Building Bridges. Opening Minds. Empowering Communities. | |
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We wish all our readers a very happy new year!
2023 has been a great year for APF, with key additions to our programming and administrative team, all while smoothly continuing the existing APF endeavors - helping us carry forward the mission of our organization. In this newsletter we look forward to sharing with you APF's year in review.
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Signature Programs
and the vision behind them
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At APF we achieve our mission of empowering the American Pakistani community through our signature programs. Below is a glimpse of each program and how we achieve the vision behind them. | |
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This program was designed to collectively discover and celebrate the heroes in our own backyard.
The rising stars list was launched in 2023, conceived by our board member Anna Khan, and was designed to recognize the incredible women of our community who have served the world in instrumental ways across different fields.
We went out to find these Star members from across the country - from big cities, to remote areas- to highlight their work through our platforms. The inaugural list was a several month process where we accepted nominations from across the country. We were overwhelmed to receive so many nominations from friends and colleagues, all celebrating the amazing women in their communities.
The list in 2023 was incredibly diverse, and included people like Sumbal Siddiqi -the Mayor of Cambridge MA, and Mariam Nusrat -founder of GRID, a video game based tech start up from Vienna, VA, among many others. The Rising Stars program was a big success in its first year, and many people from our community had not yet reveled in the fact that the Mayor of Cambridge MA was indeed a Pakistani American woman!
We're thrilled to announce that we are launching our second list in short order - and will provide details and next steps on the nominations process. Please start thinking about who you would like to nominate and hopefully celebrate in the months to come!
Rising Stars List of 2023
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APF Summer Fellowship Program | | |
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This program was created to provide a bridge for the young Pakistani Americans - who have grown up in the US, and have a deep curiosity for their Pakistani roots.
It has been one of our marquee annual programs since 2017. The APF Fellowship Program was started to offer an avenue to these young individuals to immerse in their culture of origin, while leaving an impact on the local Pakistani communities they work with.
The program connects capable American Pakistanis with our partner organizations working on the ground in Pakistan, for a summer program. APF fellows get an opportunity to work with and learn from these organizations and help them make an impact on the ground, leaving the fellows forever enriched with experiences that are deeply cultural, educational, and personal.
Our partners include organizations like Sehat Kahani, a tele-health provider based in Karachi. Due to Covid we transitioned the fellowship to be conducted virtually for some years. In 2023 we partnered with Sehat Kahani virtually and Atlantic Council's Pakistan initiative in person in DC.
In 2024 we plan to resume our in person and on ground fellowship programming in Pakistan.
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This program is designed to lift people of our community up, by pairing successful mentors with aspiring mentees in their professional fields.
It has been made to democratize the networking and guidance seeking effort for Pakistani Americans. The platform is for all the talented mentees who feel they may be at a disadvantage because they do not have access to professionally well connected networks like some of their peers, even though they have something great to offer. And it is for all the successful mentors who have worked hard on their way up and can now offer help and advice to someone seeking the access they now have.
The APF mentorship platform gives all mentees who opt into our platform, access to some of the most successful mentors from the Pakistani American community. Anyone can sign up and take advantage of this opportunity!
This platform is here to lift more Pakistanis up on their professional journeys and offer them the guidance they seek.
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In June 2019, APF received Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Council (ECOSOC), enabling us to engage the international community at the United Nations on policies and initiatives related to APF’s focus on Pakistan.
United Nations fellowship program is a six-month long opportunity to get exposure to the inner workings of the UN Economic and Social Council, attend UN meetings both in-person and virtually, and conduct in-depth research on topics pertaining to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and how they affect the American-Pakistani diaspora.
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Making Pakistani American votes and voices count at the American ballots - every election cycle.
With over 600,000 Pakistani Americans residing in the United States, it is crucial that we realize our power to instill lasting change not only in our community, but in our country.
In the last quarter of 2023, the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) team reconvened to determine our priorities for a successful 2024 campaign. We formed a core team, established program management, digital strategy, and research roles, and have begun to embark on a new and ambitious timeline.
We look forward to deploying our new GOTV campaign later in January 2024. As part of our campaign, we will utilize an online pledge-to-vote tool, and will augment our efforts through a community-driven social media campaign, in-person and online events, collaborations with various organizations and relevant partners, and a complementary research project.
If you would like to get involved, please email us at gotv@americanpakistan.org to learn more!
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In 2023 we had three new team members join APF's administration | | |
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Hania Chima is an Executive Administrator at APF, working with us part-time. Outside of her time with APF she is a filmmaker and storyteller. Hania wrote and produced the movie 'Laal Kabootar' - Pakistan's first crime thriller which was also Pakistan's submission to the Oscars in 2020. She did her undergraduate at Harvard University where she studied Sociology and Film and is always on the look out for exciting new creative collaborations.
Maha Butt is a seasoned political analyst with demonstrated interest in the policy and international development arena. She is currently a graduate student at Columbia University pursuing a Master in International Affairs and has graduated with a Bachelors in Political Science with Honors and Distinction from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At APF, Maha is currently the Executive Administrator and leads the UN Initiative and has worked extensively with governmental bodies, NGOs, and international organizations to design and implement policies that address social inequalities and environmental challenges.
Henry C. Alphin Jr. is Director of Operations at the American Pakistan Foundation. He is a nonprofit executive leader and SME on higher education topics, including strategic planning and economic development. Henry has over 20 years of successful leadership, executive operations, and global community building experience, and has been author and lead editor on multiple peer-reviewed higher education publications.
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A message from our Director of Operations:
In 2023, APF was like other mission-driven organizations in that we searched for, found, and began to settle into our concept of a new normal. Yet APF is exceptional because of the individual building blocks, like you, who shape the foundation we're growing upon.
Since July 2023, I have actively engaged with dozens of APF community members who are passionate about collaborative momentum based on our previous successes. Together, we are exiting 2023 with a renewed commitment to fellowship-driven experiential learning and transformative community development initiatives. We are invested in empowering the Pakistani American community and building bridges between the U.S. and Pakistan through our leadership development initiatives, substantive partnerships, and harnessing our impactful connections.
YOU are the APF community. Join us as we celebrate our 2023 successes and launch our 2024 initiatives. I encourage you to get involved today.
Sincerely,
Henry C. Alphin Jr., MBA, MS
APF Director of Operations
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Together, we will empower communities and build bridges. |
Help APF expand its reach & impact in the United States and Pakistan.
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