The Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month is a month-long celebration and uplifting of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) identities, experiences, histories and cultures.

The Student Life Multicultural Center creates and highlights programming the centers on the APIDA experience, and aims to inspire confidence, pride and deepened interest in what it means to move through the world as an APIDA individual.

Here at The Ohio State University, we observe APIDA Heritage Month in mid-January through February. APIDA Heritage Month 2021 will take place between January 11th and February 12th. Our theme this year is APIDA Heritage Month 2021: Our Time, Our Space, Our Place. This theme speaks to how APIDA communities' collective histories contribute to where we are right now, and how APIDA communities can use our histories and our hope for the future to shape our time, our space and our place in this present moment. We invite both APIDA and non-APIDA identifying individuals to engage with our community and programming to deepen our campus community's understanding of APIDA experiences!

APIDA Heritage Month 2021 Calendar of Events from The Student Life Multicultural Center

Weekly Programs:

Asian Americans in Art
Date(s): Every Thursday from 1/14 - 2/11 at 7 pm
Description: From paintings to music to dance, people manifest their struggles, stories, and passions. Join us each week as we explore creativity and art - all are welcome! You’ll have the chance to learn about some professional APIDA / Asian American artists, work on your own mini-project, and listen to live musical performances from OSU APIDA students.

APIDA Writing Space
Date(s): Every Friday from 1/15 - 2/12 at 3 pm
Description: This weekly writing space is open to the APIDA community as a time to intentionally practice self-care and expression through writing. We welcome all writers, whether you’re just beginning to write down your thoughts, or you are a seasoned journaler, writer, or poet! We'll provide the prompts centered around a weekly theme that inspires reflections on identity and APIDA experiences. Participants will explore their own narrative and power in telling your own story!

AHM21 Instagram Cooking Show
Date(s): Every Friday on IG stories
Description: Join us on the MCC's Instagram stories every Friday with new APIDA Buckeye cooks showcasing their favorite family recipes! Learn how to cook some delicious and sentimental APIDA cuisine with five different APIDA Buckeyes! An Instagram Live cook-along event will take place on Friday 2/12. You can pick up your free ingredients for the spicy ramen cook along at the MCC if you are one of the first 12 people to stop by on Friday 2/12! Also, be on the lookout for our Virtual Cookbook with all the recipes and more coming at the end of APIDA Heritage month!

Shattering The Single Story
Date(s): Every Saturday from 1/16 - 2/13 at 3 pm
Description: AHM21 presents our weekly reading group, "Shattering the Single Story." Over the course of APIDA Heritage Month, we will be reading a short story, poem or excerpt by an APIDA author each week. There will be a meeting every Saturday at 3pm for people to meet and connect in conversation about each week’s piece(s). The first 12 people that register will receive a free copy of one of our readings, Cathy Park Hong's Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning. Explore and connect over narratives, folklore and identity through the poetry, short stories and excerpts of Asian authors. We aim to encourage discoveries of APIDA identities through conversation and creativity!

Featured Programs:

What Does Heritage Mean to You?
Date(s): January 17th from 6 - 7:30 pm
Description: The numerous identities a(n) Asian/APIDA/Transnational Adoptee (from Asia) holds shapes each individual's personal meaning of the word "heritage." Our relationship with familial history, culture and tradition are impacted by our intersectional identities, complicating the stereotypical understanding of heritage. This panel will serve as a space for sharing personal truths and experiences among Asian / APIDA and Transnational Adoptee panelists regarding their journeys with identity and heritage.

Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) Identity, Post 9/11
Date(s): January 19th from 6-7:15 pm
Description: This panel discussion will center on our Southwest Asian / North African (SWANA) Buckeyes' experiences with identity in the post 9/11 world. Our conversation will include breakout rooms open for participants to share their own experiences with their SWANA identity. We will also discuss the shift away from using terms like "Middle Eastern," as well as many other post 9/11 socio-political-cultural dynamics for individuals with heritage across Southwest Asia and North Africa will open for exploration.

Our Body, Our Embodiment
Date(s): January 24th from 3-4 pm
Description: Join the MCC alongside USG, and SHRED ED for an intersectional conversation about body positivity and issues regarding body image. This event is open to everyone as much of these issues are not specific to race or gender. Come as you are for a low stress, interactive and creative event. Make sure to pick up a craft goody bag at the Union. More details on the goody bag to with registration!

From Asian to APIDA: Redefining our community, nurturing our unity.
Date(s): January 27th from 6-7:30 pm
Description: To truly celebrate APIDA Heritage Month, we have to first create our Buckeye understanding of APIDA. In this session we will be learning about where the acronym APIDA comes from, how each of us has developed a relationship with the aspect of our identity that ties to APIDA, and what where we stand as a community with a multiplicity of relationships to race, religion, immigration, oppression and marginalization.

Dance Across Asia!
Date(s): February 3rd at 6 pm
Description: The MCC and APIDA Orgs across campus have crafted this virtual space to celebrate and share dance traditions across Asia. Join us in a virtual night of sharing our culture, and come prepared to dance!

Apidas in Stem

Date(s): February 9th at 6:30 pm
Description: The MCC, in collaboration with the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) and the Society for Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), invite you to a dynamic conversation about being an APIDA person in STEM. This panel discussion will focus on the reflections, insights, and advice from APIDA identifying professionals, scholars and graduate students in various STEM fields. You will have the opportunity to hear their experiences, gain some advice, and ask questions on how to navigate the field as an APIDA identifying person, post graduation.

APIDA and Black Communities: History and Solidarity
Date(s): February 11th at 6 pm
Description: Join the MCC and our guest panelists as we build conversation around understanding the history of APIDA and Black solidarity, the unique and shared barriers to racial justice both communities are facing and how we can move forward to create allyship among our communities here at Ohio State and beyond.