AAPI Victory Alliance

This week, we're joined by Varun Nikore! He's the Executive Director of the AAPI Victory Alliance, an organization that works to build Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) political power across the country by providing education on progressive issues; creating and advocating for policies that affect our communities; and building alliances with organizations to help AAPIs exert their power and be the margin of victory at the local, state, and national levels. In the episode, we discuss how the Democratic party continues to ignore AAPI voters in schools despite their increasing power at the ballot box and the necessity to build coalitions with them to win elections. Between 2016 and 2020, voter turnout in this community increased by 47%. The near doubling of #AAPI voters in Georgia and Arizona effectively made the Biden victory in 2020 possible. Tune in to the podcast HERE: https://lnkd.in/eVZdRbHC

Gun violence is more than a safety issue — it’s a public health crisis in our communities. ?? Join us next Friday (10/18) for a critical community discussion as we address the unique ways gun violence impacts our communities and explore culturally relevant solutions. Our panel of thought leaders, policymakers, and experts — including Rep. Her of Minnesota, Rep. Long of Georgia, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and others — will dive into the information gaps and resources needed to protect and empower our communities. ?? RSVP now! https://bit.ly/3zOOyCg Together, we can create culturally informed strategies for real change. #GunViolencePrevention #EndGunViolence #AAPIsforGunViolencePrevention

Over the past few months, the AAPI Victory Alliance has proudly endorsed a diverse and inspiring group of AAPI candidates for the 2024 elections. These leaders are champions of equity, justice, and opportunity, committed to making a real difference for communities across the country. Today, we’re thrilled to announce our final round of endorsements! From Alaska to Texas, this extraordinary slate of candidates reflects the strength and diversity of AAPI communities, ready to drive progress and bring meaningful change to every level of government. Our final round of 2024 endorsements includes an inspiring group of leaders, such as: ? Senator Scott Kawasaki of Alaska ? Kim Coco Iwamoto of Hawaii ? Representative Rui Xu of Kansas ? Representative Tram Nguyen of Massachusetts? ? Representative Kaohly Her of Minnesota ? Representative Reena Szczepanski of New Mexico ? Assemblywoman Erica Mosca of Nevada ? Meriam Sabih of Pennsylvania ? Representative Arvind Venkat of Pennsylvania ? Averie Bishop of Texas? ? Representative Dr. Suleman Lalani of Texas We’re proud to stand behind these leaders and their commitment to building a more just and equitable future. Learn more about their work and join us in supporting them: https://lnkd.in/g6k8Av5X

With a grant from Higher Ground Labs’ Progressive AI Lab, AAPI Victory Alliance ran a three-week test to determine how useful Generative AI could be in translating campaign messages into Hindi, Tagalog, Chinese, Hmong, Korean, and Vietnamese. Using ChatGPT and Claude, the team translated top-performing campaign messages on key issues, reformulating them for specific communities. The results? ?AI translated and refined messages in just 15 minutes (compared to 45 minutes by humans) ?AI translations performed on par with human ones—winning 52% of the time, and even 58% for Hindi translations. Read more from Rest of World in the comments below.

“This actually made me miss hackathons!” - SF Hackathon Participant Our team at Cooperative Impact Lab spent the summer running AI for Organizing and Campaigns Hackathons in three cities. At these events, we witnessed the power of collaboration to test and build AI-powered solutions for political organizing and civic engagement. ?? Highlights: ? 3 great events in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago during the DNC ? 17 real-world challenge statements from partner organizations like Fair Count AAPI Victory Alliance, CASA, Run for Something, Asian American Futures, People's Action, Invioble Group, Pipeline Project, Democrats.com and so many more ? 120+ diverse participants including developers, organizers, project managers, designers ? 30+ expert advisors providing guidance and support to the teams ? $25,000+ in prizes awarded, plus coaching from New Media Ventures (NMV) ? Technology offerings from our friends at Change Agent AI, SoSha,?Quiller? ? Amazing judges and speakers including Arianna Trujillo-John, Roy E. Bahat, Jose Cornejo, Beth Simone Noveck, Irene Liu, Josh Hendler, Micah L. Sifry, Carlissia N. Graham, Leah Bae, Jackie Mahendra Aekta Shah, PhD, Maia Woluchem, Josh Levin, Ben Resnik ? Multiple projects moving into development either by teams or existing tech companies? ? Orgs and companies found new talent,? new clients, partners, and collaborators ? A great organizing team: Kemi Oso, Brent Dixon, Danny Spitzberg, Sheila Quintana Aguilar ?? Winning Projects: ?? San Francisco: Community Voice by Fair Count Uses AI to transcribe and analyze voice notes from canvassers about their conversations with voters and constituents to build reports for campaign staff and recommend talking points for future canvassers. ?? New York: Truth Tea by AAPI Victory Alliance Tracks disinformation and political narratives around Kamala Harris on YouTube in Hindi and can be expanded to other languages. Also, a site that allows grassroots activists to report disinformation and leverages AI to suggest counter-narratives ??? Chicago: Reddit Pulse Checker by Asian American Futures ?Analyzes Reddit content to provide insights into young AAPI political mindsets, creating topic summaries, user personas, and quantitative reports on community discussions. ?? Top Three Learnings: 1. Hackathons are a valuable opportunity for non-profit leaders to understand AI's capabilities and limitations and test ideas in a rapid process with quick feedback loops. 2. AI excels in analyzing unstructured data and operating in multiple languages? - two big opportunities for the organizing community 3. Hackathons bridge tech and social impact - and we should do more of them! Read more about the winners & participants: https://lnkd.in/g9QMrVrP A huge thank you to all participants, challenge partners, and sponsors who made this possible. Alan Beard Jason Berkenfeld Ada Sim 1871 Gray Area #AIForGood #CivicTech #PoliticalOrganizing #Hackathon

Congrats again to the AAPI Victory Alliance team for winning the Cooperative Impact Lab Hackathon! SoSha CEO, Tudor Mihailescu, was an advisor to the AAPI AI A-List team as they developed an innovative AI-powered tool to track disinformation and political narratives surrounding Kamala Harris on YouTube in Hindi. Their final project leveraged generative AI to translate videos, summarize disinformation claims and deliver counter-narrative messaging. And this prototype has the potential to be expanded into multiple languages! It’s inspiring to witness such impactful innovation emerge from just a few hours at a hackathon and see how we can use #AIforGood Learn more about their work here: https://lnkd.in/ecct8Skv #TeamSoSha

We’re thrilled to share that the AAPI Victory Alliance won the?Cooperative Impact Lab?AI Hackathon in NYC with our project aimed at combating mis/dis-information in the US AAPI communities ahead of the 2024 election! Amidst growing concerns about AI, we’re proud to demonstrate its potential as a force for good. By using AI to address and counteract mis/dis-information within the AAPI community, we’re striving to foster a more informed and equitable society. Thank you to everyone involved for making this possible and for helping us turn AI into a powerful tool for positive change.?#AI

?? HAPPENING TOMORROW! ?? Join us for a historic event this Wednesday with Indivisible Project as we unveil our collaboration with Empower Project. This webinar will: 1. Provide crucial insights into relational organizing, 2. Highlight how this partnership will drive meaningful change, 3. Show how the AAPI community can help make history again in this election. Together, we can amplify AAPI voices and make a lasting impact. Don't miss this opportunity to learn, engage, and mobilize for a better future! ?? Date: Tomorrow, July 31, 2024 ? Time: 1 pm PT/4 pm ET ?? Register now! https://lnkd.in/gCeGydqg #AAPI #EmpowerProject #Indivisible #RelationalOrganizing #AAPIVictoryAlliance #Election2024 #CommunityEngagement

BIG NEWS! The AAPI Victory Alliance is thrilled to announce our first-ever federal endorsement: Representative Andy Kim for U.S. Senate! Andy has consistently demonstrated his unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and the AAPI community. He embodies the values we stand for and is the leader we need to bring about positive change. "On behalf of The Alliance, I am thrilled to announce our endorsement of Representative Andy Kim for the U.S. Senate. Andy Kim embodies the principles and dedication that the AAPI Victory Alliance stands for," said Varun Nikore, Executive Director of AAPI Victory Alliance. "This is our first-ever federal endorsement, driven by our Board’s strong belief that we need a fighter like Andy in the U.S. Senate. His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and the betterment of our communities makes him an exceptional candidate for the U.S. Senate. We are confident that his leadership will bring about the positive change our nation needs, and we are proud to endorse him in this pivotal election.” Andy Kim himself said, “I’m the son of first-generation Korean immigrants who are the embodiment of the American dream, and who raised me to believe that service is a way of life. I am proud that if elected, I will be the first Korean-American Senator in the country, but it is just one step to creating a more inclusive Democracy; I know AAPI Victory Alliance will be a key ally in furthering increased AAPI representation throughout all levels of government and I thank them for the support.” Join us in supporting a leader who will fight for all! ?? Read the full statement here: https://bit.ly/3ScEF7t #AAPIVictoryAlliance #AndyKimForSenate