About Us

The original idea of an Asian Canadian organization with a focus on student activism at University of British Columbia was a concept conceived back in October 2006. What originally was a bid for student and youth involvement in the city’s Anniversaries of Change 2007 events inspired awareness for a need of an organization to promote Pan-Asian consciousness on campus. Thus, the Asian Canadian Cultural Organization (ACCO) was born.

Since its constitution in September 2007, ACCO has been actively promoting greater awareness on issues pertinent to Asian Canadians on UBC campus and in the community. ACCO’s mandate includes supporting Asian Canadian cultural performers and artists in the community, providing a safe space for discussion, and commemorating the richness of Canada’s neglected Asian history through academics and social outreach. Within its first year, along with movie screenings of Better Luck Tomorrow and Eve and the Fire Horse, ACCO has organized two major successful events: Outpost: Asian Canadians Reframed Exhibit and UnConference.

Outpost: Asian Canadians Reframed Exhibit was held in October 2007 in the AMS Art Gallery. It was an exhibit that featured art work inspired by a survey that was conducted in the Lower Mainland. ACCO members canvassed the city asking people to write down their answers to two questions: What characteristics do you associate with Asians and Name an Asian Media Figure and a characteristic associated with them. Over a thousand responses were collected and from the data, UBC and SFU students created art pieces reflecting some of the conceptions people in the Lower Mainland had towards Asian Canadians.

UnConference was a two day event that consisted of five workshops facilitated by our student members. Each workshop tackled a different topic that affected the Asian Canadian community. The topics highlighted were Asian Canadian Identity, Asians in the Gay Community, Asians in the North American Workforce, Interracial Dating and Mixed Families, and Asian Representations in Western Media. ACCO members worked closely with leaders from the community to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in each workshop. Our first annual UnConference was a success with over forty people including students, faculty and community members participating in each discussion.

If you have any inquiries about our organization or would like to collaborate on these upcoming projects, you can reach us at ubcacco[at]gmail.com.

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