Being Here Differently: South Asian Youth Voices

Public Forum: Surrey Centre Library, Ambedkar Room: # 418, 10350 University Drive, Surrey, June 24, 2017, 2 PM – 5 PM

Despite many differences the South Asian community shares several concerns. First generation immigrants maintain their link with their homeland, often engaging passionately with issues there, struggling to preserve the old culture in the new land, even as they establish themselves here and fight for their recognition and rights. The generation born here have a very different experience. This is their homeland and yet they are always different: they are different both at home, where they bring the new culture and its concerns into a space that doesn’t quite understand them and outside, where their difference of origin is almost always an issue.

How is this difference experienced? What strategies do youth use to deal with the tensions they must cope with? What are the problems they share as South Asian youth? How do their concerns differ from the concerns of the older generation? These are some of the questions that will be explored by a panel of South Asian youth. The goal is to understand what engages South Asian youth and how to build a bridge to communication.

Panel: Safder Raza, Sejal Lal, Jovian Radheswar, Samia Khan, Anna Makhdoom
Moderator: Zahid Makhdoom

Music: Jovian Radheswar and Sejal Lal

Refreshments will be served.