NaFFAA Southwest Regional Conference

On September 16-18, 2005, New Mexico will be on the spotlight as the Filipino American Foundation of New Mexico (FAFNM) and National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) will host the 2005 NaFFAA Region 6 Biannual Conference in Albuquerque. According to the 2000 Census, there are 141,000 Filipino Americans in the Southwest and 5,000 Filipinos in New Mexico alone. Asian/Pacific Americans and Filipino Americans together with other minority community leaders from Washington D.C., the states of Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, Michigan, and Wisconsin will be attending this high profile event.

Washington DC policy-makers, private industry, and national advocacy groups recognize NaFFAA as the voice of Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States. It is a non-partisan, non-profit, tax-exempt national affiliation of more than five hundred Filipino-American institutions and umbrella organizations. Its twelve regions cover the continental United States, Hawaii, Guam and the Marianas. Established in 1997, the organization promotes the welfare and well being of all Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States. The national office is located in the heart of Washington D.C. For more information about this conference, please visit our website at http://www.naffaaconferencenm.com. You may also visit the NaFFAA national website at http://www.naffaa.org.

The theme of the conference is "Visibility through Empowerment." Topics for discussion include political and legislative issues, economic development, immigrant & naturalization, labor recruitment, education/literacy, gender issues, youth leadership and entrepreneurship. Invited presenters include Loida Nicolas-Lewis, CEO TLC Beatrice International, General Antonio Taguba (US Army), the Philippine Consul General Marciano Paynor, Diane D. Denish, Lt. Governor of New Mexico, Al Parks, NM House of Representatives, Dr. Veronica Romero-Leggott, Director of Cultural Affairs UNM School of Medicine, officials from the US Immigration and Naturalization, successful minority business owners, ACCION New Mexico, and other notable individuals. We hope to have more than 200 attendees at this conference from New Mexico and other states, and we invite all of you to register, be involved, and learn more about the Filipino community through this event.