Asian American & Pacific Islander Conference Launches in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time in Philadelphia, AARP hosted an Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Intensive Skills Building Conference on September 19 at Hyatt at the Bellevue.

Nearly 100 representatives from 20 states attended the two-day conference in Chinatown to learn how to increase awareness of AARP at the local level, improve outreach and engagement with community members, enhance state advocacy and campaign efforts, and recruit and retain AAPI volunteers.

The lineup of keynote speakers included Mayor Jim Kenney; John Chin, Commissioner, City of Philadelphia Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs; Judi Rhee Holloway, Commissioner, City of Philadelphia Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs; Tiffany Chang Lawson, Executive Director, Governor Tom Wolf's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; Janelle Wong, Director of the Asian American Studies Program and Resource Center, University of Maryland; and multiple AARP representatives.

"Philadelphia's Chinatown is the perfect location to host our first AAPI Intensive Skills Building Training," stated Daphne Kwok, Vice President, Multicultural Leadership for the Asian American & Pacific Islander Audience, AARP. "The work of AARP staff and volunteers in Philadelphia, along with community partners and the City of Philadelphia, is a case study of community engagement done right."

Mayor Kenney has demonstrated commitment to diversity inclusion by reconstituting the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs in 2016. The Commission advises the Mayor on issues pertinent to Asian communities, ensuring diversity and inclusion for Asian communities within city policies, and assists Asian American community organizations in developing strategies and programs to enhance the Asian American community.

"In Philadelphia we know that our diversity makes us stronger," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "This is why it's so important that we have trainings like these for our aging AAPI community here in Philadelphia. When we have opportunities to hear every voice and learn from members of our ethnic and international communities, our city and policies benefit as a whole."

"We are fortunate to have a strong relationship with the City of Philadelphia and community partners," stated Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. "From serving on the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs, to collaborating on how to make Philadelphia a more livable community, we're deeply involved to ensure that Philadelphians are living their best lives."

The conference featured a tour of Chinatown focused on the extensive community infrastructure, presentations by the Governor and Mayor's Asian American & Pacific Islander Commissions, and working sessions to develop strategies for engaging the AAPI community in local cities across the country. According to the U.S. Census, AAPIs are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. and make up the largest share of recent immigrants. AARP works to provide culturally relevant information and services that appeal to the AAPI community and partnering with the community.

SOURCE AARP Pennsylvania

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http://www.aarp.org