Chicago - The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance ( NQAPIA ), Chicago i2i, and Trikone-Chicago are co-hosting the national conference with the theme of "Thriving Together: Queer APIs Building Community, Solidarity & Movement." The goals of this conference are to network, organize, agitate, educate, and build capacity of the nation's LGBTQ Asian American Pacific Islander community. The conference will take place at the University of Illinois at Chicago, from August 6-9, 2015. For more information and to register:
https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7100/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=74136
A special highlight of the conference is the Community Catalyst Awards Celebration on Friday, August 7, 2015 at Cai Restaurant, 2100 South Archer Avenue, in Chicago's Chinatown. The event is jointly sponsored by the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, Invisible to Invincible: API Pride of Chicago ( i2i ), and Trikone-Chicago. Every year NQAPIA honors groups and leaders who have improved the lives of LGBT AAPIs. This year, our Community Catalyst Awardees are:
· I Li Hsiao - longtime activist and trailblazer for LGBTQ & AAPI gender & sexual liberation
· Liz Thomson - educator, organizer, and photographer at the intersections of race, gender, disability, adoption, and sexuality
· Marsha and Tad Aizumi — proud parents of a transgender son from Los Angeles, CA
· Freedom Inc. — in Madison, WI working to end violence against people of color
Renowned actor Maulik Pancholy from NBC's 30 Rock is our guest celebrity emcee. The evening will include cocktails, a ten ( 10 ) course banquet dinner, and dancing. Tickets are $50 per person. A limited income rate is available. Tickets can be purchased here: https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7100/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=76631
All conference spaces and the banquet venue are wheelchair accessible, gender inclusive restrooms, and aim to be scent-free. For additional accommodations, please contact Ryan Viloria, Conference Coordinator, at coordinator@nqapia.org, at least one week ahead of time.
Sponsors for this year's conference include Alphawood Foundation, Arcus Foundation, David Bohnett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Lloyd A. Foundation, and the Walter and Evelyn Haas Jr. Fund.
The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance ( NQAPIA ) is a federation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT ) Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander ( AAPI ) organizations. We seek to build the organizational capacity of local LGBT AAPI groups, develop leadership, promote visibility, educate our community, enhance grassroots organizing, expand collaborations, and challenge homophobia and racism. For more information, visit www.nqapia.org .
