Ugat: Sharing our Stories, Understanding our Roots

Filipino Youth showcase powerful performances at fundraiser for upcoming UGAT Conference

2009-05-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Kabataang Montreal
Philippine Women's Centre of Quebec
SIKLAB-Quebec
Press Release

Filipino Youth showcase powerful performances at fundraiser for upcoming UGAT Conference

May 12, 2009

Montreal, QC, Canada - Saturday, May 9th, 2009 marked the Kapit Bisig Center’s UGAT: The Fundraiser, a night of spoken word and acoustic performances by prominent members of the Montreal community which took place at MUCS, a co-op space in the NDG/CDN area. The objective of the fundraiser was to raise awareness of the upcoming conference, UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots. The event was well received, with over 70 audience members being treated to a bevy of performances by Filipino artists such as Julie Nieto, Neil Castro, Josie Caro and Jillian Sudayan of the Sinag Bayan Cultural Collective, former Philippine Idol winner Cherylyn Toca, and local Filipino artist Yuri Billiones.

“It was a great show”, says Jillian Sudayan, a performer in Saturday’s event, “I felt a strong connection with my songs, and most importantly, with the crowd. I could see that these issues are relevant to the community, and to express them through art was inspiring.”

The night also featured spoken word performances by hip hop artist Angelica Le Minh, Zibz of the Kalumunity Vibe Collective, comedian George Hamilton Braithwaite, and musicians Raa and long time supporter and musician, Jesse Guttman. All these contributions were in solidarity with the efforts of the Kapit Bisig Center.

Audience members reflected on the themes of the event, which touched on the predominant issues facing the Filipino community in Montreal. Issues such as family separation, discrimination and racism were at the heart of many performances. “I’m glad I came to this event. There was a good diversity of performances that kept me entertained and inspired”, said Aaron Santos, a Filipino youth and member of Kabatanng Montreal. “The songs and poems were particularly powerful – to hear the issues facing the Filipino community in this way has encouraged me to learn more. I’m definitely going to the conference.”

Organizers were also pleased with the turnout, with 70 members of the Filipino community and supporters filling the MUCS venue. “This event was a testament not just to the talent of our Filipino youth, but to their strength in the belief that we can make a difference in this society”, says Josie Caro of PWC-Quebec “I'm looking forward to bringing more of that energy to the conference at the end of May when we will be tackling our community issues through discussion groups and workshops to really bring out the voices of all of our youth”. While the regional conference will predominately be attended by Montreal youth, participants from other parts of Canada and the United States are expected to attend.

One of the main issues that the conference would like to address is the growing marginalization of Filipino youth in Canada -- a social issue rooted in Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). Since its inception in 1992, the LCP has brought close to 100,000 Filipino women to Canada to care for children, older adults and people with disabilities. In this context, LCP workers encounter poor working conditions and improper compensation -- which often places workers vulnerable to psychological, physical and financial abuse. Long-term implications of the program can be found in the negative impact toward families-- where LCP workers are reunited with children after an average of five years of separation. Changing family dynamics and integration into a new society are among the challenges that face Filipino Youth.

UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots is a conference meant to gather Filipino youth to share their stories of migration, develop their understanding of the situation of the Filipino community in Montreal, and engage in policy initiatives to empower Filipino youth. Participants will be encouraged to bring their ideas to the workshops and panel discussions as a means of contributing to the development of the Filipino community in Montreal. The conference will take place May 22-24, at the Amphitheatre of the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry (ICFP) at 4333 Cote-Ste-Catherine.

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For more information on the conference or to volunteer, email kabataangmontreal@gmail.com or call:

Josie Caro at 514-962-9615
Julie Nieto at 514-659-5857
Neil Castro at 514-690-6345

2009-04-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Please join us for...

UGAT: The Fundraiser
a night of spoken word, music and song

The UGAT Conference* is coming up! Preparations are gathering speed and we are very, very excited to see you all between May 22&24 in Cote-des-Neiges.

Ahead of the conference, Kabataang Montreal has cooked up a an evening of spoken word, music and song. In true KM form, expect some soul, harmony and a whole lot of strong talents! All proceeds from the event will go to financing conference costs. Come for beats, rhymes, thoughts, beer, food... and to support!

UGAT: The Fundraiser
Saturday, May 9th @ 8pm
MUCS, 2000 Northcliffe # 218 - NDG
Vendome Metro

Door is 5-10$ sliding scale

* The conference “UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots” will gather Filipino Youth of Montreal to share their stories and understand one another in their context of migration and settlement in Canada. From the understanding of our roots of migration and the history of the Philippines, conference participants will then explore and discuss the settlement and integration of Filipinos in Canada, and specifically in Montreal. Panel and workshop topics will include racism, identity, gender, language and education. Another goal of the conference is to train youth to engage in discussion on policies affecting the Filipino community in Montreal. For more information or to register, email kabataangmontreal@gmail.com.

"Kuttin it Collectively"

2009-04-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Bitch Magazine, in the Love It / Shove It section of its spring 2009 issue, featured an interview with DJ Kuttin Kandi. I swear, I live off finds like these.

DJ Kuttin Kandi is a battler. A fiercely skilled turntablist, she's one of the first women to bust through the testosterone-laced barriers blocking DJ booths across the land. She's been cutting and spinning since the 1990's, along the way winning a number of prestigious competitions and leaving less skilled DJs - both males and females - in her wake. [...] She's a fighter for social justice as well: on top of her renowned hip hop and spoken word artistry, Kandi is a longtime community and youth organiser. Born as Candice Custodio and raised in NYC, she recently relocated to San Diego. These days much of her activism is carried out on the University of California - San Diego campus, where she works with students at the Women's Centre and helps direct and produce the play Export Quality: Monologues Based on True Stories of Mail Order Brides from the Philippines

You've mentioned not really coming into your Filipina identity until your early 20s.

Hip hop is what started me on my path to political awareness, and connected me with some great social change organisers. But yeah, I was born and raised in NYC, and because of my parents' assimilation to this country, I hadn't heard anything about U.S. Filipina culture, issues of colonization, or the trafficking of women in the Philippines until 2000, when the Gabriela Network [ a Philippine-U.S. women's solidarity organisation] asked me to DJ at their Los Angeles conference. I said, "Sure, but what's Gabriela Network?"

I live, live, live for finds like these. Outreaching in cegeps and high schools recently, I've been doing some weird positive-profiling and getting some well interesting responses from youth - some of whom are maybe reading this, I hope! From looks of dismay (Yeah, you called it I'm Pinoy - ugh) to shy glances (Yes, is that ok?) the common links between many people I approach seems the exact same as what would link me to all of you: I'm sick of being asked! lol

But beside that, I've been getting what I would serve everyone else who was bold enough to ask: "Yes, I'm Filipino but I'm not that involved. So don't ask anything, I've got no more info." "I don't know what Pinoy means." "I'm also other things." "Don't ask me about anything typically Filipino, I'm sick of explaining Pansit." You're Pinoy too... are you asking me to give you money / go to church more?

Nah, none of the above. What took me a while to figure out and what I'm inviting you to do when I'm handing a flyer is really, really simple: to make the link between everything you are and the community you were born out of. It took me a really really long time to realize that what I had, even though it had nothing to do with sashes, crosses and tinikling sticks, could be of some use to the Montreal Pinoy community.

The fact that we're having a hellah good time doing it all helps a little, too. It's taken a few decades, but I've finally become able to look back at the face posing the question "Are you Filipina" with a bit of victorious defiance and give them my own answer to whatever follow up question they may bring my way, and wear my Pinoyness with pride.

On the theme of beat and hip hop, we're having a fundraiser!

It's going to be a spoken word / performance night showcasing some of CDN / NDG's talents. Come for beats, thought, eats, and beer - and come support a good cause as all the proceeds will be going to conference costs.

Place: MUCS (Montreal Urban Community Sustainment)
2000 Northcliffe #218, Metro Vendome
May 9th, @ 8pm
door is 5-10$ sliding scale

McGill Library Exhibit

2009-04-20T17:19:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the McGill University Filipino-Asian Students Association (MUFASA), we were able to put up a display in the McLennan-Redpath library.

The display will trace Filipino history, migration to Canada, etc, along with some gorgeous art pieces and photos of our organizations.

Check it out!

April 19-25
pathway between the McGill McLennan and Redpath libraries

Meet the Organizers: Rob and Steph

2009-04-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

Registration now open!

2009-04-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Kabataang Montreal, in partnership with the Kapit Bisig Centre member organizations, is pleased to announce UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots, an intercollegiate and community conference for Filipino youth, taking place May 22-24, 2009, at the Ampitheatre of the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, 4300 Cote-Ste-Catherine.

Kabataang Montreal (KM, “Filipino Youth of Montreal”) was formed in 2000 due to the need to address many of the social problems facing the youth, particularly those living in the Cote-des-Neiges area. Today, KM is comprised of a dynamic group of Filipino youth and students who share the desire to build a strong and united Filipino community. KM aims to empower Filipino youth and deepen their understanding of their social, economic and political situation in Canada.

The conference, “UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots”, follows the Kabataang Montreal Youth Consultation held in 2005 where over 100 youth gathered to discuss their migration stories and explore the settlement and integration of Filipinos in Quebec. Issues such as family separation and reunification, educational barriers, and systemic racism came to the forefront, and there was a general consensus to continue exploring these fields and come together to revisit these issues in a second local conference. We are looking forward to gathering both intercollegiate and community youth to explore these and other issues that have since come up as the Filipino community continues to evolve in Quebec.

This youth conference and consultation is part of our ongoing project to establish full integration, settlement and participation of Filipinos in a multicultural, multi-ethnic Canada. Because we recognize that the issues of Filipino youth in Canada continue to be of major concern to the community, this project includes a component on Filipino Canadian youth. It is our hope that UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots will encourage further understanding of the issues affecting Filipino Canadian youth, and the particularities of their situation in Quebec thereby asserting their importance in the community's future.

Registration is now open and we are inviting you to join and participate in this two-and-a-half day conference. There will be community-based speakers, resource persons on and workshops and skills development in youth organizing. Topics will touch on major areas of concern to Filipino youth and will be geared towards these three goals of the conference:

- Sharing our migration stories: First, we would like to share our stories and experiences living as Filipinos in Montreal and, in doing so, come to a mutual understanding of our or our parents’ history of migration to Canada.

- Discussing our present realities: Second, we will explore the realities of settlement and integration of Filipino youth in Montreal, and discuss issues such as systemic racism, gender oppression, educational barriers and challenges of migration that the youth face today.

- Planning our future actions: Finally, we will participate in important policy engagement exercises to empower ourselves and strengthen our position here in Canada.

Panel speakers and resource persons include those who have done research and organizing work within the Filipino Canadian community. The three keynote speeches will be delivered by Cecilia Diocson, the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada; Roderick Carreon, co-founder of Kabataang Montreal and Chairperson of SIKLAB-National; and Carlo Sayo, the National Chairperson of Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance.

Kabataang Montreal looks forward to your participation at this important gathering. Attached is the registration form. Please confirm your attendance by May 9, 2009. We look forward to hearing from you.

Registration Fee:
Youth and Students: Minimum $20 donation for 2 days (includes conference materials and meals)
Observers: Minimum $40 donation for 2 days (includes conference materials and meals)

Venue Details:
Amphitheatre
Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry
(Jewish General Hospital)
4333 Cote-Ste-Catherine

For more information, please feel free to contact us by email or phone:
Email: kabataangmontreal@gmail.com
Josie Caro: 514-962-9615
Julie Nieto: 514-659-5857
Neil Castro: 514-690-6345

Please email Kabataangmontreal@gmail.com to request a registration form!

Movie Screening: 'When Strangers Reunite"

2009-04-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Filipino Solidarity Collective, a QPIRG McGill working group, along with the Philippine Women Centre of Quebec and Kabataang Montreal, will be showing "When Strangers Reunite", a video documentary by Florchita Bautista and Marie Boti, highlighting the challenges of family separation and reunification brought on by Canadian immigration policies. A discussion, including some people who appeared in the film, will follow the film showing.

April 7, 2009
McGill University
Leacock 232
6:15 p.m.

Meet the Organizers: Josie

2009-04-05T15:14:00.002-07:00

The first of a series of videos to introduce you to the organizers of the UGAT Conference!

Food for thought: Forced Migration

2009-04-02T07:49:00.001-07:00

"Think about this: Why would someone leave their country?"

That's how Roderick Carreon started off our workshop on the History of Filipino Youth organizing in Montreal.

Placing ourselves in the context of our own migration can be a challenging activity, but one that is essential to understanding the experiences of our fellow kababayans. And, speaking as a Canadian-born "second generation" Filipino youth, it is a question with which we are, sadly, rarely presented in our mainstream Canadian education. Instead, we are asked, "Where do your parents come from? What cultures and values (read: food, dances and religion) did they bring with them?"

The thought that they might have left for a reason, that there might have been political upheaval, back-breaking comprador landlords, blinding poverty, a general sense of desperation coupled with the mentality that the land of our colonizers would readily welcome us . . .

"How many Canadians do you know who travel to the Philippines to visit the white-sand beaches of Boracay?"

"How many Filipinos do you know who come to Canada on ski-vacations?"

Damn.

The fact is the Philippines is a land that can sustain its people several times over if only it owned its own haciendas, cultivated its own crops, controlled its own resources. The fact is the Philippines is a land of rich soil, its mountains bursting with precious metals, its waters swimming with sea life, its people some of the most talented in the world.

And yet its people are starving. They are scrambling for the kind of education that will get them out and overseas sending money home to their parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, sons and daughters. Nursing, teaching, accounting, computer engineering. . . anything to get that higher (English) education that would eventually buy them a plane ticket to Saudi, Hong Kong, the U.S. or Canada.

"Why did your parents leave?"

"And what would it have been like if they had left you behind?"

"And what would it have been like for you to come to Canada/Quebec/Montreal 5 to 8 years later?"

The reality of the Filipino youth arriving in Canada today is that they are living forced separation under conditions of forced migration as their parents make that "choice" between survival or slums. And the further reality is that their arrival in Canada is so often a reunion of strangers trying to figure out what it means to be a family, all parties questioning why they left their homes, and all of them knowing they had no other option.

And in a related reality are the Filipino youth labelled "Canadian" and working through the vast expanse that is the mental distance between their own and their parents' transnational identities.

Think about it. No - do more than think about it: Investigate. Ask your parents why they left. And get back to me at the conference :)

UGAT: Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding Our Roots.
May 22-24, 2009
4333 Cote-Ste-Catherine

What the school system won't make you read

2009-03-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest, I didn't mind high school. Mostly because 'minding it' was NOT an option, and I was sure my parents had some radar that would turn on alarms and red strobe lights in the house if I so much as thought of skipping. Minding high school was just not an option. So I just sucked it up and dealt with it. Mostly poorly.

There were parts I liked - mainly lunch time, Spanish and English. I went to a French high school so any language was pretty much a bird class.

I HATED French. The teacher was a staunch separatist who thought it was appropriate to ask us for our personal info - like address and email and phone number. I am still not too sure what he was going to use them for. Plus he had this really breathy way of speaking and utb-of-Crisco oily hair. AND he made us read books in the most illogical way. The test involved giving the definition and context of page upon page of vocabulary word, so we were basically reading the dictionary and memorising page numbers more than getting to enjoy and understand the novel itself.

It actually made me hella nervous to pick up a book for a few years after that.

So when a kasama asked me "what books I had read" while we were preparing materials for the International Women's Day march this past March 8, I just turned mute. High school and the academic snobbery of McGill just turned books into a stigma. As though I would be a lesser person for not having read this guy or the other.

I haven't read most socialist and communist lit. Nor have I read most political, sociological or economic treatise* out there. Which doesn't mean I like reading - I just don't like reading about people who've discovered this week's truth of the month.

Anyways.

To this kasama's question I gave the following answer -

I've read Jessica Hagedorn. And Screaming Monkeys. And Babaylan and Returning A Borrowed Tongue. I've looked really hard for alternative readings and analyses of Filipino history. I picked up Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, but after starting it over three times I've all but given up reading it. Next up on my reading list is Pinay Power: Peminist Critical Theory and Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults.

Taking his advice, I finally started reading America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan. I picked it up on a pretty epic trip, and am still not too sure why it took me so long to crack its spine.

From pretty much the third page, I had to take pauses and breathe in a little deeper. The themes he brings up in such a human and sensitive way - family unity and separation, poverty, peasant's land rights, class and social dynamics in the Philippines and in America, migration, "difference" and racism are still so relevant today although written in 1943.

In the space my brain's at right now, having just returned from working with peasants who were struggling to eat and keep their land, and preparing for the Ugat conference, this book couldn't have come at a better time to bring it all together. And remind me of things I had forgotten or had chosen not to know about my family's life, like where my family is really (REALLY) from and why my dad really (REALLY) came here.

I would quote some passages but I think you'd be better off reading it on your own. Some parts affected me really deeply that may not really strike a chord with you - it's just a matter of what hits home to each of us, depending where we've been and where we're at. Regardless, be it now or later, please please please get your hand on this novel. I swear, pick it up and first thing you know, three hours will have gone by and you'll have barely noticed. Hit me up if you want to share a copy - I have a sneaky feeling MTL public librearies may not carry a copy.

* 1: a systematic exposition or argument in writing including a methodical discussion of the facts and principles involved and conclusions reached 2obsolete : account,tale - HONESTLY, just the definition makes me cringe.

Upcoming Event: Comedy Off the Main

2009-03-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a great community event for one of our sister organizations.

Philippine Women Centre Benefit Show
March 25th, 2009
$10 donation

Comedy OFF the Main
Wednesday 8:30 p.m.
Oliveira, 213 Rachel Est

If I Can’t Dance…

2009-03-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

“…I don’t want to join your revolution”

Free coffee on Saturday May 23rd to whoever can identify who said that, cause at 10:25 on this Thursday night I can’t for the life of me remember who that was. A kick ass anarcho-feminist did, that’s all I can remember.

As far as I’m concerned, it may as well have been Ate Cel. Seriously, the woman can rock a rally like no one else – physically and verbally. I got to know her multi-faceted awesomeness at the March 8th International Women’s Day rally in Montreal, and I’m forever grateful for the encounter. She can switch from dancing in the street to spitting tight rhetoric on the LCP in a second, in both instances managing to unite people and move them to join in, shout out and get involved.

The PWC decided to extend International Women’s Day and turn it into a two weekend event, and invited Ate Cel to share on the history of migration and organization of Filipina women in Canada. I have to admit, I left feeling a little more fierce and a little more empowered – knowing that if I put a little back into it, I could probably get things moving in Montreal, too.

From the shift Canadian (im)migration policies have taken, away from specialized trades targeting cheap Filipino labor, to an overt de-skilling and disregard for Filipinas’ skills and education level through the LCP, she struck so many chords along the way it was hard to not be moved. To tears, to anger, or ideally to action.

She didn’t only speak on the ‘struggles’ and the ‘oppression’ though. She spoke on how women organized in Canada to better their condition, demand their rights and get some space (literally, sometimes), and recognition in a country that was totally satisfied forgetting they were around.

The last thing I want to do on here is generalize how you all would have felt listening to her, so I’ll speak for myself: it felt so good to hear how a community could and did come together in though times and changed things for themselves, even if that meant moving the boat and maybe getting some cut eye and un-kind words along the way. It felt good to hear that they didn’t wait, or got fed up of waiting, to have people do things for them and for change to come on its own and got to it themselves. That they faced up to the hard truth of injustice, and unfair treatment, and the sadness, and maybe the anger. That they stopped trying to do it alone, came together, and used the negative and turned it into positive.

And it’s so good to know that I have examples of really cool women to base my life on – that ‘they’ can become ‘we’, you know?

In these days of third-wave, POC/WOC revolutions, I’d like to append to that quote “if you’ll give cut eye to my doorknockers and pink shirt”… But that’s stuff for another post.

We added a few excerpts from her presentation to this week’s Sigaw Ng Bayan radio show. Check out the CKUT archives HERE to listen to the show – guaranteed you’ll love it! Hmmm – maybe we can figure out a way of uploading those here directly?

Philippine History Workshop

2009-03-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about Emmanual Sayo.

We call him "Kuya Manny" and he is a strong, quiet presence who is also kinda brilliant. A community researcher, he has been actively organizing the Filipino community in Canada for at least a couple decades. We're very excited to have him around.

On Sunday, March 15, he came over to one of our houses for a Philippine History Workshop. That was... interesting. He had a two-page outline which we sorta skipped through, stopping every once in a while to elaborate on the bombing of Manila, or the difference between the occupations by the Japanese vs. the Americans. We ended up having a deep discussion on the organizing work here in Montreal, which was unexpected, but quite enlightening. I gotta say, I thought that the thing was a bit of a blur. But I guess I shoulda been more aware of the fact that we can't sit for a just a couple hours and review hundreds of years of colonization.

Kuya Manny's goal for the workshop was to emphasize the fact that before we go into learning about the real history of the Philippines, we should be investigating our own history and getting to know ourselves in the context of our migration in Canada. Why did our parents leave the Philippines? How did they end up in Canada? What is our role as Filipino youth now that we are here and trying to understand ourselves in this country?

Stuff to think about.

In the meantime, find yourself a copy of Renato Constantino's "The Miseducation of the Filipino". It may just blow you away.

(Actually, find anything by Renato Constantino. He and Leitizia Constantino wrote a couple books called "The Philippines: A Past Revisited" and "The Philippines: A Continuing Past". Both excellent critical analyses of Philippine History. Amado Guerrero's "Philippine Society and Revolution" is also pretty amazing.. Oh! and find yourself a copy of Carlos Bulosan's "America is in the Heart"! It's about a young farm boy who leaves his home to be a migrant worker in America, but it takes place in the early 1900s and it's just gorgeous. You won't regret this read.)

(hmm.... I think the bloggers and I will compile a reading list for y'all. Ooh! project!)

By the way - the folks at the Kapit Bisig Centre are hosting a series of workshops and discussion groups leading up to the Ugat conference. Want in? Email us (kabataangmontreal at gmail dot com)

Filipino Youth of Montreal to Share their Stories, Return to their Roots in 2.5-day Conference

2009-03-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Kapit Bisig Centre
press release

Filipino Youth of Montreal to Share their Stories, Return to their Roots in 2.5-day Conference
for immediate release: March 10, 2009

Montreal - Côte-des-Neiges is abuzz with excitement over the latest endeavour of the Kapit Bisig Centre. “Ugat : Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding Our Roots (A Filipino Youth Intercollegiate and Community Conference)”, is a 2.5-day conference organized by Kapit Bisig Centre member organization "Kabataang Montreal," to bring together Filipino Youth around Montreal and - as the title of the conference states - share their stories and understand their “Ugat”, the Tagalog word meaning “roots”.

The conference aims to gather Filipino Youth of Montreal to share their stories and understand one another in their context of migration and settlement in Canada. Participants are being invited from all backgrounds and experiences.

“No matter where you were born, or how much schooling you completed; no matter what language you speak, who you choose to worship, or who you choose to love, at the root of it is our common ancestry, our common history, our common colonization and our common migration,” says Julie Nieto, member of Kabataang Montreal and one of the key conference organizers. “That’s what makes us Filipino. And now we’re in Canada, and Quebec specifically. We are here in Montreal. ‘How is that going for us?’ is the next question we need to address.”

From the understanding of our roots of migration and the history of the Philippines, conference participants will then explore and discuss the settlement and integration of Filipinos in Canada, and specifically in Montreal. Panel and workshop topics will include racism, identity, gender, language and education. Another goal of the conference is to train youth to engage in discussion on policies affecting the Filipino community in Montreal.

“I’m so proud to see our young people taking a more active role in Canadian society,” says Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, and one of the keynote speakers for the conference. “So many of our youth are suffering, but so many more are starting to stand up and demand recognition.”

So far, many Filipino youth are eager to participate and the Filipino students of McGill University are no exception. Frances Bruno, co-president of the McGill University Filipino and Asian Students Association (MUFASA) says, “The members of MUFASA are eager to meet and learn alongside the Filipino students of Concordia, as well as with all other Filipinos around Montreal.”

As a daughter of OFWs, and a so-called “first generation” Filipino youth, Frances’ experiences are not uncommon: “Having to learn a completely novel language and adapting to a different culture was initially a challenge for me in terms of finding and embracing my identity at the age of 9, but ultimately helped me to realize that acknowledging your roots is all you need no matter where you are in the world.”

The conference will take a unique dynamic approach, bringing in speakers from community organizations as well as academic researchers. It will also feature an encore presentation of “Pinoyville: CDN”, a play first presented by the Kapit Bisig Centre in November 2008, as well as a photo exhibit by high school-aged Filipino youth, reflecting their experiences in Montreal.
“This conference is a continued assertion that the Filipino community in Montreal is growing stronger and more united,” says Joanne Vasquez, chair of the Philippine Women Centre of Quebec. “With over 60% of all Filipinos living in Cote-des-Neiges, this is our ‘Pinoyville’. Even if you didn’t grow up in this neighbourhood, all Filipinos have meaningful experiences here, even if it is simply about being among people who look like you.”

Ugat : Sharing our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding Our Roots (A Filipino Youth Intercollegiate and Community Conference) is set to take place May 22-24, 2009, at the Ampitheatre of the Jewish General Hospital Institute for Community and Family Psychiatry (ICFP), 4333 Cote-Ste-Catherine. For more information, or to volunteer, email Julie Nieto or Josie Caro at kabataangmontreal@gmail.com.

-- Kabataang MontrealMember Organization of Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance
E-mail: kabataangmontreal@gmail.com
Tel: (514) 678-3901

Ugat: Sharing our Stories

2009-03-11T10:47:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the 'Ugat: Sharing Our Pinoyville Stories, Understanding our Roots' conference website! The conference will be geared towards Filipino youth of Montreal to explore our history and discuss issues in our community.

The conference will be taking place at Jewish General Hospital's Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry Ampitheatre (4333 Côte Ste. Catherine) from May 22-24th, 2009. We will continue to post updates, as well as resources and interviews with the organizers in preparation for the event.

For now feel free to visit these interesting sites:

Kabataang Montreal and the Philippine Women Centre of Quebec will be organizing the event.

And if you want to know more about is, the bloggers for this site are:

Steph
Rob