New England Union of VSAs Summit 2008

The Yale University Vietnamese Students Association (ViSA) with the support of the Union of North American Vietnamese Students Association (uNAVSA) invite you and the members of your organization to a leadership/activism summit at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on April 26th, 2008 as part of the newly-formed New England Union of Vietnamese Students Associations (NEUVSA).  The theme of this second, bi-annual New England conference will be Inspire Impact: Building Strong VSAs, Inspiring Social Activism, and Effecting Change in Our Communities.

In accordance with the first New England Summit held at Columbia in December 2007, one of the goals of this conference is to connect Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American college students and organizations in the New England area: "From this conference, we will form a network of student associations to facilitate leadership growth, organizational development, and community involvement". The groundbreaking 12/07 Summit brought about the formation of NEUVSA and plans for a summit each semester. Please join us as we seek to maintain this union and include more schools.

We have planned a full day of activities, and would be truly honored if you would join us:

The summit will take place on April 26th, 2008, from 11:00 AM- 5:00 PM, at Yale University in New Haven, CT, location TBD, as the kick-off event for Yale ViSA's Black April Commemorative Week, which seeks to celebrate the achievements and history of Vietnamese-Americans.

The day will be devoted to two topics:

(1)   Building an active and cohesive Vietnamese Students Association on campus, including:

a.       Troubleshooting problems encountered by individual VSAs

b.      Effective Fundraising

c.       International Students as part of VSAs

d.      Maintaining Membership

(2)   Social activism/awareness; Reaching outside of the campus community, with presentations by VOICE, Ethan Nguyen on Vietnamese communities abroad and closing remarks from Nguyet Anh Duong, Celebrated scientist and 2007 Recipient of the National Security Medal

Please join us afterwards for a Gala Dinner at 5:30 PM with traditional Vietnamese food and keynote speaker Lan Cao (see bio below) in Calhoun College. The tentative detailed schedule is included below.

To register, please email Kimberly Ton ASAP with your name, school, school year, organizational affiliation, and if you will be staying for dinner or request housing for the night.