Our NetMission Ambassador Jenna Fung (Class 2017-2018) and Hong Kong Youth IGF 2018 representatives Faith Lee and Angel Ng have attended the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Paris 2018 at UNESCO building from 12-14 December which marked our last event of 2018. Although it was a shorter IGF, consisting of 3 main conference days as opposed to the usual 5-day meeting, the takeaways are no lesser. This year the IGF was opened at a high with French President Macron delivering a 20-min long opening remark. While people may not always share the same viewpoints as him, his presence certainly made a strong note on the significance of IGF. As a first-timer of the IGF with an keen interest on refugee rights advocacy, Faith personally feels very encouraged by the commitment from the multi-stakeholders to take action on building digital skills of refugees at one of the related workshops that she attended. While digital skills are undeniably important nowadays, Angel echoed further on the Workshop #355 panel that achieving youth digital mobility will help eliminate disparity and develop global citizenship, and work towards global problems. Last but not least, we are motivated to hear from Jenna at the IGF closing plenary that this conference journey ignited further her sense of mission to continue speaking up for youth in Asia Pacific. Take a look at our ambassadors’ blog posts at http://www.netmission.asia/category/blog/.
Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome 30 new students onboard the NetMission 2019 family! Hailing from 16 economies including Australia, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and even a Malian student currently studying in China, we have high hopes for our new cohort! Their training will span across Jan and Feb before they roll-up their sleeves and get busy in our community work.
This.Is.Asia Newsletter Issues
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Tommy Ho
Asian American heritage is about inclusion. It’s a description that cuts a wide cloth across a vast array of cultures and peoples, and it’s important to celebrate the similarities and differences. I see that diversity represented within GoDaddy’s Employee Resource Group (ERG), and GoDaddy Asians are growing. Especially during these unpredictable times, our sense of belonging that we feel through our groups help to boost mental and physical health.
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Jacqueline Daly
To me, AAPI Heritage Month is a great time to reflect and celebrate my Asian heritage and all the family traditions that have made my life so culturally rich. I am very proud to be an Asian American. I think this is a great opportunity for communities to come together and learn about our diverse stories through a more inclusive lens.
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Mou Mukherjee
In some ways, I abandoned my culture when I was young because I was trying so hard to fit in. My parents were, and still is very cultural. Growing up, there was always Indian music playing, our house was full of Bengali literature, my Dad’s hero was poet Rabindranath Tagore, and he also loved the films of Satyajit Ray. I was surrounded by culture and yet I couldn’t fully embrace it at the time.
AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Zhou Fang
I am an immigrant from Guilin, China. In 2010, I moved to the U.S. for grad school. After graduating from Kansas State University (Go Cats!) I moved to Oregon and have been living in Portland for the last 9 years.