Greetings from the Margins!

On May 22, 2012, ECHO (Emergency and Community Health Outreach) invited MWSM to come do an interview at Twin Cities Public Television on the significant of Youth engagement in the voting and democratic process in the Hmong Community.

On that day, Chong V. represented MWSM and went in for the interview with ECHO. He recalls a feeling of nervousness before the shooting, but after running into Bao Vang, the CEO and E.D. of HAP, who was also a participant at the interview, his feelings of anxiety were rest assured.

(Left to Right) TPT Staff/Interviewer, Chong V., & Kong C.

Upon the interview with ECHO on TPT, Chong was asked to identify why he thought it is important to vote, why it is important for 1st and 2nd generation of immigrants to vote, what does the democratic process mean, and why it was important for youth engagement when voting. The interview was split into two segments, one was in English, while the other was in Hmong.

During the interview, Chong and Kong were able to experience the reality behind a studio shooting. They were amazed by the various gadgets present in the room and the technical language used during the shooting. “Left, Right, Focus, Right, Dissolve!”

After shooting the youth interview, we were offered to take a photo in front of the studio/stage area with our interviewer. It was such an amazing experience to be in a space and talk about some very important information that needs to be circulated in the Hmong community.

The video clip is not out until later June or early July. The clip will be posted shortly after it is public.