[AMA-e-News] Asian Media Access, E-Newsletter, 02/12

[Johnny Chio]

Hi Everyone:

For information on community events, please also visit Asian Media Accessı
(AMA) Website at www.amamedia.org and click the link ³Community Events
Calendar² (http://www2.amamedia.org/calendar/month.php).

In this edition of Asian Media Access (AMA) e-newsletter:

Asian Media Access (AMA) Events or Sponsored Event:

1. Please Join Asian Media Access to celebrate 2007 Lunar New Year Gala

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Local Community Events:

2. Free Arts Advocacy Workshop
3. Free Training for Chinese Language Teachers
4. Flu Shots Information
5. Flying Dragon Concerto by Chinese Pipa Llayer Gao Hong
6. 2nd Annual North Housing and Home Improvement Fair
7. Benefit Concert by Local Teenagers to Support Charities
8. Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative

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1. Please Join Asian Media Access to celebrate 2007 Lunar New Year Gala

When: March 4th (Sunday) 2007, noon-3pm

Where: at the Varsity Theater
PHONE: 612-604-0222 | 1308 4TH STREET SE, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55414

What: This yearıs festival will highlight Asian Media through the best of
films, televisions and advertisements, showing the strong and vibrant
entertainment industry of Asia.  We will also highlight Asian New Year
traditions, feature varieties of Asian cuisine, and host a silent auction.

Why: AMA is hosting the 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Gala to raise fund for the
Multi Arts Complex to present Asian films and theater performances; to
encourage Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth's creations and
interactive activities and to provide training space for media/digital arts,
leadership and communication skills.  The newly remodeled Multi Arts Complex
will serve as a vibrant beacon of the arts/cultures, embodying AMAıs
organizational values of openness, energy, and respect for diversity.

How: $ 35/per ticket, please reserve your tickets by contacting Asian Media
Access, at 612-376-7715 or amamedia@amamedia.org

Seating is limited, order your ticket NOW!!!!
____________________________________________________________________________

2. Free Arts Advocacy Workshop

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, Springboard for the Arts and The Minnesota
Craft Council invite you to a FREE Workshop and Information Session:

Arts Advocacy for Individual Artists and a discussion of the results of
Artists Count

Date & Time: Thursday, February 15, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location: Carleton Artist Lofts, 2285 University Ave., St. Paul, MN

Learn about the results of Artists Count, a recent economic impact study of
individual artists in Minnesota, and see how you can use that information to
advocate on your own behalf.

Presenters: Sheila Smith, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Chris Osgood
and Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts.

The hosts, the Carleton Artist Lofts, will provide FREE pizza and sodas, and
as part of the event they will be offering tours of this new development of
affordable housing and workspace for artists and their families.

Please RSVP so they know how much pizza to order!  REGISTER ONLINE AT:
www.springboardforthearts.org
____________________________________________________________________________

3. Free Training for Chinese Language Teachers

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) of the
University of Minnesota is proud to partner with the MN Department of
Education in this endeavor.  They hope that it will provide the kind of
communication needed to build Chinese language education in the state.  They
are pleased to announce that CARLA is offering two great professional
development opportunities for teachers of Chinese in Minnesota.  Check them
out!  If you are interested in either opportunity, you can respond via email
at larso205@umn.edu.

Assessing What Counts: Incorporating Assessment into Your Units

Renowned workshop leader Donna Clementi will use group discussion, examples,
and hands-on activities, to guide teachers through the process of designing
their own standards-based performance task that integrates the
interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of the
Communication Standard.  Then using Backwards Design as a tool, participants
will look at implications for instruction in a standards-based classroom and
design scoring guides and rubrics for their performance task.  Teachers love
this approach to assessment because the IPA is something they can use right
away in their classes and the students love the interactive nature of the
units.  They are offering this special day-long (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) workshop
just to teachers of Chinese and want to plan for the best date.  They will
pick the date that works for the most teachers.  If you are interested,
please indicate your availability on the form and fax it back to them.

___ Yes, I want to participate in Assessing What Counts!  I am available on
the following dates from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.  Please check all dates that are
possible for you .
___ Friday, May 18
___ Saturday, May 19
___ Friday, June 8
___ Saturday, June 9

Attend a CARLA Summer Institute with a Fee Waiver

In support of the stateıs initiative to expand and strengthen Chinese
language education CARLA will waive the $300 registration fee for one of the
CARLA summer institutes offered this year for up to 10 Chinese language
teachers currently teaching in Minnesota.  The line up of institutes this
year is:
- Immersion 101: An Introduction to Immersion Teaching for Chinese and
Japanese
- Focusing on Learner Language: Second Language Acquisition Basics for
Teachers
- Teaching and Learning Pragmatics
- Meeting the Challenges of Immersion Education: How well do students speak
the immersion language
- Developing Assessments for the Second Language Classroom
- Improving Language Learning: Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction
- Developing Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs)
- Maximizing Study Abroad: Teaching Strategies for Language and Culture
- Learning & Use Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom
- Using Technology in Second Language Teaching

You can find out more about the summer institutes at
http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes.  To take advantage of this opportunity,
you need to 1) alert the CARLA office that you are interested and 2) fax
your registration form to the CARLA with all the information except for
payment information (do not send to registrar since only the CARLA office
can waive the fees.).  Registration forms are located at
http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/register.html.  Waivers will be given on
a first-come, first-served basis with the following caveat: If we receive
more than two requests from teachers from the same school, we will hold
those requests until the deadline before an award decision is made.
___ Yes, I want to take a CARLA summer institute for free this summer!
Watch for my faxed registration to the CARLA office.
____________________________________________________________________________

4. Flu Shots Information

As you may know, three Minnesota children have died recently from influenza
-- two in the Twin Cities and one outside the metro area.   Although it
doesn't happen very often, children do sometimes die from the flu. We wish
that weren't true, but it does happen sometimes.  Flu is a serious and
possibly life-threatening illness. Right now, in spite of these tragic
deaths, there is no reason to believe that children face any unusual risks
this year from the flu.  However, public health officials are continuing to
watch the situation very closely.  Regardless of what's happening right now,
you should still take steps to protect yourself and your children from the
flu. That's something you should do every year.  The best way to do that is
to get a flu shot.  Plenty of vaccine is available, and flu season is far
from over.  Ask your doctor or your local public health department about
getting a flu shot.

For more information on where to obtain flu shots, call 651-201-3920 (metro)
or 1-800-657-3903 (greater MN) or visit www.mdhflu.com.   Translated
information will also be available on the ECHO phone line at 1-888-883-8831
in 10 languages (Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Lao, Khmer,
Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, Oromo and English).

Also there will be free flu shots this Sunday.

Date & Time: Sunday Feb 18, 2007, 2 p.m. ­ 3:30 p.m.
Location: St. Odilia Catholic Church

Spanish translators will be available.
____________________________________________________________________________

5. Flying Dragon Concerto by Chinese Pipa Llayer Gao Hong

Flying Dragon Concerto by Chinese Pipa Llayer Gao Hong!

Date & Time: Feb 24, 2007, 7:30 pm
Location: Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall, Rochester, Minnesota

The program will feature Chinese pipa soloist Gao Hong as performer and
composer.  Gao Hong will play pipa concerto "Flying Dragon" composed by Gao
Hong and orchestrated by Gao Hong and Paul Dice.  She also will play Tan
Dun's "Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra" as well.  Gao Hong's Flying Dragon
Concerto is funded in part through Meet The Composer's Creative Connections
program.

For more info, please visit at:
http://rochestersymphony.org/2006/07/12/ports-of-call/
www.chinesepipa.com
____________________________________________________________________________

6. 2nd Annual North Housing and Home Improvement Fair

The 2nd Annual North Housing and Home Improvement Fair will provide an
excellent opportunity for North Minneapolis homeowners and renters to
connect with contractors, real estate agents, lenders and community
organizations.  Attendees can learn about home buying programs, including
programs only available on the Northside. The Housing Fair will attract
individuals from the entire city to provide a "one-stop" shop for residents.
Topics will include:
- Homeownership opportunities
- Financial resources available for prospective homebuyers
- Transitioning from renter to homeowner
- Resources for home improvement and maintenance
- Learning how to avoid predatory lending and purchasing
- Community reinvestment

Date & Time: Saturday, March 3,10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: North Community High School, 1500 James Avenue North, Minneapolis
Day of event: Enter through the southwest corner of the school (14th Avenue
at Knox Avenue) through doors 1, 28 or 29.
The event is free and open to the public.

Last year, the housing fair is sponsored by the Center for Energy and the
Environment, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Neighborhood
Revitalization Program, Community Planning and Economic Development, North
Community High School, Wells Fargo, TCF and the Northside neighborhood
organizations: Cleveland, Folwell, Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan, Lind
Bohanon, McKinley, Near North, Shingle Creek, Sumner-Glenwood (Heritage
Park), Victory, Webber-Camden, and Willard Hay.

For information about exhibit requirements and applications, please contact
Kristin DeGrande at the Center for Energy and Environment at
kdegrande@mncee.org or at 612-335-5881.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or a volunteer, please contact
Kristin at 612-335-5881.  Website:  http://www.northhousingfair.com
____________________________________________________________________________

7. Benefit Concert by Local Teenagers to Support Charities

Date & Time: Saturday, March 3, 7p.m.
Location: St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, St. Paul
Tickets: $10 - $15

Two teenagers, Melody Hu, a junior from Wayzata High School and Nick Qiu, a
sophomore from Woodbury High school, both piano students of Dr. Joseph Zins,
have been organizing a benefit concert to support the Hongzhi Donation
program and China Service Ventures Education project.

The concert will feature award-winning young pianists from the Twin Cities,
including winners of prestigious young artist piano competitions, such as
National Music Teacher's young artist competition, Young People's Symphony
Orchestra Concerto Competition, Schubert club and Thursday Musical Young
Artist Competition, among others. Some pianists were featured on the
television show and NPR's From the Top.

For information, contact Melody Hu at 763-205-2065 or
hongzhidonation@gmail.com.  For more details about Hongzhi and CSC, please
visit their web sites, or a feature article in the February issue of China
Insight (www.chinainsight.info).
____________________________________________________________________________

8. Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative

Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative Seeks Pilot Projects; Asian and
Pacific Islander Council calls for Participation to address housing issues.

Minnesotaıs Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative (EMHI) issued a
statewide call for pilot projects today to join the effort to increase
sustainable home-ownership among emerging markets.  Selected pilot project
participants will receive priority access to support tools to increase
exposure and outreach efforts.

EMHI is the first statewide initiative in the nation dedicated to addressing
the home ownership gap in emerging market communities.  Emerging market
refers to traditionally underserved communities  of color and Hispanic
ethnicity in Minnesota. Four general categories of emerging markets in
Minnesota include: African American and recent African immigrants, American
Indians, Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) and Latinos.  The API Council is
chaired by Terri Thao (Payne-Lake Community Partners), other members
include: Ange Hwang (Asian Media Access), Jean Lee (Childrenıs Hope
International), Narin Sihavong (City of Minneapolis), Somly Sitthisay (Twin
Cities Habitat for Humanity), Masami Suga (Edina Realty), Seng Tchaa
(Minnesota Housing Finance Agency), PaFoua Vang, Choua Yang, Pao Yang (Wells
Fargo Home Mortgage), and Gigi Yau (Centennial Mortgage and Funding, Inc.).
The API Council would like to extend the invitation to all API community
agencies and business to submit pilot project proposals to improve the
housing disparities in the community, and is happy to serve as liaison to
bring the housing issues related to API community to the State level.

According to Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: National
Results from Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Housing Discrimination
Study (HDS), this study provides the first ever estimate of the level of
discrimination experienced by Asians and Pacific Islanders, the two key
findings are:

- Asian and Pacific Islander prospective renters experienced consistent
adverse treatment relative to comparable whites in 21.5 percent of tests,
about the same as the level for African American and Hispanic renters.
- Asian and Pacific Islander prospective homebuyers experienced consistent
adverse treatment relative to comparable whites 20.4 percent of the time,
with systematic discrimination occurring in housing availability,
inspections, financing assistance, and agent encouragement.

According to Asian Pacific American Community Development Data Center, MN
Fact Sheet, In Minnesota, APIs have a higher home ownership rate (52%)
rather than renter rate (48%).  Similarly, Non-Hispanic Pacific Islanders
(NHPI) own their own homes (55%) rather than rent (45%).  Despite this
trend, both Asians and NHPIs have home ownership rates less than the
Non-Hispanic white (77%) and total (75%) populations.  But there are 39% of
Asians and 7% of NHPI members live in overcrowded homes, compared to only 1%
of Non-Hispanic White households.  This may reflect larger and extended
families, or the necessity for multiple family members to work and
contribute to housing costs, or the inability of individual family members
to afford to establish their own households.

These issues all can be addressed through the EMHIıs Pilot Project.  ³This
is a great opportunity to for realtors, lenders and homebuyer educators to
become leaders in emerging market housing, particularly given that
demographic trends show dramatic increases for our minority populations are
on the horizon,² said Shawn Huckleby, Executive Director of EMHI.  Selected
pilot projects will become important research and development tools to
support the EMHI business plan.  The business plan calls for the creation of
strategies to provide trusted guidance, targeted outreach efforts and
innovative structural support to enhance mortgage products and processes for
emerging market communities.

Eligible EMHI pilot projects should encourage innovation, have the potential
for wider replication, identify and address gaps in the home ownership
process.  Selection criteria also calls for pilots that will result in
tangible progress for emerging market households progressing toward
homeownership.  Interested applicants can download an EMHI Pilot Project
Application at www.emhimn.org.  Applications are now being accepted on a
continual basis and reviewed monthly by a selection committee comprised of
diverse community and real estate industry professionals.

For more information on the EMHI business plan, please visit www.emhimn,org.
(Submissions should be addressed to: Shawn Huckleby, EMHI Director, Home
Ownership Ctr., 633 S. Concord Ave. Suite 250, South St. Paul, MN 55075)
____________________________________________________________________________


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