Embracing your pride, peace, and power to honor Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Each year, Adobe celebrates the rich diversity and contributions of Asian/Pacific Islanders throughout the heritage month. As one of the executive chairs of the Asian/Pacific Islander at Adobe employee network (APIA), I’m excited that we’ve chosen to reflect this year on the theme: Pride. Peace. Power.

Together, the API community represents 60 percent of the world’s population from 48 unique countries who speak more than 2,300 languages. Beyond those distinctions, each of us also holds other unique identities – like parent, child, leader, friend, partner, artist, athlete, and more.

Pride. Peace. Power.

For me, pride means embracing my experience as an immigrant – valuing both where I am and where I come from. As I raise my five-year-old son, I hope he accepts that he is many things and can be proud of them all. His experience growing up in Germany is very different than mine was growing up in India. By remaining open to all the beauty and richness of different cultures, I hope we are raising him to enjoy Diwali as much as he does Carnival which is so important where we live in Cologne.

Rather than choosing a single identity, peace means accepting and learning to balance them all. I like to say that I’m not a single fruit – I’m the whole basket. And that understanding enables me to find real power in my identity.

That’s why cultural moments are so significant. They invite us all to connect with our past and they empower our future.

Events at Adobe

The rich diversity and creativity of artists within the API community will be celebrated throughout the month at Adobe. First, we’ll host an action-packed event featuring a ceremonial Haka performance, employee storytellers, and a conversation with API creatives Bernard Chang (artist and designer) and Jonathan D. Chang (designer and illustrator). Later in the month, we’re joining forces with the Indigenous / First Nation employee network to showcase pacific islander creatives with music, storytelling, dance and more reflecting unique Tongan, Māori, Fijian and other cultures. We’ll also celebrate the importance of food in our culture with celebrity chef and author Andrea Nguyen’s live cooking demonstration making spicy sweet pomegranate tofu, a classic Vietnamese dish.

We’ve also launched a Create Change employee fundraising campaign to support non-profit groups which are doing amazing work in our communities including the Asian Law Alliance, Kind Red Packets and several other organizations.

Amplifying API creative voices

This month, Adobe has launched an external campaign called API Inspired which invites everyone to watch, learn and craft along with API experts from a range of Asian cultures, including Neha Assar (henna artist), Poy Twitchsri-Granati (paper florist), Dane Nakama (artist and ceramicist), and Kara Fedrigon (origami and paper artist). By showcasing the techniques and detailed skills involved in these various art forms, our creative following will get an up-close look at the wealth of creativity Asian communities have to offer, making it accessible to all.

And don’t miss Adobe’s film “Where I’m From” showcasing eight API creators who answer the all-too-common question – “Where are you from?” – with stories and visuals that reflect how their culture and experiences inspire their creativity.

Join us

I want to thank our dedicated volunteers from the APIA network who’ve worked tirelessly in putting together this month’s events. I’m so proud of our network and the many leaders who contribute to building a more inclusive environment for everyone.

We invite everyone to examine your experiences and be proud of everything that makes you uniquely you. As you do, we hope you’ll find peace in balancing those identities, and ultimately, power to be authentically yourself in the world.

#AdobeForAll