Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA)
Southeast Asian ArchiveSince the end of the Vietnam Conflict in 1975 a large number of refugees and immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam have come to the United States, and especially to California. In order to document their experiences in a new culture, the UC Irvine Libraries established the Southeast Asian Archive in 1987. The Archive's collection strengths include materials relating to the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants in the United States, refugee camp and other experiences of the "boat people" and land refugees, and the development and progress of new ethnic communities. There is a special focus on materials pertaining to Southeast Asians in Orange County and California. Holdings are in English and in Southeast Asian languages (primarily Vietnamese), and include books, periodicals, refugee orientation materials, government documents, reports and surveys, newspaper clippings, video and audio recordings, personal and institutional papers, posters, photographs, ephemera, paintings, and dissertations and theses.
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Common GroundCommon ground is organized by progressive Vietnamese American community members, artists, and activists committed to cultivating a positive and safe healing space for artistic growth and community empowerment. The common ground collective builds collaborations across communities and supports the work of social justice spaces.
WHERE VAALA CULTURAL CENTER 1600 N. Broadway, Suite 210 Santa Ana, CA 92706 (Park on the 3rd floor to access the 2nd floor of the building) WHEN 1st Thursday of the month 7:30 pm-9:30 pm Project MotivateInitiated in 1996, Project MotiVATe (formerly Camp for Youth) was developed to meet the needs of Vietnamese-American youth in Orange County. Despite the large number of Vietnamese-Americans living in Orange County, there are currently no mentoring programs available free of charge to academically and socially at-risk Vietnamese youth. To fulfill this need, Project MotiVATe offers a culturally relevant mentorship program—at no financial cost to families.
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