The South Asian Awareness Netwoork (SAAN) conference keynote addressed is cosponsored by the U-M Center for South Asian Studies and is free and open to the public.
Almas Haider is a queer spoken word poet and activist, who works as a Programming Director for the U.S Department of State.
SAAN (South Asian Awareness Network) is a social justice organization on campus that aims to spread awareness of a wide range of social justice issues salient to South Asian communities. SAAN is not limited to only South Asian students.
SAAN's main event is a 2-day conference in January in which we bring speakers from around the world to speak about a wide range of issues of social justice. This year's conference, Threads 2015: Connecting Our Voices, Our Truths, Our Selves, is focused on the idea of sharing narratives as a vehicle for empowerment. It is on January 23-24, 2015 (Friday & Saturday) at the Michigan League and Rackham. Following each speaker are workshops and dialogues highly encouraging participant involvement. Also included is a conference t-shirt, 3 meals, entertainment on Friday night, and a fancy formal Saturday evening at the UMMA. The registration price for all of this is $27.
Some topics being covered this year are South Asian stereotyping, mental health in the South Asian community, and issues relevant to the LGBTQ community. Speakers in our amazing lineup include, comedian, actor, writer, & producer Sunny Tripathi, freelance journalist & physician Seema Jilani, youth activist and author Saajan Bhakta, APIA Vote Michigan Executive Director Mahima Mahadevan, & more! Entertainment this year is Hari Kondabolu, a popular stand-up comic who has appeared on television many times. As SAANcontinues to grow, we bring in around 350-400 participants to the conference each year. Register now at umsaan.umich.edu to experience this amazing opportunity!
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