Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Blog

  • Winning the Future from the AAPI Perspective

    Posted by Kamuela Enos on March 23, 2011 at 10:15 AM EDT

    This week, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) brought together the President’s Advisory Commission and the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on AAPIs to discuss how the agencies are working with the AAPI community to win the future.  When the President unexpectedly stopped by our meeting to receive the agency plans for the AAPI community, he stressed the important role the agency plans play in helping all communities achieve the American dream.

    As a Native Hawaiian, I was pleased to hear about the innovative steps that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are taking – steps that will help AAPI communities live longer, healthier lives on their way to the American dream.

    HHS is committing to train AAPIs to become ambassadors in their communities using the “train the trainer” model for prevention education.  And USDA is planning to integrate data on culturally relevant foods into mainstream agency nutrition informational products.   Imagine prevention education going viral in the Native Hawaiian community, where people are over 5 times as likely to experience diabetes.  Picture a food pyramid that includes alternatives to dairy products, which are often not part of the AAPI diet.

    Agencies are also ensuring that AAPIs have the tools to reach the American dream.  Although the misperception that all AAPIs excel in school – especially in math and science – still persists, agencies are acknowledging that education disparities exist for the AAPI community, and they are tackling the issues head-on. 

    To help AAPIs finish college, the Department of Education is strengthening its Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) program.  AANAPISIs provide targeted services to AAPI students – often non-native English speakers – to increase participation and degree attainment rates.

    To fortify math- and science-based curricula, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is making NASA content available to AAPI educators and offering distance learning programs.   In addition, NASA is promoting its Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, a virtual training ground that can increase the participation of AAPI students in NASA technical challenges.

    Finally, agencies are providing more opportunities for AAPIs to attain the American dream.  The Department of Commerce is proposing to increase the number of small and medium AAPI businesses that exporting to a second or additional country by providing export-related training and business-to-business networking sessions to minority-owned companies.

    With an emphasis on language access and cultural competency, the Department of Labor is aiming to build the AAPI workforce by identifying and encouraging replication of “promising practices” in engaging AAPIs in the public workforce system.

    Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu and Initiative Executive Director Kiran Ahuja expressed their hope that in October – the two-year anniversary of the Initiative – we will be able to report back to the AAPI community on the measurable progress that has been made on the agency plans.  With these goals in mind and many more, I look forward to doing just that. 

    Kamuela Enos serves on the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and works as the Director of Community Resource Development at MA`O Organic Farms in Wai`anae, Hawai`i.

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  • President Receives Report With Recommendations For Agencies To Increase AAPI Representation

    Posted by Christina Lagdameo on March 14, 2011 at 6:23 PM EDT

    President Barack Obama drops by an Asian American & Pacific Islander Initiative (AAPI) Meeting

    President Barack Obama drops by an Asian American & Pacific Islander Initiative (AAPI) meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, March 14, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

     
    Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders appointed by President Obama presented a report to the White House today with recommendations on how 23 federal agencies and offices can improve the everyday lives of AAPIs. The report addresses problems uniquely facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, such as linguistic isolation, health problems that disproportionally affect AAPIs and bullying and other civil rights issues.
     

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  • WHIAAPI Weekly Highlights

    Posted by Miya Saika Chen on March 10, 2011 at 8:57 PM EDT

    Welcome to this week’s edition of the WHIAAPI Weekly Highlights.  This week, the President and First Lady made addressing bullying their top priority, and AAPI community leaders met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about critical AAPI health issues.  Next week is action-packed for the WHIAAPI, with the President’s Advisory Commission and the Interagency Working Group on AAPIs converging in Washington, D.C.  Read below for more details on these exciting events.

    On March 10, the President and First Lady called for a united effort to address bullying at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention.  Approximately 150 students, parents, teachers, non-profit leaders, advocates, and policymakers came together to discuss how they can work together to make our schools and communities safe for all students.  The conference encouraged schools, communities, and the private sector to join together to combat bullying.  The White House also highlighted private, non-profit, and federal commitments to bullying prevention.

    On March 9, Chair Daphne Kwok and Commissioner Doua Thor, along with over 20 AAPI health organizations met with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Howard Koh and Deputy Assistant for Minority Health Dr. Garth Graham.  HHS leadership dialogued with community health leaders on the draft of the agency plan and AAPI community recommendations on the standardization of data, culturally and linguistically appropriate services, prevention and disparities in chronic diseases, and the Affordable Care Act, among other issues.
     

    Next week, on March 14 and 15, the President’s Advisory Commission and the Interagency Working Group on AAPIs will converge in Washington, D.C. to discuss implementation of agency plans to improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased participation in Federal programs in which they may be underserved.  If you haven’t yet, please comment on the agency plans.  This is your opportunity to influence and shape policy in a meaningful way, and we want you to check them out and tell us what you think!  Comments are due on March 31, 2011.

    During the meeting, Census Director Robert Groves will present the latest Census data on AAPIs, and attendees will discuss innovative strategies to invest in the AAPI community.  Following the joint meeting, the Commission will meet representatives from 23 federal agencies to create a one-year work plan that will result in measurable progress for AAPIs.

    In case you missed it, please read Amanda Baran’s blog Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day.

    And finally, Kiran Ahuja has joined Twitter! Follow her: @KiranAhujaAAPI.

    Upcoming Event:

    Join Commissioners Hines Ward, Sefa Aina, Kamuela Enos and other celebrities and community leaders in Los Angeles, CA on April 2 for the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health and Fitness Day!  Check out our Facebook event page for details on the program.

    If you have friends or family that would like to join our efforts, please have them click here.

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  • Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day

    Posted by Amanda Baran on March 8, 2011 at 12:38 PM EDT

    My mother was born in India, the youngest of six girls.  Being the baby of the family, she had to stand up for herself.  She learned to find a voice amidst a din of older sisters, fend off cruel taunts from boys at school, and stick to her guns, even when it took her away from her family and homeland.  

    That sense of determination is one of my mother’s greatest gifts to me, so it came as no surprise to her that after law school, I decided to move to D.C. to work on domestic violence issues at a women’s rights organization.  

    The day I left home, after she dried her tears and tucked me into my car, she took my face in her hands and said, “You help those women, ok?  You stand up for them.”

    Today, as part of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, I work to ensure that all Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women are able to access the full breadth of rights and protections to which they are entitled.

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  • WHIAAPI Weekly Highlights

    Posted by Miya Saika Chen on March 3, 2011 at 7:18 PM EDT

    Welcome to this week's edition of the WHIAAPI Week in Review. WHIAAPI welcomed four new agency plans into the fold from the Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Federal Communications Commission, and Social Security Administration. This is your opportunity to influence and shape policy in a meaningful way, and we want you to check them out and tell us what you think! Comments are due on March 31, 2011.

    The upcoming week is full of exciting convenings across the country--from the President's Conference on Bullying Prevention, to the National Conversations on English Learner Education, to our Commissioners converging in Washington, DC. Read below for further details on these events.

    WHIAAPI is partnering with the Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition to present a series of National Conversations about English learner education. There are two conferences taking place on March 7th and 8th in Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA. Check the links for details and registration.

    On March 10, President Obama, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services will welcome students, parents, teachers and others to The White House for a Conference on Bullying Prevention.  The conference will bring together communities from across the nation who have been affected by bullying as well as those who are taking action to address it.  Participants will have the opportunity to talk with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his Administration about how all communities can work together to prevent bullying.

    On March 14 and 15, the President’s Advisory Commission will convene for their second annual meeting in Washington, DC. Members of the Inter Agency Working Group will join them to discuss strategies on implementing the agency priorities to increase access to and participation by AAPIs in federal programs and resources.

    WHIAAPI Call Out for Health Care Stories! Email WhiteHouseAAPI@ed.gov by March 11, 2011 to share how health reform has benefitted you or your family.

    Remember if you have friends or family that would like to join our efforts, please have them click here.

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  • WHIAAPI Week in Review

    Posted by Audrey Buehring on February 18, 2011 at 10:53 AM EDT

    Welcome to this week's edition of the WHIAAPI Week in Review. The FY12 Budget is out and WHIAAPI is buzzing about how it will impact AAPIs. Plus, WHIAAPI is releasing more fact sheets -- a great opportunity to learn more about economic growth, immigration, and AAPI-serving institutions. And for all you Super-Bowlers who cheered on our Commissioner Hines Ward a couple of weeks ago, WHIAAPI put out a video you can't miss. Read below for further details on these stories.

    Also, this past week, WHIAAPI partnered with the White House Council on Women and Girls to host an AAPI women's roundtable. The roundtable served as a forum for community groups to present recommendations to address language access issues surrounding violence against immigrant women, as well as nail salon worker health and safety.

    Remember if you have friends or family that would like to join our efforts, please have them click here.

    WHIAAPI releases new data sheets on AAPIs and economic growth, immigration, and AAPI-serving institutions.

    Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward talks about his childhood and why he got involved in the President's Advisory on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

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