Programs

ASACA's Cultural Awareness and Education Campaign

We seek to improve American perception of the Arab-American community and its way of life by introducing an educational program in Michigan schools that will promote understanding and cultural sensitivity to Arabs. The proposed educational program will include working with different public school districts in Metro Detroit and offer the following:

• Provide materials that reflect factual and positive information about Arab Americans and the Arab World (books, videos, pictures, web links, etc…).
• Arrange for volunteers to visit classrooms and give age-appropriate presentations during their Social Studies classes on the Middle East.
• Sponsor school visits to the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn in order to promote awareness of Arab culture and accomplishments in the US.
• Establish a Teacher In-Service Training Program with the help of the Arab American National Museum in order to educate schoolteachers about the culture and history of the Arab World and the Arab American way of life.

We have initiated our work with the help of the Arab American National Museum, and we are approaching several school districts such as Troy, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Port Huron and Grosse Pointe. We aim to expand our work in the future to reach other districts in the area.

University Musical Society (UMS) at the University of Michigan Arab Festival Concert Series

Part of ASACA's mission is to educate both the Arab American and non-Arab American audiences about the rich cultural heritage of the Arab World. To this end, ASACA in conjunction with the University Musical Society (UMS) will participate as a sponsor of the 2009-2010 Arab Festival Series. The Arab Festival Series will feature renowned Arab artists from throughout the Arab world.

Our vision to promote these goals involves collaboration with other organizations and academic institutions in the Arab-American community.

"Arab Detroit" Channel 56 PBS Television Series

"Arab Detroit" is a weekly 30-minute magazine-style program which will air on Detroit Public Television. The program will explore all aspects of the Arab American community.

The Arab American community is a vital and thriving community. The stories told are often quite different from those that are seen on the local news in short bursts. Too often negative stereotypes send misleading and inaccurate images about Arab Americans and Muslims in the media.

The series will seek to explore a community rich in culture in Detroit and in the U.S.

WTVS Detroit Public Television is the viewer-supported PBS member station serving the nation's 11th largest television market. ASACA is a proud supporter of this proposed television series which fulfills our mission of education and culture.