Montagnard / Asian Community Research Network
Montagnard / Asian Community Research Network
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2024 Community Research Symposium
2024 Community Research Symposium
The Montagnard / Asian Community Disparities Research Network held its second Symposium on June 7, 2024 at the UNC Greensboro School of Education Building. The day-long event brought together researchers, educators, community members, and advocates to share their latest findings and insights about Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO).
Videos of the 2024 Symposium
Videos of the 2024 Symposium
Opening and Welcome
Opening and Welcome
Andrew Young, Co-Founder of the Montagnard / Asian Community Research Network opens the 2024 Research Symposium, followed by remarks from our hosts at UNCG: Carl Mattacola, Dean of UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences and Esther Leerkes, Associate Dean for Research at the UNCG Health and Human Sciences Office of Research.
Panel 1: The Montagnard / Asian Community Research Network: Impact, Direction and Opportunities
Panel 1: The Montagnard / Asian Community Research Network: Impact, Direction and Opportunities
Research Network members describe the group's community-based focus and highlight key issues and challenges it has addressed during COVID through the present.
Research Network Speakers: Sharon Morrison, Sara Colm, Sudha Shreeniwas, and Melina Ksor.
Panel 2: Montagnard Refugee Resettlement in NC
Panel 2: Montagnard Refugee Resettlement in NC
This premier session with renowned panelists and guests examines a unique part of North Carolina’s immigration story, the resettlement of indigenous Montagnard refugees from Vietnam since 1986, and asks what lessons might apply for newly-arriving refugees today.
Of North Carolina’s many Asian American communities, the Montagnard community has been especially prone to misidentification and stereotyping. To panelists uniquely positioned to comment, we discuss geo-political factors in the different waves of Montagnard resettlement, conditions in Vietnam that caused them to flee, and the current slowdown in Montagnard resettlement that has left more than 1,000 Montagnard refugees stranded for years in Thailand.
We also discuss how prepared the Montagnard community and local and state players have been for new arrivals of Montagnards as well as other Southeast Asian refugees. What are the lessons learned? And when, if ever, does one cease being a refugee, or labeled as such?
Panel 2: Video Timestamps
0:00 Co-Moderators Becky Butler and Kevin Kim from UNC Chapel Hill introduce the panel.
4:40 Raleigh Bailey: Challenges in Resettling the First Group of Montagnard Refugees to NC
17:12 Sara Colm: Persecution and Flight: The Montagnard Diaspora from Vietnam, 1992-2024
24:24 Lorraine Ahearn: Bridging Worlds: Media’s Role in Connecting North Carolinians and Montagnard Refugees
31:43 Guest commentators: Angel Katona, Maura Nsonwu, Vung Ksor, Y Siu Hlong, Stephanie Cheston
Panel 3: Research Presentations: Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO)
Panel 3: Research Presentations: Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO)
Researchers present their findings on frequently overlooked Asian American subgroups: Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO).
While US authorities have data on Asian Americans, they lack detailed information on specific subgroups. This lack of data obscures the low income and poverty levels affecting a disproportionate number of Asian Americans of refugee origin.
Therefore, we use the term “LIAACRO” to describe the communities we represent and serve, instead of current bureaucratic labels. Those labels, along with popular stereotypes, hinder efforts to obtain accurate research data, which is crucial for improving the health and wellbeing of our diverse communities.
Panel 3: Video Timestamps
00:00 Facilitator Andrew Young emphasizes the significance of panelists' research on often overlooked Asian American subgroups, specifically Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO).
5:52 Sharon Morrison and Sudha Shreeniwas: Elders in Focus: Assessed Needs and Strategic Actions for Low-Income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACROs)
17:43 Ana Sucaldito and Htay Meh: Community-Based Participatiry Research (CBPR) Partnerships with Forsyth’s Karenni Community: Year-One Results
26:19 Nathan Dang: Chronic Health Disparities in the U.S. Hmong Population: A National Profile with Implications for a Community-Driven Needs Assessment in NC.
36:47 Catherine Bush and Betsy Renfrew: Thank You for Asking: Ethnobotany, Oral History, and Intentional Conversation for the Preservation of Culture, Language and Improvement of Mental Health
Panel 3: Slideshows
Montagnard Asian Community Research Network 2024 Needs Assessment of older Asian refugees Version 4(1).pptxElders in Focus: Assessed Needs and Strategic Actions for LIAACROs
MDA Symposium Slides.pptxCBPR Partnerships with Forsyth's Karenni Community: One Year Results
Hmong Community Presentation-UNCG Team-Jun-7-2024(10min).pptxProfiling the Hmong Community of North Carolina
Panel 4: History Roundtable: From Oral Histories to Social Action
Panel 4: History Roundtable: From Oral Histories to Social Action
Sara Colm facilitates this session, which examines the role of oral histories in documenting the histories and cultural traditions of marginalized communities while also spurring social action.
Working with communities of refugee origin often means we have “anecdata” consisting of many individual stories — some amazing, some terrifying, some inspiring. Oral history, sometimes the only history available, can be contextualized through historical study to spur social action and enhance understanding. This benefits storytellers, their communities, historians, and the public. Key to this process is sharing research ownership with community members, respecting their unique histories and cultural traditions.
Panel 4: Timestamps
00:00 Vung Ksor and Risuin Ksor: Sara Colm facilitates this discussion about Collecting Oral Histories from One’s Own Community
13:26 Zhihong Chen: Reflections on Teaching AAPI Courses that Embrace Communities of Refugee Origin
21:40 Sara Colm: From Oral Histories to Social Action: Defending Indigenous Spirit Forests from Commercial Logging in Ratanakiri, Cambodia
32:08 Guest Commentators: Ayla Amon, Bob King, Zoe van Buren, Catherine Bush
Panel 4: Slideshow
Panel 5: Research Communities Can Use: Hear from Montagnard, Khmer, Bhutanese & Afghan Communities
Panel 5: Research Communities Can Use: Hear from Montagnard, Khmer, Bhutanese & Afghan Communities
Cambodian, Bhutanese, Afghan and Montagnard community members offer their perspectives about the conduct of research and engagement with their communities.
Questions to consider include: What is fair and equitable research? What is appropriate “give back”? What power or influence do communities have in the creation or control of a research budget?
Panel 5: Timestamps
0:00 Melina Ksor: The Bridge Between Community Advisory Councils and Research: What is a CAC? Why is it important to include them in research?
11:34 Thu Neang: Cambodian Cultural Preservation in Greensboro, North Carolina
24:33 Rohan Basnet and Babin Basnet: How is our community doing? Mental health concerns in the Bhutanese community
35:57 Dr. Habibullah Akhgar: Afghan Community Interests
47:55 Guest Commentators: Christina Yongue, Chavi Koneru
Panel 5: Slideshows
Symposium Program
Symposium Program
Agenda
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Check in, meet and greet
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Welcome, Kickoff Panel
Facilitator: Sharon Morrison
A brief welcome so we can launch into a productive day. A panel of our research network members will highlight key issues our network has been covering during COVID and until now.
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Conversation. How We Respond: Southeast Asian resettlement in NC
Facilitators: Becky Butler and Kevin Kim
This session examines a unique part of North Carolina’s immigration story, the resettlement of Montagnards from 1986 on, and asks what lessons might be learned that could matter today. Today’s conversation is a continuation of a session begun in May by Southeast Asian community members at UNC Chapel Hill Carolina Asia Center’s “Bringing Southeast Asia Home” workshop facilitated by Network cofounder Andrew Young. We are pleased to have today’s session facilitated by Carolina Asia Center’s Assistant Director to Southeast Asian Initiatives,
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch and Learn.
Grab some lunch and then join a table according to your interest: Health, History, Arts, Communities, and Involvement and Opportunities
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Low-Income Communities of Refugee Origin: Health & population profiles
Facilitator: Andrew Young
We have sought to identify the characteristics of many newcomer communities in a manner that does not deny their histories, unique cultures, or right to be identified as they choose. In adopting the term, Low income Asian American Communities of Refugee Origin (LIAACRO), we direct our concerns to public policy practice, influencers, and decision-makers in North Carolina, believing that currently used bureaucratic labels combined with popular stereotypes explain how the lack of newcomer population demographics undermines both research and community health.
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Anecdata to History: Locating stories within a larger historical framework
Facilitator: Sara Colm
Working with communities of refugee origin often means we have “anecdata” consisting of many individual stories — some amazing, some terrifying, some inspiring — about individuals’ lives and what they saw, heard and believed at the time of their experience. Oral history is sometimes the only history we have, but through historical study it is possible to contextualize individual memories, spur social action, and enlarge understanding in ways that are beneficial to the storytellers and their communities, historians, and the public.
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Communities Speak: Research we can use
Facilitator: Melina Ksor
Research is more than finding and reporting new facts. Universities, academics, administrators, policy makers, public and private funders, philanthropists, and specialists often decide what research communities need, how it should be conducted, and who should lead it. Outsiders often also determine policy recommendations arising from the research. In this session the Network has invited various community representatives we’ve worked with to have their say about the conduct of research and engagement with their communities. For example, What is fair and equitable research? What is appropriate “give back”? What power or influence do communities have in the creation or control of a research budget?
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Opportunities Session: Projects in development, in progress, and to join
Facilitator: Sudha Shreeniwas
We end the day with calls to action and opportunities for Symposium attendees to sit with those working on projects in progress or in development, and projects which invite you to become involved.
After 5: Happy Hour
We will judge the success of this day based on the interesting conversations and connections you make. Please don't disappoint us!
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