Latest news with #dualidentity
Forbes
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Exclusive: Sandra Oh And Sean Wang Leads TAAF's Latest PSA Campaign
The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)'s "Asian+American" Campaign The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), a nonprofit organization focused on serving Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, has unveiled its 'Asian+American' campaign to encourage Asian Americans to celebrate the complexity and beauty of their dual identities. In partnership with global creative agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, TAAF launched a national PSA initiative, directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sean Wang and narrated by Emmy Award-winning actress Sandra Oh, to kick-start the campaign. Powerful portraits and images will be displayed across billboards, digital platforms, social media, and out-of-home locations. According to TAAF's 2025 STAATUS Index, the leading national study of Americans' perceptions of AANHPIs, just 20% of Asian Americans ages 16-24 and 23% overall felt fully accepted for their racial identity. There are these ideas of feeling 'too Asian' or 'not Asian enough,' and torn between choosing one identity, culture, language, and names over the other to fit in. TAAF hopes the campaign will spark a sense of pride in being both Asian and American, especially among the younger generations. 'For too long, Asian Americans have been made to feel like we must shrink, code-switch, or choose between identities just to be seen as American enough,' said Norman Chen, CEO of TAAF, in a press statement. 'At TAAF, we are focused on building a future where our community can thrive in safety, prosperity, and true belonging—free from discrimination, slander, and violence. Belonging begins with being seen and heard, and we hope this campaign sparks the kind of honest conversations that help us own, and celebrate, every part of who we are. Directed by Wang, the campaign's PSA, a 60-second short film called Beyond, Together, explores this pressure to choose between these two identities and 'offers an intimate look at Asian American individuals embracing their full selves without limits or compromises.' The Park Pictures director has touched on his Asian American identity in his Sundance darling feature, Dìdi. So, developing the short film was not a stretch for him. 'My own Asian American identity and sense of belonging are things I've attempted to define for myself through my work,' said Wang, who also participated in the inaugural Sundance Institute | TAAF Fellowship 2022 cohort. 'Through those experiences, I've connected with so many others who share the unique challenges of navigating multiple cultural identities.' Oh, who had shared her experiences of systematic racism in Hollywood, is honored to lend her voice yet again for TAAF's project. She had previously worked with them on the 2022 TAAF-supported PBS documentary, Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day In March. 'Lending my voice on a message so close to my heart—one that represents my community—has tremendous meaning for me,' said Oh. 'Working with TAAF to highlight the intersectionality of our identities and cultures has been a project made out of love by everyone who has touched it. I'm so honored to be part of giving this message to the AAPI community and with the world.' The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)'s "Asian+American" Campaign There has been an increased presence in AANHPI representation in all industries and on social media, with many reconnecting with their heritage, proudly speaking their languages, celebrating their foods and culture, and reclaiming their Asian names. Yet, they're often only celebrated nationally during May for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. TAAF invites the public to celebrate their pride all year round by sharing their 'Asian+American' story and celebrating their declaration of being and belonging to both. Using the #AsianPlusAmerican (and tag @TAAForg), the campaign aims to amplify the diverse voices, experiences, and identities that shape the Asian American community and show the world what it truly means to be both. To learn more about TAAF's 'Asian+American' campaign, visit
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Sometimes I feel like I live in two worlds at once
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at Imagine living in two worlds at the same time and not even in the same time zone. It feels like living a double-life. Ever since I came to Canada in 2021, I have felt like I am waking up in two different places every day. It took me a while to realize that distance isn't changing and I have to get used to it. When I left Iran 14 years ago to study abroad in Halifax, the idea of immigrating never even occurred to me. The plan was to get a degree and go back like my dad did when he was my age. Things changed. Success was, and still is, so appealing to a young woman like me who knew that if she went back home, her potential would be suppressed by society. So, I stayed in Canada for the graduation ceremony, then my first job, and volunteering. A second job, then my dream job and, finally, I stayed for love. This was the beginning of rooting myself in my second home. But after all these years, I still cannot manage to be present in just one place. I wake up at 7:30 a.m. in Vancouver and it is 7:30 at night in Tehran. I check my phone for local news, and I check my WhatsApp for the daily news of Iran, that my dad sends me. I make breakfast while video chatting with my sister, who is preparing my nephew for bedtime. Then I start working, at noon I realize that it is my parents' bedtime and I need my daily dose of their voices and reach out. It is a ritual — having lunch while talking to my parents with my mouth full. My mom will say in Farsi, 'Eat your lunch at ease. We will stay awake for you to call back.' But she doesn't know how much I enjoy talking to them while having lunch. It reminds me of our kitchen back home where we used to have lunch together as a family on Fridays. When my parents sleep, my day starts. I try to focus, be present and catch up with my life, with less distraction from the second world that I live in. When I am getting prepared for bedtime, my family wakes up in Iran. Before closing my eyes at night, I imagine myself being with them, beside them. I imagine watching my dad eating breakfast and my mom packing his lunch bag. I imagine looking at my sister waking up and doing her makeup. I imagine lecturing my nephew, now a teenager. If I were there, I probably could encourage my mom to go for a walk and care more about her health or I would have hidden my dad's cigarettes, although I know he would go out to buy a new pack. Sometimes I remember that I once wanted to return home and buy a farmhouse in northern Iran and learn pottery. After so much thinking about what I would, could or should have done, I fall asleep. I sometimes have dreams about being with family in Tehran or being excited because they are coming to visit me. When I met my partner and decided that he was 'the one' a few years ago, I had to have a strict self-talk. I told myself: 'You are rooted here enough that you are now in love, and you know that going back will no longer be an option!' And that was it. My inner-parent instructed my inner-child and I accepted the fact that Canada was my second home, staying to live with the love of my life. This will be the only place for me to remain rooted, to grow and be fruitful. One day, I will tell my story to my kids and let them choose where they want to root, grow, love and make a life. Until then or forever (whichever it might be), I will continue living in two worlds. The sweetest thing that keeps me going is knowing that there are people in both worlds who love me unconditionally and whom I love in return. Mahkia Eybagi lives in Vancouver.
