Asians & the Media: Trends, Public Portrayal, and Concerns – Part 1, Slanted Screen  (9:00am) A screening discussion of the documentary film, Slanted Screen.  Through film clips and interviews, the film follows the roles of Asian men from silent film to Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle. The winner of the Best Short Documentary award at the NY International Independent Film & Video film festival, the film explores how Hollywood’s portrayal of Asian men has influenced perceptions and social realities of Asian Americans.

Film:  Slanted Screen

Asians & the Media:  Trends, Public Portrayal, and Concerns - Part II (10:30am) This workshop will feature a panel discussion of the roles and public portrayal of Asians and Asian Americans in various forms of media (i.e. television, movies, magazines, news stories, radio). The panel will discuss trends, observations and concerns and will examine the ramifications on society and specifically, the Asian American population.

Panelists:  Scott Iwasaki, Dance/Music Editor for Deseret News, Joey Miyashima, Television & Film Actor, Professor Haruko Moriyasu, Director of the Asian Pacific American Studies Program, Ethnic Studies Program at the University of Utah, Sandra Yi, Television Reporter, KSL 5 Eyewitness News

Moderator:  Sandra Kikuchi, Adjunct Professor, Salt Lake Community College

Civic Engagement and Personal Responsibility: Improving Communities through Individual and Organizational Efforts. Have you wondered how you could become an agent for change? Make a difference? Improve your community one step at a time? Through examples of personal journeys, discussion and Q & A with a panel of experts, participants will focus on tools for activism in their neighborhoods and engagement in tackling simple and complex social issues within their communities.  

Panelists:  Councilman Randy Horiuchi, Salt Lake County Council, Eunice Jones, Ex-Officio of the Utah Asian Chamber of Commerce, Judge Michael Kwan, Taylorsville City, and Chieko Okazaki, author and former First Counselor to the General Relief Society President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Moderator:  Deputy Mayor Karen Okabe, Salt Lake County

Preserving Family Histories (9:00 am, 10:30 am) Preserving a family story is important for personal as well as historical reasons. Of particular importance is the history of those who went though the trials of WWII and whose stories will be lost unless they are permanently archived.  Tom Ikeda, Executive Director of Densho will present examples of video histories recorded in Utah and offer suggestions on how participants can record their own family histories.  The Densho.org website has over 250 JA video interviews along with photographs, documents, Internment camp newspapers and educational materials about the history of Japanese Americans.

Presenter:  Tom Ikeda, Executive Director of Densho

Live Healthy: Living Longer, Staying Well and Being Aware of Health Issues that affect Asian Americans: Today there are more of us living longer than at any other time in history and we want these extra years to be healthy ones. Prevention works! Do all that you can to live well, stay healthy and prevent problems before they occur. Start investing in your health today by learning from our panel of experts regarding health conditions Asian Americans are at most risk for, and get tips on healthy lifestyle habits.

Money Matters: Save, Invest and Manage Your Money Better (9:00 am) Are we harnessing our financial power with adequate knowledge and tools?   Come prepared to learn about budgeting, credit, saving, investing and planning for the future.  Topics for discussion include: the current economic outlook and mortgage crisis; budgeting and saving; how to prepare for retirement; and life Insurance & long term care insurance.

Panelists: James Aoki – Board Chair, National JACL Credit Union & Financial Advisor, H&R Block Financial; Lekeshia Frasure – Community Affairs Specialist, FDIC; Kelly Matthews - Executive VP, Wells Fargo; John Seaman – Senior VP, Zions Bank

What Good Credit can do for You and Other Cost Saving Ideas (10:30 am)  Come learn about why good credit scores are important and how credit ratings can affect job applications; managing risks, such as identity theft and debt; as well as tips on saving.

Presenter: Leslie Moe-Kaiser - Corporate Relations Manager-Asian Pacific Islander American Communities, State Farm Insurance

Diversity within the Nikkei Community (10:30 am)
America has historically been a place of great diversity, where many races and cultures come together to make a united whole. As we look around the conference, we realize that the Nikkei community is a microcosm of this American phenomenon. The workshops will be in an interactive format, let by a panel, where participants are free to discuss what it's like to be yonsei, hapa, quapa, a recent immigrant and everything in between. All are welcome to speak and listen about embracing diversity within the JA community.

Presenters:  Dana Nakano, doctoral student in Sociology, University of California, Irvine, Tricia Sugiyama, Asian American Student Coordinator and Asian American Student Association Advisor in Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, University of Utah.
Panelists:  Sanobi Johnson, Ray Nishikawa, Professor Wesley Sasaki-Uemura, Marc Stillman, Meilee Wong

Moderator:  Dr. Linda Oda

Political Issues in the Real World: How Washington is Relevant on the Home Front (9:00 am) When our lawmakers go to work in Washington, D.C., are they listening to our community?  Focusing on current and recent issues on Capitol Hill, including the Digital Television (DTV) Transition, which will go into effect next year on February 17, 2009, and Public Law 109-441 and the preservation of Japanese American internment sites – come learn about how legislation can affect the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.  Participants will learn how to link their interest in social issues within their communities to national issues through participatory efforts, such as Asian American voter registration and advocacy. 

Moderator: Debee Yamamoto – Policy Director, JACL

Panelists: Lyle Ishida – Senior Outreach Specialist, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Federal Communications Commission; Tim Koide – Membership Coordinator – JACL; Eli Lee – Executive Director, Center for Civic Policy & Board Member, APIAVote; Kara Miyagishima - Historian, Intermountain Region,  National Park Service

Getting the Most Out of Your Medicare (9:00 am & 10:30 am) Each year Medicare plans can make changes to their coverage, benefits, and costs, which is why people with Medicare should review their current health and prescription drug coverage every fall, so they can get the most out of their Medicare. This on-line training is easy to understand and well worth your time – demonstrating how to find plans that cover the drugs you need in your area. Come learn how to compare costs and enroll in the appropriate plan(s) (health and/or drug plan). You can save money every year by what you learn through this presentation. This training is designed for people with Medicare and those who assist them with their Medicare decisions.

Presenter: Anne Avery – Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Coordinator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Are You The Next Apple.Com? (9:00 am) Learn how to start your own business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is here to help you through the process. Learn about SBA programs and services and hear from local business owners on how they started their business.

Panelists:  Lynne Aoyama – Business Owner, House of Bread, Tyler Kaneko – Business Owner, Thomas Lee – Business Owner.

Moderators:  Georgia Yoshida - Public Information Officer and SCORE Liaison for SBA , District of Utah, Suzan Yoshimura - 8(a) Program Management and Faith Based & Community Initiative Coordinator, SBA, District of Utah

Awareness Now!  An Introduction to Significant API Youth Issues (9:00 am) Although political issues may seem a world away, many of the decisions made on these issues are very relevant to youth, and your advocacy can make a difference. This workshop will be an introduction to a few pertinent issues to the API youth of today, focusing on civil rights and health topics.  A roundtable discussion of these topics will follow.

Presenters:  Amy Munemoto, Stephanie Nitahara

Who Said JACL Can't be for High Schoolers? (10:30 am)
Have you ever felt out of place at a JACL event like you don't quite fit in, or don't know what you can do to get more involved?  Do you have questions about JACL that you have never felt comfortable asking to adults or in big crowds? Do you want to give back to your JACL community? This workshop will provide an opportunity for youth to have an open discussion amongst their peers about their experiences as a young JACLer.  High school mentees will be paired up with young adult mentors, and will be given time to get to know each other and share ideas, thoughts and questions.

Presenters:  Blake Honda, Kim Shintaku