As of 11:14 a.m. October 29, 2008
SESSION 1
1A: Fucking Shit Up: Tactics of Nonviolent Direct Action
Kalaya’an Mendoza and Kunsang Kelden
Non-violent direct action (NVDA) continues to be one of the most effective tools in our arsenal in our struggle against oppression. This workshop focuses on NVDA tactics, ranging from blockades to police and crowd de-escalation to guerilla theatre. This workshop explores non-violence as a strategic weapon beyond life philosophy.
1B: What's Up With Pilipin@/American Studies and Tagalog in Higher Education?
Krystle Pasco
This is a space for critical dialogue on the status of our his/herstories and our language in institutions of higher education. Who has a Pilipin@/American his/herstory course on their campus? Who doesn't? What courses are offered in Tagalog? Do we need a Pilipin@/American Studies major or minor? As Pilipin@s in higher education it is important for us to be critical of our presence within higher education not just as students, undergraduates and graduates, but as professors, faculty and staff members. Where are we? Let's talk about our his/herstories, let's talk about our language, let's talk about our presence in higher education.
1C: Loving in the War Years: The intersections of Queer Pinoy Love and Activism
Justin Reyes
This workshop aims to better understand relationships between community organizing and the queer Pinoys doing that work. Participants discuss how queer Pinoy romantic relationships are formed, maintained, and/or ultimately destroyed by their activist work. This then explores mechanisms of support, trust, and love exist in the queer Pinoy activist world, how that world is navigated, and how queer Pinoy identities are negotiated in their interactions and work with each other.
In time of war and struggle, how do queer Pinoys make time for love?
1D: An International Perspective: Examining the Lack and Silencing of Sexual Identities in Asian Countries
Larry Nguyen and Richie Nguyen
This workshop aims to educate and spread awareness about sexual minorities in places that currently do not have the capacity or tolerance for alternative sexual identities. Within Asian countries, familial duties precede individual pursuits, including full sexual expression. While same-sex eroticism exists within these countries, identities have not formed from it like it has here in the West. This workshop focuses on China and Japan, while providing an open forum for discussion.
1E: From Village to Stage: The Myth & Problems of Pilipin@s "Returning to their Roots" Through Folk Dancing & Other Artistic Expressions
Joseph Allen Ruanto Ramirez
Folk dancing reaches its 50th anniversary, and renditions of cultural dances, attires, songs, music, and movements spread to wherever "Pilipin@s" immigrated. Searching for pre-colonial identities, youth borrow culture and traits from indigenous peoples in the Philippines, not realizing effects on global indigenous identities. Katutubo elders and youth have proclaimed that renditions of Philippine folk dancing & folk music “do not promote cultural understanding, but instead [commit] ‘cultural genocide.’”
This workshop aims to raise awareness of how Pilipin@ organizations world-wide, through folk-dancing and other artistic expression, perpetuate a lie of “cultural pride.”
1F: Queer Activism in Relationships: I know you, you know, now what?
Marlo Bagsik and Viana Vela
Coming out is one step in sharing your identity with others, but it’s not necessarily the only step. A common struggle with the post-coming out process is that one’s personal relationships (friends, family etc.) still feel estranged. As queers we sometimes find ourselves on tippy toes about our identity with those who already know. What are some steps that we can take to alleviate the anxiety others have about our identities?
This workshop is a platform for discussion on the struggles we encounter in our everyday relationships.
1G: Fight With Tools: Radical Queer Consciousness and New Media
Adrien Salazar
Are films, blogs, vlogs, twitter, and texts the tools of our liberation? They just may be! Participants will examine their own "queer-mindedness" to discover how queer consciousness lies at the intersections of history, oppression, and radical liberation--highlighting the experiences of queer peoples of color. Participants will then explore how art and media can be used as tools of resistance, education, and liberation. Particular attention will be paid to new technologies, including Web 2.0 technology, social networking sites, and Youtube. Participants will then help create a video to be posted online before the end of the conference!
1H: Monolove: Exploring the Monologue
Erika V. Pallasigue
The monologue is a speech performed by a single person. It can come in the form of a poem, an extended thought, or ramblings that may or may not lead anywhere. The monologue can be used to express the inner artist. It takes an amount of courage to stand before an audience, basically naked, presenting them with a piece of yourself. To create a monologue, one must delve deep withinto discover what it is that needs to be said. It is a journey of self-exploration.
1I: Color Me Queer
Rodkyle Paras and Valerie Afroilan
SESSION 2
2A: Queer Pilipina/o Literature and Poetry
Professor Joi Barrios
2B: Emergence of Queer API Grassroots Organizing: How To Create An Organization From Scratch
Haruki Eda
This workshop will examine the emergence of Queer API grassroots movement in the U.S. It will highlight the contribution that has been made to social, medical, political and academic development of the Queer API community. It will then discuss how to create a new student organization from scratch to push this movement forward from the grassroots. The goal of this workshop is to inspire the attendants to start their chapters at their own institutions and expand our network, examining the struggles and achievements of Asians and Queers United for Awareness (AQUA) at San FranciscoStateUniversity as an example.
2C: CANCELLED
2D: Coming Out to Your Parents - Nanay and Tatay
Belinda Dronkers-Laureta and Rev. Trinity Ordona, Ph.D of API Family Pride.
This interactive workshop shares information about how and when API LGBTs come out to their families, especially parents, including personal testimony of a Pinay mother and a Pinay lesbian and discussion on family support, communication points related to coming out, and resources.
Participants will receive a DVD of "Coming Out, Coming Home" video.
2E: A Community Roundtable: Exploring Emerging Politics of the Downe Identity
Ben Cabangun, Jonathan Magat, Brian Ragas from Downe Organizing Project
This community roundtable aims to provide a safe space to dialogue and meet the following goals:
1. To explore community definitions of downe
2. To understand issues, problems, and conditions within the downe community
3. To determine specific strategies of how to organize, mobilize, and build a collective
consciousness within the downe community
4. To search the needs of downe-identified issues and promote greater access of
community resources/services
2F: Queerness in Islam & the Rapid Arabization of Moro Culture
Joseph Allen Ruanto Ramirez
Being queer and Muslim is indeed a struggle for many, especially those in Southern Philippines not because of Islam itself, but the rapid Arabization of BangsaMoro. “Queerness" was seen as a "spiritual" or "cultural" identity; the "3rd sex" (as many consider it as) has recently been stigmatized as a sin when before it was revered or left alone as a natural identity. With not only the "Arabization" as well as the "Westernization" of Moro (along with Lumad, Lipis, Igorot, Mangyan, and Palawanon), these identities are gradually "disappearing" and instead "homosexuality" is "appearing.
2G: Making Soul*: a writing/performance workshop
Aimee Suzara
A workshop to explore histories, language, identity, and our visions for ourselves within a changing world. We will draw from our collective and individual voices to discover old-new languages in our bodies and on our tongues. No writing or performance experience necessary.
* from queer Chicana writer Gloria Anzaldua's quote: "The act of writing is the act of making soul."
2H: A Survey of Issues in the Transgender Community
Jocel Rivera
The discussion will be an overview of the current issues that transgender individuals are facing in the workforce, media, healthcare, education, and community. We will examine the policies currently affecting the transgender community, the portrayal of transgender individuals in mainstream media, the scarce resources for transgender individuals in need, the never-ending anti-transgender violence, and all other topics. To erase ignorance, we must educate ourselves and we must educate others.
2I: Funking the Gender Lines: The Intersectionality of Gender and Hip Hop
Nate Cedilla
This workshop takes a critical look at gender and hip hop through three different topics: the evolution of hip hop from the funk to the current, an American construction of gender, and hip hop and gender’s intersection. Through watching music videos, listening to audio samples, and group discussion including the emergence of homo hop/queer hip hop, this workshop will show how gender and hip hop are interdependent.
SESSION 3
3A: Considering the Non-Profit Sector: Making a career out of your passion
Emerson Aquino of Funkanometry SF and Lance Dwyer of APIWellnessCenter
This workshop consists of a panel of various queer-identified individuals who follow their respective interests and passions to careers within the non-profit sector. This workshop can be particularly useful for those involved with extracurricular student activities, organizing, the arts, or student leadership but is unsure of what existing career opportunities exist can be pursued. Participants will control a great deal of the content within a networking environment.
3B: Reframing Archives: Constructing Filipino-American History from Our Collective Memories
Ellen-Rae Cachola of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation
Manilatown Archival Project holds historical information on San Francisco’s Manilatown and the International Hotel anti-eviction movement. The cultures, philosophies, and activisms of the Filipino-American community in San Francisco’s historic Manilatown from the 1920s to the present reveal dynamics of preserved and shifted identities that adapt and transform environments. How can multiple identities within the Filipino-American experience challenge essentialist historiography? How does identity politics and movement ideologies shape strategies for political change within multicultural and multi-issue contexts?
The Manilatown Archives provides multimedia historical materials to further research on Filipino-American diasporic experiences.
3C: Building Community, Building Activism and Building Organizations, What is possible? A Guide.
Raphael Buencamino and Antony Ho of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance
What does it take to help our community grow and stay active? Can we build strong lasting organizations? Many communities have a long history and strong establishments. How about the queer API community? Especially in places like San Francisco, we are the largest queer community of color. Our community, however, is often dispersed and very few of our community organizations mature into powerful establishments; some are even missing or defunct. This workshop demonstrates how to build a strong community organization—from growing a strong group of dedicated members to creating a strong infrastructure.
3D: Church Potluck
Rev. Roland Stringfellow of the Bay Area Coalition of Welcoming Congregations and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry
The church is a place of togetherness, especially around food, but can conversely be a place of conflict. Some “food” that church members provide can be toxic to the soul. How do we continue to strive for balance between our spiritual journey and our sexuality? We examine the quality of the spiritual food provided during our church heritage and look for ways to claim what has been nourishing and dispose what has been spoiled rotten.
3E: Tagalog for the Novice
Tito Ray
A primer on spoken Tagalog, with some historical perspectives and queer slant through exploration, dissemination, sharing, and celebration.
3F: Immigration and Queer Equality
Mickey Limof Immigration Equality SF
This will discuss inequalities of the US immigration system in relation to the queer community. Examination of the history of immigration and how various immigration proposals affect queer communities translate into strategies to affect reform.
3G: Womyn Warriors
Ana Espanola and Princess Manuel of Gabriela Network Berkeley
GABNet will present about issues such as trafficking, commodification, and globalization, emphasizing militarization and the prostitution industry with respect to the anniversary of the Subic Rape Case through dialogue and video.
3H: A workshop by the Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity
Aileen Suzara and Christine Cordero of the Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity