AAFF Oct Summit

FLORIDA ASIAN LEADERSHIP HOLDS SUMMIT IN ORLANDO

Miami, FL – Jan 5, 2010

A planned Florida Asian Summit in Orlando marks the beginning of 2010 and promises to be a historic event for the widely diverse Asian-American communities in the State of Florida.

On January 16-17, 2010, Asian American community leaders across the State will meet at Orlando Marriott Downtown - 400 W Livingston Street - to finalize their strategic plans for outreaching the hard-to-count Asian population in Florida in preparation for the upcoming 2010 Census.

“We need to ensure that Asian Americans get their fair share of resources by achieving a full count in Census 2010”, says Dr. Joy Bruce, President of the Asian American Federation of Florida, a statewide organization made up of more than 70 Bangladesh, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Iranian, Korean, Laotian, Taiwanese, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese community-based organizations, businesses and media. “We are joining hands in true partnership to discuss ways of empowering their community and achieving an accurate complete Census count of Asian Americans throughout the State of Florida.”

Dr. Joy Bruce is also the Founding President and Chair of NANAY, Inc and NANAY Housing Resource Center.

Census data is used to plan for the needs of the community which includes the planning and funding for education & School, health care & hospitals, poverty assistance programs, transportation projects, housing programs, public safety strategies, and much more. Over 170 federal programs use census population data to determine the range and level of funding available to local governments.

The Census 2010 questionnaire is the shortest form in US census history which dates back to 1790, according to Winnie Tang, US Census Partnership Specialist and Team Leader of Florida Asian Community Team. “With just 10 questions, the form should only take 10 minutes to complete; but it will make a difference in decision making at all levels of government for the next ten years and for the Asian community.”

The completed Census questionnaire is confidential and protected by law. Census employees cannot share Census information with anyone including the President or other government agencies, and they are subject to a $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison for disclosing personal information.

As part of the two-day 2010 Asian Summit, Bank of America and Florida Prosperity Partnership will also give a “Train the Trainer” workshop so that Asian American communities in Florida may attain financial stability, promote prosperity and develop asset building strategies. In addition, the ethnically diverse Asian American leadership will also discuss common issues that affect their communities, including immigration, health care reform and labor discrimination.

The sleeping giant is finally waking up.