Aspire to Lead

2021 Leaders' Summit - June 18, 19, 25, 26 and 29

A Series of Canada-Wide Virtual Gatherings for Aspiring, Emerging & Established Chinese Canadian Leaders

Program Details

We will be providing live closed captioning on the keynote and plenary discussions in French, simplified and traditional Chinese.

The backbone of the Summit will be guided by deep, invigorating conversations around four topics. Each topic will begin with the presentation of a commissioned paper, followed by a panel discussion from established Chinese Canadian leaders, then breakout rooms. All deliberations will be collected to form the foundation of our collaborative action plan, which will be drafted throughout the Summit and discussed on the final day to inspire collective action.

Information on our panelists is below – click on their photo to view their full biography!

Summit 2019
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

An Intimate Fireside Chat with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Click here to watch the recording of the Fireside Chat (password required)

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021
Time: 2:30 – 3 PM MT

Please join Action, Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT) Foundation’s 2021 Chinese Canadian Leaders’ Summit for an intimate fireside chat with The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 
 
Moderated by Teresa Woo-Paw, Chair of ACCT Foundation, we will cover topics ranging from what the government is doing to combat anti-asian sentiments in a concrete matter to how Chinese Canadians can break through barriers and take on civic leadership roles.  
 
You don’t want to miss this conversation.
 
This fireside chat is part of ACCT’s 2021 Chinese Canadian Leaders’ Summit.

Friday, June 18, 9:00AM – 1:00PM MT

Session 1: What is Chinese Canadian history and how does it contribute to contemporary issues?

Click here to watch the recording of Session 1

Pre-reading: The White Elephant in the Room: Anti-Asian Racism in Canada, by Dr. Henry Yu, UBC

A Fireside Chat with Dr. Henry Yu

Dr. Henry Yu

Professor at University of British Columbia
Awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012

Howard R. Jang (Moderator)

Vice President Arts and Leadership of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Chair of the Advisory Board for the Vancouver Chinatown Storytelling Centre

Dr. Joseph Wong

Physician and Founder of Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care
Recipient of the Order of Canada in 1993 and named one of Toronto’s most influential people in history

Teresa Woo-Paw

Chair of Action, Chinese Canadians Together
First Canadian woman of Asian descent elected to the Alberta Legislature and Cabinet Minister in Alberta

Georgia Yee

Student senator and Board Governor at University of British Columbia
Served as the Vice President Academic and University Affairs of the Alma Mater Society of UBC during the pandemic

Saturday, June 19, 9:00AM – 1:00PM MT

Session 2: What are the leadership needs and issues for younger Chinese Canadians?

Click here to watch the recording of Session 2

Click here for the series of poems titled “Next Generation Chinese Canadian Anthology” by Tesicca Truong

Tesicca Truong (Keynote Speaker)

Ministerial Advisor for the BC Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation
Named Top 30 under 30, Top 25 under 25

Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco (Moderator)

Ward 4 Councillor for City of Vaughan
Longest serving Asian female politician in the City of Vaughan and York Region

Adrienne Wong (Facilitator)

Artistic Director for Spiderwebshow Performance
Inaugural artist for CBC’s radio q

Judge Albert Wong (Plenary Speaker)

Citizenship Judge
First Chinese Canadian to have the Chief Aide-de-Camp post to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Vivian Kwan (Plenary Speaker)

Board Chair, Centre for Race and Culture
2017 Recipient of Lieutenant Governor’s Circle for Mental Health and Addiction

Evan Hu (Plenary Speaker)

Founding Principal of AltoSante
Serial entrepreneur and executive coach

Friday, June 25, 9:00AM – 1:00PM MT

Session 3: What would Canada look like with fully engaged Chinese Canadians?

Click here to watch the recording of Session 3

Pre-reading: Discussion Paper: Why Get Involved? By Carol Lee

Carol Lee (Keynote Speaker)

Chair and co-founder of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation
Recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal

Fred Lee (Moderator)

Director of Alumni Engagement at the University of British Columbia
Regular contributor and columnist at CBC

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Plenary Speaker)

Toronto City Councillor for Ward 13 (Toronto Centre)
Distinguished track record of human rights advocacy; co-founder of Asian Canadians For Equal Marriage

Dr. Lawrence Loh (Plenary Speaker)

Medical Officer of Health at the Region of Peel
Instrumental in managing COVID-19 cases in the Peel Region

Chan Hon Goh (Plenary Speaker)

Director of Goh Ballet Academy and Youth Company Canada
Helped found Vancouver’s Arts and Culture Policy Council

Charles Xu (Plenary Speaker)

Internal Operations Manager of Montreal Chinatown Working Group
Ph.D. student at McGill University

Saturday, June 26, 9:00AM – 1:00PM MT

Session 4: What does a Seat at the Table mean for Chinese Canadians?

Click here to watch the recording of Session 4

Pre-Reading – Discussion Papers:

What does a seat at the table mean to Chinese-Canadians and to Canada?
By The Honourable Yuen Pau Woo, Senator for British Columbia
[ Download in Chinese – 中文版 ]

What does a seat at the table mean to Chinese-Canadians and to Canada? 
By Tung Chan
[ Download in Chinese – 中文版 ]

The Honourable Yuen Pau Woo (Keynote Speaker)

Senate of Canada
Former President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Tung Chan (Keynote Speaker)

Director of Canadian Foundation of Economic Education
Awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to the community

Lai-King Hum (Moderator)

Founder of Hum Law, Deputy Judge
Former President of Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers

The Honourable Mary Ng (Plenary Speaker)

Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
Second Chinese Canadian woman to serve in cabinet

Daniel Quan-Watson (Plenary Speaker)

Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
First federal Deputy Minister of Chinese descent

Kathy Cheng (Plenary Speaker)

President of WS & Co.
Only Canadian listed on the Inc.’s Magazine 100 Female Founders List in 2020

Yung Wu (Plenary Speaker)

CEO of MaRs Discovery District
Recognized as Canada’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ and leading one of the “50 Best Managed Private Companies” in the nation

Saturday, June 26, 1:30PM – 3:30PM MT

Session on Disappearing Chinatowns: A National Canadian Strategy to Save Significant Cultural Spaces

Zoom link will be sent to participants

During this session, Chinatown working groups will share their efforts to protect, revitalize and re-build significant cultural spaces for cities across Canada. The group will present a national action plan for Chinatowns based on the following 3 key resolutions to put forward to the Federal Government.

  1. To save, maintain and protect significant cultural spaces through the legislative regulations, policies, and procedures for the re-building and development of local heritage infrastructure;
  2. To proceed with the development of a National Action Plan to restore and rebuild Chinatowns; and,
  3. To work collaboratively with the National Anti-racism Secretariat and departments and agencies across federal, provincial and municipal governments to develop and implement policies and programs to save the cultural significance and heritage of Chinatowns in Canada.

The resolutions are to be put forward as part of the ACCT Foundation’s 5 Year Action Plan.

Our immediate action is to support the Montreal Chinatown Working Group with its effort to save their cultural spaces.

Tuesday June 29, 4PM – 7PM MT – Action Planning Workshop