Loading ...First Arab American Summit to convene nation's foremost leaders, activists, students
A powerful two-day convening with forums, workshops and more
DEARBON, Mich.— The Arab American Summit, the first of what will become a biennial conference on Arab American issues, hosted by the National Network for Arab American Communities’ (NNAAC)—a program of ACCESS—will convene leaders, advocates, students and allies from across the country this weekend, Nov. 7 and 8, 2015.
This year’s theme, From Marginalized to Organized, evokes the incredible journey of the Arab American community. NNAAC will honor the amazing work that has been done to build community strength, while working together to advance an agenda for social justice and community change. This unique Summit will feature forums on civil rights for Arab and Muslim Americans; refugee issues and services; workshops on effective advocacy and activism, nonprofit management, leadership development, and much more.
Outstanding local, national and international speakers and experts will present on various hot button topics, which will provide for both an informative and exciting two-day experience. Summit participants ranging from students to professionals; organizational leaders to community members; and advocates to allies, will leave feeling empowered and informed.
“The Arab American Summit is the first of its kind, and will bring together the nation’s foremost leaders, advocates, activists and students to discuss some of the most pressing issues that we are currently facing, strategize with one another on moving forward, strengthen our skills, and forge new friendships and alliances,” said Nadia Tonova, Director of NNAAC. “ Throughout the weekend, we’ll celebrate how far we’ve come on this journey, and discuss what we still need to do to ensure that we, as Arab Americans, are organized and unified to address today’s challenges—whether it’s within community organizations, providing adequate social services to our community, or fighting back against bigotry and discrimination.”
The Summit’s Change Makers Dinner, a special evening reception scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, will offer Summit attendees and community members an opportunity to network and dine with prominent leaders and trailblazers. During this event, NNAAC will honor three distinguished individuals, including Foreign Correspondent for NBC News and Anchor for MSNBC Ayman Mohyeldin, who will receive the Breakthrough Award; Executive Director of the grassroots nonprofit Organizing for Action (OFA) Sara El-Amine, who will receive the Emerging Leader Award; and Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Yemen American Benevolent Association (YABA) Ali Baleed Almaklani, who will receive the Spirit of Service Award.
This Summit is markedly different from others, as it brings together leaders from across the country to work on a collective agenda that focuses on advocacy and activism, along with nonprofit capacity building and leadership development for Arab American community youth. Youth will also have a place and role at the Summit, with a special Youth Track for high school students to inspire the next generation of leaders
About The National Network for Arab American Communities
The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), a program of ACCESS, is a national consortium of 24 independent Arab American community-based organizations. Its mission is the development of Arab American community-based nonprofit organizations that understand, meet the needs and represent the concerns of Arab Americans at a local level while collectively addressing those issues at a national level.