General USA

Attend the VAN and Vietnamese Camp joint conference!

August 9-12th, 2007 at Snow Mountain Ranch in Colorado (outside of Winter Park)

Since 2001, VAN has held a conference every other year to connect Vietnamese adoptees from around the world together. This year, 2007, the VAN conference is going to be a special and inaugural event. This year, VAN is partnering with the Colorado Vietnamese Heritage Camp for our bi-annual conference. For more info see www.van-online.org now!

International Adoptee Congress

(IAC), an organization made up of 75internationally adopted persons from various ethnic and geographic backgrounds, will meet in annually.

“For too long,” says Bert Ballard, IAC Past President and co-founder of the Vietnamese Adoptee Network (VAN), “international adoptees in the United States have been reactionary. Now, though, the IAC will offer international adoptees an opportunity to establish their presence, one that will set the tone for dialogue with agencies, adoptive parents, and each other.”

For more information please contact Kelly Brownlee at 206-818-1625.

www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/6/emw393387.htm

Boston

Greetings all. Diane Tavitian and Mai Dewees and other supporters have been talking a lot since the conference in April and we have begun a group called Mosaic. It is a once a month meeting for adult adoptees to talk about issues that are important to them. We meet every 3rd Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is the 21st at 6:00 at MIT in Building 4 room 146. The meeting will be facilitated by Mai Linh Dewees. It doesn’t matter where you were adopted from- it is our hope to be as inclusive as possible and invite all adult adoptees.

Boston Photo Exhibit by Adoptee

Anh Dao Kolbe, VN adoptee Photographer of Misplaced Baggage, has put many of her works on virtual exhibition – you can see some by visiting:

www.adkfoto.com

Colorado

Vietnamese Heritage camp

Vietnamese Heritage camp here in Colorado that is set for August 9-12, 2007. This year will be an event rather than just a camp. We are excited and honored to be joined by the Vietnamese Adoptee Network for this year. Not only will VHC be filled with fun and education for the kids about their heritage, but they will have a chance to interact with adult adoptees, many of whom were a part of Operation Baby Lift.

If you would like more information regarding this year’s event please visit the Colorado Heritage Camps’ website and click through to the Vietnamese Heritage Camp. www.heritagecamps.org

Hope to see you there….
Kathie Scrimgeour
Co-Director, VHC

LA

PHOTOGRAPHY – Kate Hers, adoptee

Announcement: MFA2 opening on Feb. 22, 2007 please come out for food, refreshments and art! let me know if you would like to taken off the estherka mailing list. thanks,

kate hers
web.mac.com/estherka

New York

Lana Noone will present a Vietnam Babylift 30th Anniversary Program at Farmingdale State University, Farmingdale, New York, in conjunction with the University’s Distinguished Speaker Series.

Please contact Lana@Vietnambabylift.org  for complete details and travel information.

Pittsburgh

11 – 14 October – Encountering New Worlds of Adoption Conference

www.english.pitt.edu/events/adoptionandculture/

Saturday 13 October Session – [Paper presentations] Session 12.3 Internationally Adoptive Parents
3:15 – 4:45
Cathedral of Learning Room 349
Chair: Nancy McCabe, English, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

Kristine Freeark, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, “Make Room for Daddy: The Impact of Father Involvement on the Adoption Dialogue in Transnationally Adoptive Families” (written with Katherine Rosenblum)

Mitch Levenberg, English, St. Francis College and New York University, Excerpts from a memoir about adopting in China

Chris Winston, Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network, “Adoptive Parents, Race, and Children’s Ethnic Communities”

Indigo WIlliams Willing, Social Science, University of Queensland, “New Global Families: Celebrity Adopters to ‘Ordinary’ Australian Adoptive Parents”

Washington DC

Washington DC Visit

Dates: Arrive 14 October at 3.25pm and fly out 5.25pm on 16 October
Adoption Ethics and Accountability Conference,
Location and accomodation: Marriott Crystal Gateway, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington , VA
Hotel phone: 703-920-3230 (room booked under name Linh Song)

www.ethicsconference.net

Involved in Monday 15th Session – WORKSHOP 2.5

Supporting Adopted Children after Adoption: What are Their Post-placement Needs?

Carrie Kent
Joyce Maguire Pavao
Debbie Riley
Indigo Willing

For adoptee event / meet up on the eve of 14 Oct please email Ev at: ilovecatsanddogs@gmail.com

ICASN are hoping to send adult adoptees to assist The Post Adoptive Resources Centre (PARC) with their popular ‘talking about racism and cultural heritage’ talks for adoptive parents.

PARC’s Thea Ormond has details for upcoming events at email: theao@parc.bensoc.org.au

28 – 30 June 2007 – CONFERENCE

Anyone want to go to the Asian Australian Identities 2 Conference as audience (paper submission deadline closed) – speaker line up includes Khoa Do, William Yang, Tony Ayeres and much more!

Early bird rates close 25 April COB. Good one day rates for concession only $77. To register visit www.asianaustralianstudies.org

Please contact indigo if you think you might like to go or meet up during this time.

Thurdsay 28th June

AVI and ICASN members and partners based in Melbourne or visiting the area are also welcome to a casual meet up dinner.

Date : Thurdsay 28th June
Time : 8pm
Venue : Tran Tran Restaurant
Address : 74 Victoria Street Richmond Melb.
Contacts: Sofie on theloneeskimo@yahoo.com or Simon on keoghsimon@hotmail.com

VIC ICASN Socials – Regular

For teens you can also participate in the ICATZ network – an offshoot of ICASN for teens by emailing the teen leader Angela at: platt@ozemail.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY by Mandy Everton: 16th Feb to 17th March 2007

Mandy Everton here… Vietnamese adoptee living in Melbourne. Thought I’d let you know of a photography exhibition thats about to be in Brisbane that you or other interested people in Brissy (like IAFQ members) might be interested in seeing.

My sister Samantha Everton is a digital photography artist and last year won Australian Fifth Leica Documentary Photographer of the Year award. Her series of photos were in intercountry adoption and capture the images of a family living here in Melbourne who have a Chinese adopted daughter.

Details of exhibition:

The fifth Leica CCP Documentary Photography Award Winner Samantha Everton with her Intercountry adoption series. Logan Art Gallery (Located on the corner of Wembley Road and Jacaranda Avenue, Logan Central).

The Outstanding Play

Script by adopted Vietnamese and playwright Dominic Golding is now available.

SHRIMP

Based on an adopted Vietnamese’s journey to Vietnam. Get a copy of: media_shrimp_singlepage.pdf (197 KB)

Review from the Age: www.melbournestage.com.au/ms1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=681
and from Vibewire: www.vibewire.net/2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10488&Itemid=69

NOTE: that Dominic Golding is now in Vietnam – if you would like to contact him while you are travelling there email:
dominicgolding@hotmail.com

General Asia Related Events

For general non-adoptee but exciting events relating to Asia and Asia Australia please visit Asialink’s website www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au or email to events@asialink.unimelb.edu.au or call Asialink on (03) 8344 4800 to find out how to become a member and receive their events mailing list.

AVI has participated in some of the following events and remains dedicated to fostering spaces for adopted people’s voices to be heard and explored.

QLD Multicultural Summit – October 2007

Ilan and Indigo (from Taiwan and Vietnam) attended the above event and gala dinner. Networking with groups from various multicultural NGOs, migrant community groups and mental health centres were achieved. Highlights included meeting key note speaker Jason Yi Satyen. Indigo’s attendence was kindly sponsored by the Ethnic Communities Council of QLD.

Babylift and Other Adoptee meeting September 2007

There are many people involved with adoption from Vietnam now residing in QLD including Babylift flight crew John Douglas, Ian Frame and Graham Stehn and a group of wonderful adopted Vietnamese. Informal plans are now on for a picnic sometime in the new year. To register interest email:

adoptedvietnamese@hotmail.com

Qld ICASN Socials – Regular

AVI and ICASN worked closely together to introduce and maintain networks with adoptees for various ICASN social, education and other projects throughout 2007.

Sunday 29 July

International Day (see archive below) is coming around again and members of AVI and ICASN will be holding an info stall plus other activities on the day. To get involved with either the organising committee or to just meet up on the day please email: i.willing@uq.edu.au

Sunday 25 July

Indigo Willing arranged for an AVI group trip to see Miss Saigon in Brisbane’s QPAC, courtesty of JP Productions. Attendees included Lee Trigg, Jen Fitzpatrick and their partners and friends including ICASN member Anna Davison, Jigsaw members and Debra Cooper from QLD State Library Multicultural Services.

Saturday 16 June to Monday 18 June

Dominic Golding, Vietnamese adoptee and author/performer of the screenplay Shrimp is coming to visit Brisbane on the above dates. There will be a dinner for him with AVI and ICASN members on Sunday 17 – to rsvp email: i.willing@uq.edu.au

28th May till Fri. 1st June

Jamie Fry, Vietnamese adoptee and member of East Meets West visited QLD for a meet up.

Friday 18 May 2007

UQ Asian-Australian Short Film Festival & Panel Discussions – Held during Diversity Week

11am to 4pm – Free One Day Event at Duhig SSH Library Conference Room, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane University of Queensland – Convenor was Indigo Willing

FIlms include:
FIsh Sauce Breath – 6mins (Eng & Viet language), Delivery Day – 30 mins (Eng & Viet language), Karaoke King – 10 mins (Eng & Catonese language), Chinese Take Away – 50 mins (Eng & Cantonese language), Pho Now! – 10 mins (Eng language),

Plus a special screening of The Girl in the Mirror (Eng language) – a documentary on transnational adoption.

Speakers include:

Anna Yen – Performer, Writer, Lecturer; Jacqueline Lo – Chair, Asian Australian Studies Research Network & Lecturer, ANU; David Ip – Associate Prof. Sociology at UQ; Benjamin Law – Screen writer, journalist and doctoral candidate at QUT; Alan Han – Writer, activist and doctoral candidate at UQ; Benjamin Cho – Film critic and Committee member of BIFF.

For a booklet from the event email to Indigo (VN adoptee): i.willing@uq.edu.au

FREE exhibition bringing together the history of Operation Babylift and Vietnamese Refugees

Water, trees, and roots: stories from the Queensland Vietnamese community

Launch was Saturday, May 12. Featured AVI member Jen Fitzpatrick of Operation Babylift.
General exhibit was held May 11 – July 11

The Studio, level 1, State Library of Queensland (Cultural Centre, Stanley Place, South Bank)

Ongoing – IAFQ Info Days 2007 – 2008

Adult adoptee special Q and A sessions are held for prospective adoptive parents by the IAFQ (Intercountry Adoptive Families of QLD) for their info days, usually held at the Italio-Australian club at Newmarket. For directions and how to attend a future event contact the organiser, Clarissa via the IAFQ at: clarry_david@optusnet.com.au

Previous sessions have featured: Vietnamese adoptees, Jen Fitzpatrick – adoption professional and B.Social Work and Indigo Willing, PhD Student, Sociology plus other adult and teen adoptees such as Anna, Zewdituand Joel. Chaired by adoptive parent and PhD student, Psychology, Leith Harding.

8th July 2006 – ASIA AUSTRALIA MEET UP

West End Three Monkey’s Cafe at 2pm – A meet up with the intercountry adoptees, adopted Vietnamese and Asian Australian egroup for casual chats. For more info on the next one email indigo@adoptedvietnamese.org

Christmas dinner for Vietnamese Refugees and the Adopted Vietnamese, Family and Friends

Saturday 3rd December at King of Kings Restaurant, Fortitude Valley. Time: 6.30pm. For more info please email Indigo indigo@adoptedvietnamese.org

Special Reunion Event for Vietnamese Refugees and Adopted Vietnamese

Sat 14 August – a special reunion dinner organised by the Chair of the Organising Committee, Mr Trung Viet Nguyen, and hosted by the Governor of Queensland, Quentin Bryce, AC was held at King of Kings Restaurant. Ms Indigo Willing (1972) and Ms Jen Fitzpatrick (Babylift 75) were invited to present speeches on the evening to talk about the adopted Vietnamese perspective. Other adoptees present were Glen Kelly and Jaye Bradley – plus John Douglas who was one of the flight crew who went to collect Operation Babylift children in 1975.

Also, photos of Operation Babylift and QLD adopted Vietnamese were part of a special powerpoint presentation. Trung Nguyen and the organising committee for the 30 Year Reunion and Celebration week of VN Resettlement invited Indigo and Jen to attend a reception of the Lord Mayor Campell Newman on Thursday 11 August, and the opening of the Vietnamese Women’s Association Queensland Office on Sat 13 August.

Heart of Stone

New book launch by Hoa Stone released 2007.

Thursday, May 17th, 2007.
6.00 – 7:30pm
at the South Australian Baptist
Union Centre, 35 – 39 King William
Road, Unley For more info email: sabu@sabu.com.au

Moving Cultures Conference

Panel session: Overseas Adoptions and Australian Post-traditional Kinship: Transnationals, Diasporas and Cosmopolitanisms at

Moving Cultures, Shifting Identities: a conference about migration, connection, heritage and cultural memory. Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia. 3 – 5 December 2007

“Transnational adoption in Australia, and throughout most of the Western world, almost always involves incoming Asian, African, Eastern European and South American born children joining local parents with contrasting, and predominantly White ethnic backgrounds. Adopted Indigenous Australian children are also sometimes a feature of these multi-racial families. Meta-narratives of this trend tend to divide issues into questions of salvation or colonialism. The recent wave of celebrities adopting children from overseas, which has drawn considerable public attention to, and debate over the politics of such differences, also perpetuates such representations.

These panel sessions (more than one may be required to accommodate all speakers) aim to move beyond the spotlight in order to gain a deeper insight into how ordinary adoptive parents and adoptees in Australia negotiate and represent the new global mobility and inter-ethnic circumstances forming their post-traditional families and identities. A number of the panelists themselves represent a combination of these biographies, enriching the field with sharp, fresh perspectives and innovative methodologies. Papers employ a range of theoretical lenses to foreground the social, cultural and psychological dimensions of this complex, intentionally intimate yet publicly visible and global form of migration. While the construction of cultural and racial identities in adoption remains a central theme, it is hoped that insights from the discussion can also contribute to wider research on the discourses and other processes that enable, complicate and/or contradict notions of openness, belonging and boundary management in contemporary Australian families and society.”

With Kim Gray, Trudy Rosenwald, Tricia Fronek, Jessica Walton and Indigo Williams Willing. Session date tba. A social will also be held for adoptees during this time, for more info email: i.willing@uq.edu.au

fhrc.flinders.edu.au/events/movingcultures.html

East Meets West is now holding Social nights for Inter-country Adoptees

Anyone who may be interested please contact:
Tracey Gilbert
East Meets West
Phone/Fax: 08 8132 1570
info@eastmeetswest.org.au
www.eastmeetswest.org

Adopted Vietnamese International’s (AVI) and the general adult adoptees again participated in International Day (ID) at Logan, QLD – organised by the Intercountry Adoptive Families of Queensland (IAFQ) on Sunday 30th July, 2006. ID brings together families who have adopted from overseas in order to pay respect to their birth heritage and to do fund raising for projects (orphanages, development grants for siblings etc) in their birth countries.

An adult adoptee table was co-organised by Indigo (adopted from VN) and Anna (adopted from Hong Kong) who were support members of the ID Committee. This more casual approach than last year (when we did Q and A seminar sessions) made heaps of good info made available to

parents and younger adoptees.The flyers included ones for the AVI which brings people’s attention to the important educational and support role Vietnamese adoptees can play in transnational adoptions today. Other flyers included ones for Intercountry Adoptee Support Network (ICASN), Korean Adoptees

Worldwide – (KAW) and the Post Adoptive Resources Centre (PARC).

A few very good books were also on display on this table – Cultures of Transnational Adoption edited by Toby Volkman (later donated by AVI to the IAFQ library), The Colour of DIfference edited by Sarah Armstrong and Pertina Slaytor – and featuring the contributions of VN adoptees including Lynelle Beveridge and Analee Matthews, and Adoptive Parenting, Creating A Tool Box edited by Sheena Macrae and Jean McLeod (see attachment).

The adult adoptee volunteers were Anna, Jen (adopted from VN on babylift) and Ilan (adopted from Taiwan). Suanne, a babylift

Vietnamese adoptee from Adelaide, also came up to join us. Her visit was a real highlight. Another highlight was that Mr Trung Nguyen, a senior and well respected member of the Vietnamese community who regularly invites AVI members to joint projects and events with the Vietnamese community in QLD, also came along to show his support.

Anna and Indigo were also there to greet the Minister for The Department of Child Safety (which is responsible for intercountry adoptions) on his arrival to the festival, and Indigo was kindly asked by the ID committee) to do an impromptu presention to the official guests of the festival, Pam and Darryl Smith (the founders of IAFQ). Thus, overall, the adult adoptees are being appreciated for their views and taken very seriously in their expanded capacity to offer a good line of education to the newer adoptive families and a line of support to younger adoptees.

Everyone got to debrief and have a nice chat at a cafe afterwards, and then Suanne and Jen and Anna later joined Trung Nguyen and the Vietnamese community at a fundraiser at a Buddhist Temple (Indigo had to go home to look after her son who had a cold). Thanks to everyone involved for your leadership and generosity. Please email Indigo if you would like to be involved with next year’s event.

Ongoing research on transnational adoption and sharing issues for discussion through producing publictions, the new focus being on Brisbane and Australian families. This year also co-organising an adult adoptee information table at the annual International Day Festival for adoptive families at the Logan Entertainment Centre. A QLD social will coincide. Other activities include doing a Q and A session for prospective adoptive parents for the Intercountry Adoptive Families of Queensland (IAFQ), drawing attention to the adopted Vietnamese history in Australia via a film review of Dai Le’s film Operation Babylift for an anthropology journal. Also a joint adult adoptee – general members meet up at the inaugural Asian Australian Brisbane membership social. Bigger projects in the future – putting in place a short film festival on Asian cinema.

A range of activities that commemorated this event can be found on the 30th Anniversary (2005) AVI page.

OTHER events and activities included research on adoption and sharing issues for discussion through producing publictions, plus organising an adoptee Q and A panel for adoptive parents at at the International Day Festival for adoptive families at the Logan Entertainment Centre, participating in an adult adoptee talk for the Taiwan adoptive parents group in QLD, the 30th anniversary of Vietnamese resettlement in Australia bridging activities for adoptees and refugees, the How to Be Strayan panel featuring Vietnamese adoptee and others for the Brisbane Ideas Festival and a presentation to Hon. Mike Reynolds, Minister for Child Safety, QLD.

Events and other included research on adoption and sharing issues for discussion through producing publictions, plus a social and conference visit (to present paper on new identities and Vietnamese adoptees) to Melbourne…plus the South Australian meet up at the conference below.

The paper ‘White Families, Vietnamese Voices?’ by I Williams from AVI about the Vietnamese community was presented, plus papers by VN adoptees Analee Matthews on returning to the homeland and Veronica Stanley on personal identity will also be presented at The 8th Australian Conference on Adoption being held in Adelaide, April 2004. Contact Plevin and Associates Pty Ltd PO Box 54 BURNSIDE 5066 South Australia, Tel +61 8 8379 8222 Fax +61 8 8379 8177 events@plevin.com.au for more details.

Events included… The Post Adoptive Resources Centre in NSW will be presenting more anti-racism workshops for adoptive parents and featuring adult international adoptee speakers from Vietnam and other overeseas countries. The first one will be held in Bulli in March. For more info contact theao@bensoc.org.au

ICASN next social for inter-country adoptees will be March 7, 2004 at 11am in the Botanical Gardens. Contact Analee for more details at: analee.matthews@fitnessnetwork.com.au

(Archive)

December 2003 Quick Update:

Planning Committee needed for Catalyst Event Boston

October/November 2003 Quick update:

Radio Interview on SBS Australia radio with VN adoptees
New Publication about Vietnamese Diaspora
Peace on Planet Earth – New book for Children
Call for submissions: New anthology of trans-racial adoptee writers
International Events

August/September 2003 Quick update:

New Books on Adoption – Jane Jeong Trenka and Lana Noone:
International Events

June/July 2003 Quick update:

Adoption Documentary new project US/Vietnam
Host an Exchange Student from Vietnam
Vietnam Adoptions Update
International Events

May 2003 Quick update:

Book
Mam Non Picnic day
Asia Writers Network and Music CD Launch

April 2003 Quick update:

SARS Warning
Vietnamese Mother Found
International Events

March 2003 Links to stories:

Vietnamese In Hindsight? The Construction of Adopted Vietnamese Identity and Place In the Diaspora
VN Adoption Film Screening
Visiting Vietnam for Tet
International Events
Last call for Volunteers to be interviewed for research project
Documentaries in Production
Recent Documentaries

Events included….On 25 November Melbourne VN adoptees Jen, Emma and Zion were interviewed along with Indigo from AVI by Natasha Cuculovski (2003) for SBS Radio17 November.

Download Interview: 203.15.102.140/elg/f26139004.mp3

(SYDNEY, MELBOURNE) Australia-Asia New Leaders Program 2003 Information Sessions – Thursday 24 and Tuesday 29 October

Are you committed to building a prosperous and peaceful future for Australia in the Asian region? Are you an emerging leader with relevant work experience and a belief that you can make a difference?

The Australia-Asia New Leaders Program will develop your leadership skills while building high-level Asian knowledge and networks.

The program is an initiative of Asialink at the University of Melbourne in partnership with the National Institute for Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University and will operate in Melbourne and Sydney in 2003.

Information sessions:

SYDNEY- Thursday 24 October 2002, 6 pm – 7.30 pm, Minter Ellison, Level 19, 88 Phillip St, Sydney

MELBOURNE – Tuesday 29 October, 6pm – 7.30 pm, Freehills, Level 42, 101 Collins St, Melbourne

Bookings are essential. Please RSVP to Bernadine Fernandez at Asialink by phone: 03 8344 3574 or email: b.fernandez@asialink.unimelb.edu.au

The closing date for applications is 22 November 2002. For further information about the program contact Justin Kennedy at Asialink by phone: 03 8344 3583, email: j.kennedy@asialink.unimelb.edu.au, or visit the Asialink website: www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au/cpp/leadership/index.html

Many excellent local musicians and Vietnamese Australian comedian Hung Le are getting together to provide a full afternoon of entertainment at Henson Park in Marrickville, Sydney Australia. The aims are to raise awareness and to fundraise, including to Refugee Action Coalition and welfare organisations. From 12 noon till 7pm. No alcohol and all ages. Website under constructions – for info see www.zeronet.com.au/r4r. Tickets just $12 and available from next week.

The Post Adoptive Resources Centre are inviting adoptive parents (and potential) to join their staff, government people and adult adoptees for an evening of ‘talking about racism’ – how to help your child cope and celebrate their cultural diversity. Hope to see you there.