1 rather than communities displaced via indentureship or forced exile. As an American narrative frames identities in static categories like "Asian" and "South Asian," what is the role of including diaspora communities in these narratives? How is the Indo-Caribbean diaspora and other diaspora (Fijian, Mauritian, etc) communities with shared South Asian histories included in spaces that emphasize majority vs. minority politics? Who is forgotten or intentionally excluded by the label of "South Asian American" and which communities are included? This panel will feature a few organizations that have successfully incorporated Indo-Caribbean and diaspora communities in their organizing framework, as well as discussing the major challenges faced by Indo-Caribbean organizations organizing in South Asian spaces, including addressing issues surrounding visibility, inclusion, and accountability. Richard David (Indo-Caribbean Alliance) Tiloma Jayasinghe (Sakhi for South Asian Women) Suzanne Persard (Jahajee Sisters) Angela Ramdhanny (South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association of New York) Shivana Jorawar (Jahajee Sisters) 10:10AM – 11:25AM Your Cover Story: Pitching to Reporters Room 402 We live in a 24 hour news cycle. How can you get your message, your cause, your brand out into the world of blogs, social media, radio, TV and print outlets? Hear from reporters and communications professionals who will provide tips and strategies to help you develop and pitch your cover story. Hari Sreenivasan (PBS News Hour) Rachanee Srisavasdi (VENG Group) Hansi Lo Wang (National Public Radio) Ambreen Ali (Roll Call) 10:10AM – 11:25AM Managing Organizational Transitions and Turn-Over Room 503 Transitions are an inevitable part of organization’s life cycle. An organization gets its first grant and hires its first staff after being run by volunteers for years. A founder leaves. Government funding is cut and several staff are laid off. Transitions of people, programs, and resources are continuous. Some transitions flow smoothly, some are a little bumpy, and some can be traumatic. Yet all present opportunities for learning, growth, and ultimately strengthening an organization and its service to the community. As nonprofit organizational managers, Board members, staff or volunteers – what can we do to prepare for and manage transitions so they do the least harm and the most good? This session will present real-life examples of transitions and what one South Asian organization is learning from these. Facilitators will invite session participants to share their own experiences with transitions and engage with their peers in identifying strategies for navigating them successfully. Participants will leave the session with some strategies and tools they can bring back to their organization to plan for and navigate transitions. Preeti Shekar (Narika) Hilary Binder-Aviles (Mosaica) 10:10AM – 11:25AM Integrating the Male Voice into Domestic Violence Work Room 524 Women have long advocated for society to be aware of issues of domestic violence, provide services and options to survivors, and move us closer to an eradication of these issues. However, gender-based violence is not just a “women’s issue”; it is an issue for all of society and requires advocacy from all individuals. Increasingly, men have become involved in this advocacy, but given the context and the long history of women working on these issues, we must find a way to include men in this dialogue and work effectively together for broad change, without having the voice of women experts, leaders, and community members silenced. This session will focus on ways to engage men in the dialogue and advocacy efforts to promote societal change, while protecting the 2 expertise of women as well. Aparna Bhattacharyya (Raksha) Chitra Jeyaram Ramesh Kathanadhi (Men Stopping Violence) Eesha Pandit (Crunk Feminist Collective) 10:10-AM – 11:25AM Law Enforcement in the Community: Exploring Multiple Strategies for Engagement Room 601 South Asian communities have had a complicated relationship with law enforcement, particularly in the aftermath of September 11th. Many South Asians experience fear and discomfort with encounters with immigration enforcement, state or city police, or the FBI. Some law enforcement agencies base their policing efforts on stereotypes of the community while others seek to become more culturally competent when engaging with South Asians. This session will explore multiple strategies used by the South Asian community with law enforcement, including education and training, advocacy, and organizing. Fahd Ahmed (Desis Rising Up and Moving) Rabia Chaudry (Safe Nation Collaborative) Rabya Khan (Council on American Islamic Relations, Chicago Office) Jasjit Singh (Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund) Priya Murthy (South Asian Americans Leading Together) 11:25AM – 11:35AM Break 11:35AM – 12:50PM Session 2 (Please pick from the following options) 11:35AM – 12:50PM Health Equity: Navigating Reform, Systems, and Disparities Room 401 With the impending implementation of the Affordable Care Act and ongoing research about health care disparities affecting South Asians, we have a lot to talk about when it comes to health equity. Join this engaging panel of doctors, advocates, researchers and service providers to hone your understanding of health equity and South Asian communities. Sudha Acharya (South Asian Council on Social Services) Paulo Pontemayor (Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum) Lakshmi Prasad, MHP (South Asian Health Initiative, Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) Dr. Sanjeev Sriram, MD MHP (National Physicians Alliance) Manan Trivedi 11:35AM – 12:50PM Speed Networking: Pitch Your Idea to Funders/Major Gift Officers Room 603 Have you wanted a chance to speak directly with program officers and those in the philanthropy sector? Sign up for this interactive session where you will have a chance to pitch your idea and get tips and feedback individualized to you! Space is limited so sign up for these sessions at the registration desk. Dimple Abichandani (Security and Rights Collaborative, Proteus Fund) Anouska Cheddie (Environmental Defense Fund) Sunil Oommen (A Better Chance) Archana Sahgal (Open Society Foundations) Amy Paul (South Asian Americans Leading Together) 3 11:35AM – 12:50PM Doing Our Own Work: South Asian Americans and Anti-Racist Accountability in the Movement Room 524 How do we, left-of-center South Asian American movers and shakers--whether we are working at South Asian organizations, with South Asian American communities, or at progressive institutions where we find ourselves engaging with and negotiating our accountability to Black, Latina and Indigenous communities--define and remain accountable to our antiracist principles? How do we own our unearned privilege in people-of-color spaces? How do we drive an anti-racist framework in our home spaces, in youth spaces and in our community spaces? What is the state of this work currently and what tools do we need in the communities, organizations, agencies and spaces that we

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