FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:       Contact: Mable Kong
Monday, July 27, 2009                  202-727-3120

WASHINGTON, DC – On July 20, 2009, the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA), together with South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), both recipients of the FY09 OAPIA “Community Grant”, celebrated the results of the South Asian Community Empowerment (SACE) project. The project is part of OAPIA’s ongoing ‘Emerging Communities’ effort in the South Asian community.  The project focuses on collecting information about the demographics, concerns, and trends of the South Asian community in DC.

The briefing highlighted key components of the project: the implementation of a needs assessment, focus groups, and interviews that culminated in a report entitled Washington DeSi: South Asians in the Nation’s Capital. The online version of the project can be found at www.apia.dc.gov under Online Resource Library, and on SAALTs homepage.

“OAPIA believes this report is a valuable resource and first step in identifying the unique needs of the South Asian community in DC”, explained Soohyun Koo.  “OAPIA is excited to have partners like SAALT and APALRC work on this project."

The report is intended to be used by community leaders and organizations, government officials, funders and all those interested in working with all communities in the District of Columbia.

For more information on this report or other programs at OAPIA, please contact the office at oapia@dc.gov or 202-727-3120.