WHAT’S NEW WITH VAYLC THIS YEAR?
The Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference (usually known under its acronym VAYLC) this year will take place at the George Mason Metro Campus (in Arlington, VA) from June 24 to 26, 2011. An annual event organized by NCVA (National Congress of Vietnamese Americans) since 1999, this year’s VAYLC promises to be very interesting.
Asked what is new about VAYLC this year, Nguyen Ngoc Bich, NCVA Executive President, says that there are many features worth noting.
Participation of MAUVSA
Although many students in the Washington metropolitan area have attended VAYLC in the past, this is the first time that MAUVSA, the Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Association, has joined as a co-organizer of VAYLC 2011. For instance, MAUVSA will hold its annual fund-raising dinner together with the VAYLC Gala at the Harvest Moon Restaurant on the evening of Friday, June 24. This is a very exciting affair as it is meant to raise money to contribute to a common fund of uNAVSA (Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations) dedicated to supporting a worthy project every year. That is why Dan Huynh, the uNAVSA president, will also be flying in from Minnesota.
Last year, for instance, uNAVSA raised nationwide nearly $60,000 to help fund the 500 Oral History Project, which projected to interview 500 Vietnamese Americans across the nation to help write the first history of Vietnamese American immigration to the U.S. (over 300 so far completed).
Organization Committee composed mostly of Alumnae/i
Another interesting characteristic of this year, according to Bich, is the large cooperation of former VAYLC participants. From Long Nguyen, ex-MAUVSA president, to Vel Hernandez, a teacher, Van-Anh Nguyen, a television producer, Lan-Anh Nguyen, a State Farm agent, Bao-Ngoc Nguyen and many others, they are all chipping in to make sure that VAYLC 2011 is a success.
Besides, VAYLC this year enjoys the cooperation of many other youth organizations including VVA (Voice of Vietnamese Americans), AASuccess, the Vietnamese Boy Scout Movement, VAVA (Vietnamese American Voters Association), SBTN-Washington and VATV. It also receives support from State Farm.
Interesting Speakers
Another characteristic is that this year’s VAYLC program is mostly based on suggested topics and presenters/speakers known to be exciting in the past. A 2009 VAYLC participant, Mimi Nguyen of AASuccess, has this to say: “In 2009 I attended VAYLC. It’s the name of an annual conference that NCVA hosts each year. The objective is to educate students on government and community issues, and to get students to start thinking about their future in terms of giving back and political careers… From what I have seen, they are very good at getting quality speakers.”
Among the speakers already committed to coming are such names as Delegate Mark Keam, Victor Nguyen-Long, a marketing expert at Nike, and Ham Tran, the movie director (“Vuot Song”). Christine Chen of the White House API Initiatives and Patricia Pasqual from the Foundation Center will also feature among the main presenters.
Interested persons should call (703) 971-9178 or write to: NCVA, 6433 Northanna Drive, Springfield, VA 22150, for a registration package. On-line registration is also available at www.ncvaonline.org at VAYLC.
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