Community Celebration for
Southeast Asian Youth Empowerment Project (SEAYEP)

Please join SEAYEP for a fun filled afternoon of Community Celebration on January 31 (3pm - 8pm), at West Central Academy (1510 Glenwood Ave., North Minneapolis) to recognize Asian Youth's accomplishment in teenage pregnancy prevention and to kick off a 2-year Public Education Campaign - " I love you and that's why I'll wait....." The Public Education Campaign will utilize TV PSAs, posters, gears and community outreach activities to inspire actions from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community to lower the rate of Teenage Pregnancy in the community.

Southeast Asian Youth Empowerment Project (SEAYEP) is a Collaborative Consortium consisting of four community based organizations that work with youth in the Southeast Asian community: Asian Media Access, Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, Lauj Youth Society of Minnesota, and Southeast Asian Community Council. Since 2002, this Consortium has been funded by Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Minority and Multicultural Health to engage Southeast Asian youth, ages 12-20 for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention related activities.

SEAYEP chose to work to reduce teen pregnancy, because such issue is directly related to the social, economic and emotional well-being of so many Southeast Asian youth and their families. In 1998, in Hennepin County, AAPI women age 15-19, had 67.7 births per 1,000 population in comparison to 20.7 births for whites and 37.1 births for all races. In Ramsey County AAPI women, ages 15-19, had the highest birth rate of any ethnicity, 138.6 per 1,000, compared with 26.8 for whites and 48.9 for all races.

The Collaborative has great concern, not only about the high rate of teen pregnancies, but about the significant increase in the Southeast Asian teen pregnancy rate throughout years which indicates a clear linkage with increasing Southeast Asian youth in criminal and delinquent activities, family breakdown and lack of cultural adjustments, etc. The result of changing social norms within the Southeast Asian community has been documented through the high level of babies born to teen moms and the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted diseases within the community. SEAYEP youth has made tremendous progress in alternating such trend. Youth from the four agencies have partnered together to receive training on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention; Leadership Development and Media Arts in order to develop multi-media materials for edcuation and outreach purposes.

For the past two years, youth have successfully produced three Television PSAs (public service announcements), Prevention Poster and numerous poems and photos to help the community to understand youth's perspectives on such issues. These educational materials are designed to lower the rate of teenage pregnancy and sexual violence by inspiring actions, increasing the acceptability of receiving assistance and communicating about related issues.

The first PSA, produced by youth from Asian Media Access, addresses sexual harassment and sexual violence. While the rates of reported sexual violence and sexual harassment in AAPI communities are among the lowest in the nation, it is estimated that the actual rates of such acts may be as much as double the reported rate. As one of the youth said in a discussion, "In our age, our time, you have to stand up - no matter how much or how afraid you might be." Youth from Southeast Asian Community Council produced a video PSA entitled "Think About It", to urge youth understanding the consequences before their actions. Youth from Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, designed a poster, entitled in Hmong "Kub Hlub Koj" which means "I Love You". The poster indicates there are many alternatives to express your love, other than sexual activites.

Lauj Youth Society of Minnesota produced a video PSA entitled "No Sex or Safer Sex", which highlights there are choices that youth can make to protect themselves. These educational materials will be presented at the 1/31 Community Celebration as well as can be seen at local TV channels and newspapers.