NCVA has grown to become the major deliberative forum of the Vietnamese American community, a federation of organizations and concerned individuals across the 50 states. It is estimated that over the years, some 200 Vietnamese American organizations have been at one point or another affiliated with NCVA. There are others who chose to stay outside of the organizational structure of NCVA, but who still cooperate with it on issues of common concern.

Cooperation and Coalition Building

In April 1989, upon the initiative of NCVA, four major Vietnamese associations, concerned with the fate of political prisoners, sat down to form the “Coordinating Committee for the Reception of Vietnamese Political Prisoners”. It was the work of this group which brought about the special legislation aimed at attending to the needs of political prisoners from Vietnam once they are out of communist re-education camps and brought to the U.S.

NCVA was among the very first organizations to advocate the creation of the Radio Free Asia (RFA) together with Freedom Federation, American Council for the Defense of Freedom, the Vietnam Restoration Party and the Indochinese Committee for RFA. As a result, RFA was signed into law (1994), funded in 1996 and started broadcasting in September 1996. The Vietnamese Program was inaugurated February 5,1997.

On the complex issue of Vietnamese asylum seekers in Southeast Asia, NCVA has until 1998 consistently advocated for refugee rights and spoken forcefully against forced repatriation through:

• testimonies at hearings on the Hill, in the U.S. Congress (most recently March 29, 2000 at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus).

• coordination with numerous organizations over the years including Inter-Action, U.S. Committee for Refugees, Boat People SOS, LAVAS, Interfaith Committee for Refugee Concerns, Committee for the Relief of Vietnamese Refugees, to organize demonstrations, write letters and petitions, make representations with the State Department, the White House, the U.N. Higher Commission for Refugees, and the Great Britain (when Hong Kong tried forced repatriation of asylum seekers.)

Concrete Realizations

• Participation in the 1990 and 2000 Census with representation on the National Advisory Board, outreach work, training of volunteers, translation, film making (to be shown as spots on television). As a result, in August 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau presented a crystal cup to NCVA at its annual convention as a token of appreciation.

• Profile of the Vietnamese American Community by contracting some statisticians at the University of Chicago to measure the progress of the Vietnamese American community since 1975. The project, headed by Ms. Ngoan Le of Chicago, is so valuable that its findings have been used regularly by the media.

• Participation in the U.S. Political Process in cooperation with the League of Vietnamese Voters in voter registration drives. Since then, a few Vietnamese Americans have become elected officials at local levels and have been appointed to positions in state and federal government as a result of their political involvement. NCVA partnered with APIAVote in 2004 and is actively involved in voter registration and education in Northern Virginia. Our nonpartisan activities have created opportunities for Vietnamese Americans to be placed on commissions and boards, including Board appointments in Fairfax County.

• Education: NCVA shares with the National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodia, Lao and Vietnamese Americans (NAFEA) many concerns in the field of education, which explains why some leaders are active in both organizations. NCVA is convinced of the wisdom of both ESL and bilingual education as a transitional programs for mainstreaming children whose first language is Vietnamese. NCVA also advocates strong parental involvement, especially in way to strengthen the child’s self-image and pride in his/her cultural heritage.

• Fighting Discrimination: Working with members of Congress to fight discriminatory admission policies found at some schools aimed at Asian American students. This may have been one of the factors that led to the dismantling of quota admissions at the University of California. NCVA has spoken strongly against racial discrimination directed at Asian and Vietnamese Americans, in some cases resulting in tragic deaths. In 1989, NCVA joined ACLU, OCA, and JACL to make presentations on the Hill on behalf of the Bay Area Vietnamese Fishermen Association in their protest against the racially-inspired application of the Jones Act, that was passed in 1789 but never invoked before.

• Drive for Economic Self-sufficiency: Firmly believing that a community can be strong only on the basis of economic self-sufficiency, NCVA rejects from the start any long term dependency on public assistance. NCVA has underwritten several conferences on economic development for the Vietnamese American community bringing together business and community leaders to exchange information, experiences and new products. NCVA is contemplating a national directory to foster more cooperation and awareness among Vietnamese American businesses. NCVA is helping to form local Chamber of Commerce organizations and a supporter of FDIC’s Money Smart program, in which it participated in the National Roll-Out in the Washington, D.C. area.

• The H. O. Program’s main credit goes to the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association which has been working diligently with the U.S. Department of State and Congress in order to demand the release of former detainees of re-education camps. NCVA cooperated in this endeavor starting in April 1987.  Ever since, the H.O. beneficiaries have taken the initiative of organizing themselves into the General Association of Vietnamese Political Prisoners with chapters all over the United States.

• The Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference: NCVA joins several well-established organizations to sponsor this conference, the first of its kind, to prepare Vietnamese American youths, for becoming eventual leaders in the community, with technology know-how, leadership skills and characters, along with history and cultural heritage.

• To raise awareness of current situations in Vietnam, NCVA in 1995 and again in March 2000, hosted the Free Vietnamese Coalition Conference where political, religious and community organizations gather and exchange ideas and share common plan of actions to foster democracy, transparency in Vietnam. 98 representatives from 52 organizations decided to amplify the dissidents’ voice, to help the youth, through high-tech communication, make choice for their future, bringing Vietnam up to par with the rest of the world in the new millennium.