UArizona Celebrates APIDA Heritage Month
Student-athlete spotlights and talks on Asian photography and gender equality are among the plans for the celebration.
Several campus events are planned for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month, a pan-ethnic celebration that includes South Asians and the people and cultures of the Indian subcontinent, which are represented by the word "desi." The university marks APIDA Heritage Month in April so the communities can be honored while more faculty, staff and students are on campus.
Arizona Athletics has created a dedicated webpage that will be updated throughout April and May with video interviews with APIDA student-athletes and coaches. Athletics will also share profiles and other content on its main Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts over the next two months.
The School of Art and the Center for Creative Photography have launched a virtual symposium series examining Asian photography. The next event in the series, "Photography and Taiwan: History and Practice," will be held virtually April 7-9. Hosted by a variety of artists, curators, scholars and directors, the symposium will cover topics including changing photographic practices, major photography movements and exhibitions, colonialism, postcolonialism, gender issues and national identity. The event is free and open to the public and will be presented in English and Chinese with interpreters. You can find more information and register online on the symposium's website.
Throughout April, the university will feature its APIDA Heritage Month cultural logo, which includes elements of nature, traditional foods and contributions to music and education. The logo is also featured on branded merchandise available at the BookStores and on the university's Amazon site. A portion of the sales from both sites will go to Asian Pacific American Student Affairs to benefit students.
On May 5, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion office at the University of Arizona Health Sciences will hold a webinar focusing on gender equality in China. Jia Wang, professor of educational administration and human resource development at Texas A&M University, will present "Are Women Holding Up Half of the Sky? Reality Check of Gender Equality in China." The webinar will cover China's legislation for protecting women's equal rights and interests and unpack how the current legal and political structure have promoted or hindered women's advancement.
The Asian American Faculty, Staff and Alumni Club does not currently have any events planned.
This article originally appeared on news.arizona.edu.