Conference Links
ABOUT UNAVSA
The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA) 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.
The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA) annually hosts a continental leadership conference that invites students and young professionals from across North America to gather for an event that will catalyze to motivate and inspire leaders within the Vietnamese-American and Canadian communities.
The UNAVSA-21 Leadership Conference will be held in the NorCal region, specifically at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose in San Jose, CA between July 9-12, 2026.
Individuals and constituents from across the North American continent are able to attend the UNAVSA Leadership Conference! We have various opportunities to attend the conference in various capacities which includes, but are not limited to: Staff, Alumni, Attendee, Friends of UNAVSA, Performer, Presenter, Sponsor Donor, etc.
GENERAL REGISTRATION QUESTIONS
You are able to reach out to the registration team through their email: [email protected]. You will receive a response within 48 hours after contacting.
For the UNAVSA-21 conference, there are only two tiers of registration available: Tier 1 – Early Registration and Tier 2 – Regular Registration.
Tier 1 – Early Registration will not be first come, first serve compared to previous years. Instead, a pre-registration period will be open from Thursday, March 19th, 2026 at 11:00 AM PT and close on Thursday, March 26th, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.
30 Early Registration Spots will be randomly filled out via raffle, and the randomly selected attendees will receive an email to complete their Tier 1 – Early Registration at a later time.
Tier 2 – Regular Registration will be first come, first serve. It will open on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 at 3:00 PM PT and will close on Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 at 11:59 PM or if tickets sell out.
The cost of registration will be as follows:
- Tier 1, Tier 2, and Alumni tickets are all priced at $140.
PayPal or Credit Card – Follow the instructions on the registration portal once you reach the payment section.
You will receive an automated confirmation email from [email protected] once you have completed the check out process. Please wait for at least an hour for the confirmation email to be sent.
If you have not received it, please reach out to [email protected].
Payment processing will occur immediately upon completion of conference registration. If there is high traffic on the site during the time of conference registration, it may take a few minutes.
Included in your UNAVSA-21 Leadership Conference Registration is the following:
- Networking opportunity with almost 300+ students and young professionals from across North America
- Access to interactive conference sessions, workshops and keynotes
- Admission to the Culture Show (UNAVSA By Night) and Gala
- Meals (Including Friday Lunch, Saturday Dinner & Sunday Lunch)
- A UNAVSA-21 Conference T-Shirt and Attendee Bag
- Scheduled visit to experience the city of San Jose
- And so much more!
Disclaimer: Hotel costs and transportation are NOT included in the registration fee.
- Time Commitment: Approximately 60 minutes to complete your registration.
- Professional Headshot
- Payment Method: Options include PayPal or Credit Card.
- Emergency Contact: Name and contact information of someone we can reach in case of emergencies.
- Accommodation Preferences: Any specific lodging needs or requests.
For further preparation, please review the UNAVSA-21 Registration Brochure (https://tinyurl.com/unavsa21regbrochure).
The waitlist for conference registration will be announced once the Tier 2 – Regular Registration sells out. Waitlist spots will be given on a first come, first served basis. If a spot becomes available, you will be notified by email, and you will be provided instructions on how to register.
To get placed in the right family that fits your personality and needs, there will be a series of questions you will answer as you register that will help our Family Programming Committee with sorting. Since there is a time limit on how long you have to register for the U-21 Conference, we recommend you prepare responses ahead of time to the following questions so that you can copy the responses over as you register to save you time. Those questions are:
- Please take the MBTI Personality Test. Once you have completed it, you will be given a personality code that you will need to note down.
- Please list some of your hobbies and interests.
- What are you looking for in a family?
- What does an ideal Family Leader look like to you, and how could your Family Leader best make you feel included/supported in the family?
- How would you describe yourself in a group setting?
- What are your boundaries/limitations? (i.e. not comfortable with…)
- Is there anything else you would like FPC to know that would help us sort you into the best family possible? (ex: partners, potential conflicts, similar age, same region, etc.)
ALUMNI REGISTRATION
You are eligible to register as a conference alumni if you meet the definition of an UNAVSA alumni:
UNAVSA Alumni are any former officially recognized members of any office of the organization who have participated as:
- Cabinet Staff Member
- Conference Staff member*
- Cabinet Director
- Conference Director
- CORR member
- Executive Board member
*See UNAVSA Constitution Appendix for definition of Conference Staff
UNAVSA Alumni are not defined by age, gender, ethnicity, educational background, or anything else.
What is a Friend of UNAVSA?
A Friend of UNAVSA is anyone who has fulfilled a term on internal staff with a partner region or UNAVSA, examples below:
- Regional Executive Boards
- Regional Conference Executives Directors
- Past Regional Cabinet/Conference Staff
Although these are the guidelines, on a case-by-case basis, some exceptions may be flexible to some degree.
Friends of UNAVSA registrations will require approval from the Conference Executive team upon submission. Once approved, tickets will be issued via email.
The main difference between attendee and alumni registration is in the type of programming that each group will experience. Both groups will still experience the main parts of the conference (Ceremonies, Keynote, UNAVSA By Night & Gala) but during specific programming, attendees will be participating in family activities and alumni will be participating in other activities decided by the Alumni Programming Committee.
TRAVEL FAQs
We recommend flying into San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) since the DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose, U-21’s Hotel, is located near this airport.
You can fly into SFO or OAK if it is the cheaper option, but this is further from the hotel. If you choose to fly into these airports, we recommend flying in before or after 2:30 PM – 7:00 PM PT, to avoid the commute hours.
Disclaimer: If you choose to fly into SFO or OAK, it will be your responsibility to find transportation to the hotel.
No, transportation to and from the conference site will not be provided. You will be responsible for your own transportation.
There is a free airport shuttle service available from SJC that runs every 30 minutes, 5 AM – 11 PM. For shuttle information, please read below:
Terminal Stops:
- Terminal A: Stop 8 (International)
- Terminal B: Stop 12 (Domestic)
You’ll need to call the hotel for the shuttle to be sent
- Phone Number: 408-453-4000
- Press 3 for shuttle
- Max occupancy: 9
They’ll ask for how many people and your airline.
If you are not comfortable traveling by airport shuttle, we suggest you contact your family and/or Family Leader or use Uber/Lyft/Public Transit.
If you have any trouble or run into any emergencies, contact [email protected].
We will not be requiring COVID-19 tests or proof of vaccination to attend this year’s leadership conference. Please review our Liability Waiver for further information on our COVID-19 policy.
It is important to be aware that UNAVSA is not liable to any guest contracting COVID-19 at the UNAVSA-21 Conference. UNAVSA is not liable to reimburse any expenses incurred due to contracting COVID-19 at conference, causing our attendees to not be able to participate in further conference programming.
HOTEL LODGING FAQs
The rate for the hotel room will be $159.00 USD before taxes and fees (15.50%) for a Double Queen room. Details on the hotel registration process will be announced once registration is finalized, but in the meantime, if you know you are planning on attending, you can go ahead and plan out who wants to room within the following parameters: Strictly max 4 guests in the Double Queen room.
Hotel registration will be emailed out to all registered attendees and alumni once all of registration has concluded. Please refrain from reserving on the hotel website as we will have a group rate at a discounted price readily available for those attending the UNAVSA-21 Conference.
The last day to reserve a hotel room through our hotel registration process will be on the registration form itself. Please stay tuned for further details as information regarding hotel registration will be emailed to all registered attendees.
The UNAVSA group daily rate will be available from Thursday, July 9th, 2026 to Sunday, July 12th, 2026.
You can check into the hotel starting at 4 PM PT on Thursday, July 9th, 2026. Registrants of UNAVSA-21 will need to be checked out of the hotel by 11 AM PT on Sunday, July 12th, 2026.
We highly encourage you to reserve your conference lodging at our partner hotel since we have secured a discounted rate for all guests reserving through us.
Please see below for the benefits with staying at the hotel
- Convenience: All UNAVSA-21 programming items, outside of exploring the city of San Jose, will be hosted at the hotel.
- Price: In negotiation with the hotel, we have secured a discounted rate for our guests.
- Amenities: From a dedicated hotel shuttle to/from SJC to comfortable and spacious hotel rooms, the hotel has a great amount of amenities for guests to use. Guests also receive free parking for those traveling by car.
- Accessibility to Staff: Our staff can be readily available to provide assistance and support as you all experience the UNAVSA-21 conference!
- Quality of Experience: Staying at the hotel puts you closer to the rest of your family and makes it easier to make lasting memories!
Disclaimer: UNAVSA will not be held liable for any incidents that may occur while residing off-site for conference.
There is on-site parking for those traveling by car. The process to obtain parking is to provide the hotel with your hotel key card if you plan on utilizing hotel parking for the duration of conference. If you are needing to park for a day, the hotel will provide you with a different pass to use. In the event that space at the hotel parking lot is full, the hotel offers parking in a satellite parking garage where you will need to obtain a validated & complimentary ticket from the front desk.
The UNAVSA-21 Registration team will prepare a Roommate Finder process for all attendees who will stay at the hotel venue.
Once released, the UNAVSA-21 Registration team will send an email to all registered and confirmed attendees.
With the way our hotel registration works, one person will be designated as the ‘point of contact’ in being the lead person in reserving the hotel room on behalf of all individuals staying in the room. From there, we encourage you to personally handle reimbursements through splitting up the total cost of the hotel room between all individuals staying in the space.
For any questions regarding hotel registration or hotel inquiries, please email our Conference Executives team at [email protected].
REFUND POLICY
A hundred percent (100%) of the registration fees will be refunded for cancellations received before or on Tuesday, May 12th at 11:59 PM PT.
No refunds will be given for cancellations received after the above stated deadline. This includes personal reasons, medical emergencies, and no shows.
Once a cancellation has been received, that registration spot will be given to the next person on the waitlist through a first come, first serve process. The waitlist form will open once registration has concluded and will be shared at a later time to give folks an opportunity to sign up for fairness. If you are on the waitlist and receive an opportunity to register for the UNAVSA-21 Conference, you must follow the instructions on the email to register in an adequate time.
In the unlikely event that UNAVSA should have to cancel the Annual UNAVSA Leadership Conference, attendees will be refunded for the full amounts paid for through the UNAVSA Conference registration site. UNAVSA will not be responsible for any other attendee related expenses including, but not limited to: transportation expenses, housing, other personal costs.
Upon receiving your refund request, UNAVSA will contact you to verify your request. Once approved, a refund will be issued within seven (7) business days.
After you register, you will receive a Registration Support Form that is included in the confirmation email for you to submit a refund request.
For further inquiry, please contact [email protected].