Community Announcement

For Immediate Release Contact: May 5, 2005 Bach Pham bach@searac.org Leadership and Advocacy Initiative Project Manager Southeast Asia Resource Action Center 1628 16th Street, NW, Third Floor Washington, DC 20009 (202) 667-4690 (202) 667-6449 Fax

SEARAC Accepting Applications For 8th Annual Southeast Asian American National Leadership Training

SEARAC is pleased to announce its Eighth Annual Southeast Asian American National Leadership-Advocacy Training for 2005 to be held in Washington, DC on September 17 to 20, 2005. The training provides a forum where Southeast Asian American community leaders from across the nation have the opportunity to discuss, interact, and network with their peers. Leaders will participate in four days of advocacy education, leadership strategizing, collaborative networking, and communication with lawmakers.

Past participants have found the training to be rewarding and a life changing experience. Samnang Phou said, "The training was valuable and motivating. It reassures my position in the world of politics and advocacy in that we, as new immigrants in the past two decades, must move from the socio-economic aspect into the role of advocacy.

Chivy Sok, former Deputy Director of University of Iowa Center for Human Rights said, "The training I participated in provided one of the most valuable opportunities for young leaders to come together to not only learn about advocacy skills and strategies, but to apply it in the nation's capital. To be an effective leader within our communities, we have to know how to access those in power. SEARAC's training is extremely valuable for facilitating such knowledge and coalition building. It was also a treasured opportunity to meet others working on similar issues across the nation."

The application process is open to all community members. Participants residing outside of the DC Metropolitan area will receive financial support which covers travel and lodging. The deadline date for receipt of applications is July 1, 2005. This year applicants can APPLY ONLINE. For those who prefer a hard copy, PDF of the application form is also available for download. To have a hard copy of the application mailed to you and for more information about SEARAC's Eighth Annual Southeast Asian American National Leadership-Advocacy Training for 2005, please contact Bach Pham above.

This training is made possible through generous support from State Farm Insurance.