Satjadham, an online Laotian literary group, comes to the San Francisco Bay Area to hold their Seventh Annual Conference, ³Bringing Together our Common Voices through Literature & Activism,² the weekend of June 28 29, 2002.
Satjadham is an internet-based Laotian American literary group, founded in
1995, that seeks to preserve and promote Laotian arts, language and
literature within the context of the refugee experience and with a
consciousness to make change.
Friday, June 28: Kicking off weekend events will be 90 min, a Laotian
American Film Festival, held at 145 & 155 Dwinelle Hall at the University of
California, Berkeley. Screenings of Kelly Loves Tony, Untold Stories,
Bombies and Rhythm of the Elders will be held from 7 10 pm with discussion
following. There is no charge for the screenings.
Saturday, June 29: The main conference activities will be held at Contra
Costa College (2600 Mission Bell Drive, San Pablo, CA 94806
www.contracosta.cc.ca.us), from 8:30 am 4:30 pm at the Students
Association Building. There is a $10 charge for the day conference; $10 for
evening gala (space is limited). Register today at www.sjd7sf.satjadham.net!
Conference activities include:
… Reading and Q&A with Bay Area T.C. Huo, author of ³A Thousand Wings² and
³The Land of Smiles²
… Session on Lao Classical Literature
… Poetry readings of original works by Satjadham writers
… Session on Lao Poetry and Music by well-known and respect lyricist
… Sessions from the Youth perspective; on bridging the intergenerational
divide; on ³Getting Published²
… Session on grassroots organizing in Richmond-San Pablo communities around
environmental justice
… Panel on ³Strategies to Being Heard²‹building coalitions and raising the
visibility of all Laotian Americans
… Session on ³Getting Active²‹organizing around law, political arena,
national advocacy, social justice and more.
… Community Faire featuring local Bay Area organizations
… Evening cultural gala at Nali¹s Café in Richmond featuring poetry
readings, music and traditional dance and much more!
This conference will bring the voice of the Satjadham writer, poet or
essayist; the voice of the local community organizer working to impact
change in our communities, and the common voice that we all share. Satjadham
thrives on the fact that we are not in a vacuum. From our harsh experiences
as refugees, from facing racial, class and educational discrimination, come
stories that heal; poems that activate; essays that critique and educate.
Our literature transforms the community; the community transforms us.
Co-sponsored by the United Laotian Community Development, Inc., Contra Costa
County Supervisor John Gioia, Contra Costa Community College, Asian American
Studies Program, UC Berkeley, Laotian Organizing Project of the Asian
Pacific Environmental Network and the National Asian American
Telecommunications Association.
