2024 UIC Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month

Although May is designated by the U.S. Department of State as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, UIC celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month (APIDAAM), previously known as Asian American Awareness Month (AAAM), in April. This title change was enacted to create an inclusive awareness month focused on all Asian-identifying and Pacific Islander-identifying communities.

For the 2024 Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month, the student planning committee selected the theme of “Flowing Together: Facing the Current by Forging Unity Across Cultures”. In continuation with last year’s theme, this concept pays tribute to the past while welcoming the changes that the future will bring and highlights the perseverance and courage embodied by the APIDA community standing together in the face of racial and socioeconomic injustices.

Additionally, the theme acknowledges the connections between the wide range of APIDA cultures and the need to work together to navigate the waves of change.

As stated on the APIDAAM website: “Like the eternal flame of the Phoenix, the group spirit inspires us to use our voices, skills and strength to embody the power inside. We use this force to conquer any difficulty, whether it is by fighting issues within our communities, sharing our traditions with the world or joyfully honoring our cultural heritage on a daily basis. Together, we continue to move as one, unaffected by the tidal waves of adversity.”

A variety of events and programming are being hosted throughout April to highlight and elevate the diversity of Asian American experiences.

• APIDAA Month Kick-Off
  Tuesday, April 2
  3pm – 6pm
  
  Celebrate the start of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month at UIC! Games, cultural foods and light refreshments will be provided. Free for UIC students and staff.
•  APIDAAM Student Org Expo
  Wednesday, April 10
  9:30am – 5pm
  
  Support student organizations on campus in fundraising during Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month!
• dear elia: Letters from the Asian American Abyss: A book event with Mimi Khúc
  Thursday, April 11
  4:30pm – 6pm
  Daley Library 1-470 (801 S. Morgan Street)
  Via Zoom: https://go.uic.edu/DearEliaZoom
  
  What shifts if we recognize how we are all differentially unwell? What is the university’s role in that unwellness? Khúc’s project, “a plea and a prayer that we all survive,” asks us to move away from individualized, medicalized understandings of wellness to take up understandings that account for the ways racism and ableism structure our unwellness. It asks us to consider “how we can go on living while it hurts,” recognizing the power of community for care and transformation.Enter the dear elia book raffle here: https://go.uic.edu/KhucBookRaffleTo learn more about Khúc, her book, this event’s co-sponsors and full access information, please visit: https://dcc.uic.edu/events/dear-elia-letters-from-the-asian-american-abyss-a-book-event-with-mimi-khuc/
• Surviving Academic Hyper-productivity: A conversation for instructors with Mimi Khúc
  Friday, April 12
  11am – 12pm
  Women’s Leadership and Resource Center, SSB 1700 (1200 W. Harrison Street)
  Also via Zoom
  
  Join us for a conversation with Mimi Khúc on un/wellness in the academy and pedagogies of unwellness. This smaller session has faculty and graduate instructors in mind: How do we hold our commitments to generating knowledge, transformative pedagogy and our own un/wellness in environments centered on productivity rather than care? As Khúc asks: “What structures need to be in place to shift my relationship to work, to writing, to my needs, to my capacities?”Register here: https://go.uic.edu/SurvivingTo learn more about Khúc, the suggested reading, this event’s co-sponsors and full access information, please visit: https://dcc.uic.edu/events/surviving-academic-hyperproductivity-a-conversation-for-instructors-with-mimi-khuc/
• APIDAA Month: Night Market
  Tuesday, April 16
  5pm – 8pm
  
  Check out a showcase of various Asian-based vendors! Food and various items available for sale to the UIC community.For more information, please visit: https://go.uic.edu/nightmarket
• APIDAA Month Closing Ceremony
  Thursday, April 25
  5pm – 8pm
  
  Join the student planning committee as they wrap up Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Awareness Month.
• 2024 Asian American Congratulatory
  Friday, April 26
  5pm – 7pm
  Student Center East, Illinois Room AB (750 S. Halsted Street)
  
  The Asian American Congratulatory recognizes the academic achievements of UIC Asian American undergraduate and graduate students who graduated in fall 2023 or who will graduate in spring 2024 and summer 2024, as well as their support networks. It involves a recognition ceremony, a special welcome and photo ops. Refreshments will be provided and all are welcome!RSVP here: https://go.uic.edu/AsianAmericanCongratulatory2024Please RSVP by 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 10.For more information, please visit: https://go.uic.edu/AsianAmericanCongratulatory2024

Additionally, the Asian American Student Academic Program (AASAP) held their Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on March 28.

AASAP is a significant milestone for UIC, reflecting the university’s 30-year commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community for Asian American students. This program provides a supportive and enriching environment for Asian American students through culturally engaged academic advising, financial literacy and career development initiatives and facilitating personal growth.

The first Asian American Awareness Week at UIC was organized by the Coalition for Asian American Studies in March 2000. Over the past 24 years, the event has expanded to include organizing from the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Asian Americans and the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC). As of 2018, the planning of Asian American Awareness Month is coordinated by the UIC Center for Student Involvement with support from AARCC.

A list of 2024 APIDAA events can be found at: go.uic.edu/apidaam

For more information about the Asian American Student Academic Program, please visit: https://aasap.uic.edu/