The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization. UNAVSA is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of leaders who will serve as stewards of the Vietnamese community.

Our mission

To empower the next generation of Vietnamese leaders with a passion for service, propensity for leadership, and self-awareness with the intent of advocating for progress in the North American Vietnamese community.

Our vision

A thriving non-profit organization that’s achieved inclusiveness and equality in the Greater Vietnamese Community through: resources, education, social awareness and embracing diversity.

Officially formed in 2004, student leaders from Southern California and New England recognized an unmet need within the Vietnamese youth community focused on the development of the next generation of leaders. From this collaboration, UNAVSA was created to develop and organize a large, supportive network throughout the United States and Canada. The first conference was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 2004, where over 200 young activists from across the country and from different community-based organizations came together to develop the foundation for what UNAVSA has accomplished to date. With the first election of eleven regional representatives and five executive officers, the delegates outlined the structure that has evolved into the Council of Regional Representatives, the Executive Board, and the President’s Council.

To view our Constitution, please visit this link.

To view our Constitution Appendix, please visit this link.

Education

Being the foundation of UNAVSA, education is the main focus pillar of the organization.

Leadership

Building and empowering tomorrow’s leaders through strategic initiatives and programs.

Philanthropy

Fostering a collective sense of community service across the entire continent.

Culture

Uniting together to spread the immersive and beautiful Vietnamese culture.

Our goals

We strive to bring together young professionals and students to build unity and solidarity among North American Vietnamese youths as well as in the international Vietnamese community.

Encouraging and recognizing the growth of leadership and service

Creating and maintaining a framework for established VSAs and start-ups to share common resources

Cross-promote regional events, and learn from one another

Advocating Vietnamese and North American Vietnamese social justice issues

Promoting Vietnamese and North American Vietnamese cultural consciousness

Encouraging interaction, participation, and activism in North American Vietnamese communities

Our projects & initiatives

UNAVSA produces a multitude of projects to accomplish our goals to develop the next generation of Vietnamese youths and leaders year-round, including opportunities for philanthropy & professional development.

Our values

Below are the values that we as an organization operates with. Our staff functions utilizing the following values in their daily work and it is our hope to instill them with all attendees of our programming.

We are the owners of our individual projects, committed to personal responsibility, and stewards to UNAVSA’s success as an organization. We are accountable to ourselves, our team, our audience, and our supporters. 

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We do what we promise and we reward for excellence.
  • We are responsible for the commitments we make. We make our goals public and hold ourselves and others accountable to our promises and commitments.
  • We value the importance of candor and transparency with our goals, projects, and progress.
  • We are all responsible for UNAVSA’s success and we all play a critical role in advancing the organization’s mission.

We seek to cultivate an inclusive space within and beyond the greater Vietnamese community to provide our constituents support and a place to belong. We continue to observe our progress and fill in the gaps to cultivate a stronger community

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We actively cultivate and promote an inclusive environment for all within our internal network and beyond the greater Vietnamese community.
  • We value honest communication and actively listen to understand both our team, audience, and community.
  • We build and preserve a sense of belonging for our staff and constituents through all of our work.
  • We continue to build upon our foundation, make a commitment to address all concerns and discrepancies on all levels to promote a stronger community.
  • We extend our support beyond the Vietnamese community through partnerships and collaborations with other Southeast Asian (SEA) communities to share knowledge and advocate for progress.

We embrace the mentality to promote growth for our organization, constituents, and community. We strive to give individuals the resources needed to succeed.

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We lead with abundance, where we continue to promote both our own growth and our constituents.
  • We make an effort to be present, remain aware, and provide constructive feedback to improve our work and the overall organization.
  • We continuously seek the cultivation and development of personal skills and characteristics amongst our staff & audience.
  • We strive to educate, train best practices, and teach each other at every opportunity possible so we can all achieve excellence.
  • We embody the practice to empower our staff and constituents to leave a positive legacy.

We always strive for excellence with all of our products, activities, and development opportunities. We are focused on creating the best value for our stakeholders.

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We always strive for excellence in every aspect of our roles and take pride in what we do. We understand our best quality of work directly contribute to the success of the organization’s mission.
  • We have a clear understanding of our foundation and structure and how to expand from that base.
  • We focus on creating value for our audience and we proactively look for ways to improve our effectiveness and our efficiency. 
  • We are agile, adaptable, and prepared to meet new challenges head-on. 
  • We capture our ever-changing staff’s manpower and strive for efficacy and impact on all initiatives and projects.

We are honest with ourselves and others. We strive for consistency in all that we say and do, and we do not compromise our work.

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We make a commitment to be truthful as an organization to build and upkeep our organization’s reputation.
  • We are honest when it comes to our goals and progress. Through honesty with ourselves and others, we build credibility to earn the respect and trust of our constituents.
  • We bravely take chances, but remain humble to the fact of our own limitations.

We are honest with ourselves about our own strengths, weaknesses, emotions, thoughts, and behavior patterns. We acknowledge any shortcomings as individuals and as an organization and continue to seek improvement to become the best.

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We observe our habits and feelings to be aware of our true behavior, both as individuals and teams.
  • We explore the root of our emotions to gain a better understanding of our own values and how they align with our work.
  • We encourage and are always open to and encourage multidirectional feedback to bolster our own growth.
  • We keep an open mind and continually re-examine our motivations behind each action.

A 100% volunteer-based organization

Our staff and volunteers are students and young professionals across North America, contributing their free time every day to make a difference for our community.

Meet our staff

Policy focuses

As the largest organization for young Vietnamese Americans and Vietnamese Canadians, UNAVSA’s work primarily focuses on civic education. We are dedicated to ensuring that each generation actively engages with issues that affect Vietnamese communities across North America.

We advocate against the deportation pipeline and support policies that enforce sanctuary city protections and improve indigenous relations. We also provide educational materials on how immigration policies have shaped Vietnamese communities in the US and Canada.

We seek to cultivate an inclusive space within and beyond the greater Vietnamese community to provide our constituents support and a place to belong. We continue to observe our progress and fill in the gaps to cultivate a stronger community

What this means in UNAVSA:

  • We actively cultivate and promote an inclusive environment for all within our internal network and beyond the greater Vietnamese community.
  • We value honest communication and actively listen to understand both our team, audience, and community.
  • We build and preserve a sense of belonging for our staff and constituents through all of our work.
  • We continue to build upon our foundation, make a commitment to address all concerns and discrepancies on all levels to promote a stronger community.
  • We extend our support beyond the Vietnamese community through partnerships and collaborations with other Southeast Asian (SEA) communities to share knowledge and advocate for progress.

We promote awareness of ethnic studies and Asian American studies curriculums and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), and support improvements to equal access to higher education.

We focus primarily on a fair Census count and voter education and mobilization, especially in major Vietnamese enclaves. Additionally, we actively advocate for improvements in language access and data disaggregation policies.

We support workers’ rights to fair, healthy, and safe working conditions, as well to a living wage.