The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI)

The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) is a nonprofit leadership training organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1984, NCBI has been working to eliminate prejudice and intergroup conflict in communities throughout the world.

NCBI's proactive approach begins with a corps of community leaders who are taught bridge-building skills to effectively combat intergroup conflicts.  These community leaders work together as a resource team, offering prevention-oriented programs to deal with prejudice and intergroup tensions. Using NCBI tools for working through tough, polarizing intergroup issues, the leadership team is available to intervene in a community when specific intergroup conflicts arise.

NCBI has trained leadership teams in an array of settings, including high schools, colleges and universities, corporations, foundations, correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies, government offices, and labor unions. Currently NCBI has 50 city-based leadership teams, known as NCBI Chapters, 30 organization-based leadership teams, known as NCBI Affiliates, and over 60 college/university-based teams, known as Campus Affiliates.

The NCBI One Day Workshop is an experiential, participatory workshop that empowers individuals to take leadership in their own communities and workplaces to build inclusive environments that welcome diversity. 

Objectives of the One Day Workshop:

-to identify and work through stereotypes and misinformation about other groups;

-to heal from the scars of internalized oppression

-to reclaim pride in one's own background while at the same time building bridges with other groups;

-to hear personal stories about the various ways different groups experience discrimination and to increase a commitment to be allies for those groups; and

-to learn effective ways to intervene when confronted with prejudicial jokes, remarks, and slurs

Representing the East Coast

Often times Asian American history and literature focuses around a west
coast community. When will the east coast be seen as a predominant force in Asian American studies and art? How do both coasts contribute to the growth of Asian America? What is the right way for our communities to grow on the East Coast? By examining various forms of literature, music, and visual art, as well as discussing the broadening range of academic focus within the community, this panel will discuss the growing voice of East Coast Asian America.

Still Apart?

The marginalized communities of Asian America discuss the progress of their representation in Asian America. Has Asian America become any less East Asian? How do different ethnic enclaves and groups contribute to the
development of inter-Asian relations? What can be done to improve and increase collaboration amongst Asian American communities?

Zines: On page and On line

Where is the zine scene going? This panel will take a look at the changes
in the scene as well as discuss the process of publishing and producing both online and offline zines. It will also address questions such as: How is
Asian America present in the zine scene today? What is the purpose of creating zines? How hard is it to publish your own zine?

Asian American Literature: Who cares?

As the number of Asian American women's autobiography books increase, Asian American literature is changing and a tremendous rate. But really, who cares? Who is paying attention to Asian American literature? Is the increase of Asian American publications that receive awards such as Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer for Interpreter of Maladies affecting the types of books being published by Asian Americans? What will be the next best thing in Asian American literature?

The Movement for Ethnic Studies : 1968 - 2001

In the late 1960s, students of color enrolled in colleges and universities in record numbers, as a result of Civil Rights era educational reform. These students brought the struggles of their communities with them onto campus. Beginning in 1968, under the slogan of self determination, a group called the Third World Liberation Front, comprised of Asian American, African American, Latino, and American Indian students at San Francisco State, went on strike for an education they felt would be more relevant and accessible to communities of color. Their actions set in motion an Ethnic Studies movement that continues today. Come learn about the history of the struggle from generations of Ethnic Studies activists.

What is Ethnic Studies Anyway?

Ethnic Studies examines, challenges, and draws from existing bodies of knowledge to probe the issues surrounding racial and ethnic contexts in the United States and around the world. In this panel, we will discuss the current trends in Ethnic Studies scholarship and in Asian American Studies in particular.

Ethnic Studies Now!

A critical study of race and ethnicity is vital to fully understanding the social, economic, and political realities in which we live. But how can we make the importance of Ethnic Studies felt on our campuses? How can we inspire our fellow students to join the struggle? How can we get faculty and administrators to listen to our demands? This workshop will foster a dialogue about effective ways to carve out a space for Ethnic Studies within academia.

Interracial Dating

Interracial relationships demonstrate the natural results of a world made up of various ethnic groups. Two diverse people combine into one exciting and culturally rich blend, sharing new ideas and different customs. With an increase of interracial couples, we are witnessing a gradual disintegration of long-standing barriers and negative judgment opposing interracial dating and marriage. Many people who would like to explore interracial relationships are unable to do so, but we must insure that stereotypes and sexual stigmas do not illegitimatize true loving relationships. This panel will offer a common forum for those of us interested in interracial dating as well as to address the political issues of interracial relationships, interracial marriage, mixed children, and how society has changed and is developing to welcome such diversity in our daily lives.

Spoken Word: Poetry and Performance

The Nitty Gritty: Sex and Health Workshop

Spin city: A DJ workshop with a little insight on what it's like to DJ in
NYC

Bring it on: A race workshop
A workshop on race relations and our status as Asian Americans.