SOUTHEAST ASIAN - INDOCHINESE AMERICANS TO LAUNCH FIRST ARCHIVE AT U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS - “Three Decades in America: The Indochinese Experience” - to Debut May 14, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
D.C., Washington, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) April 21, 2011 -- Washington, D.C., April 18, 2011 – Indochinese American community leaders, in collaboration with the Asian Division Friends Society, Asian Division, of the U.S. Library of Congress, will launch the first-ever Indochinese American archive in the Library of Congress that contains the community’s three-decade history in the United States.

The launch event will debut “The Indochinese Experience,” on Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Library of Congress. This launch event is a prelude to a larger-scale unveiling event that will be held in 2012 with the Library to highlight the expansion of their Indochinese-American Archives.

The program will include a panel discussion with leaders from the Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese communities. Topics will vary from the role of religion, education, small businesses in the settlement and development of each community and the role of the younger generation in the preservation of their heritage.

Invited guests and attendees will include elected officials, congressional staffs, scholars, students, Southeast Asian - Indochinese American community members. Musical performances highlighting traditional sounds of each community as well as book signing of Indochinese-American authors are also a part of the event program.

Effective immediately, there is a call for materials documenting the life of Indochinese American Communities anywhere in the U.S, including: photographs and news clippings of special community events; community weekly or monthly newsletter written in their language but published in the US on community life and events; heritage and language schools for the generation born in America; health issue documentation pertaining to age groups (senior citizens or children); new immigrants’ adjustment in America; university/ college clubs for Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, or Vietnamese students respectively; novels or books about lives in the US during the last three decades.

To send in materials, please contact Reme Grefalda, Librarian/ Curator, AAPI Collection, Primary Holdings Initiative, Asian Division Friends Society, Asian Division, Library of Congress, at regr@loc.gov, phone: 202-707-6096. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Please RSVP at indochinaeventadfsloc@gmail.com

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Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans settled in the US since 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. They share unique historical situations, geography, traditions, culture, and have overcome similar challenges as well as still facing similar social issues

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