TakingITGlobal

77 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T V O L . 2 S ticky Rice Magazine is a volunteer- led community creative project led by Viet Tran promoting intercultural dialogue on what it means to be Asian Canadian. Viet and his team were concerned for the future of Montreal's Chinatown, whose history and heritage is under threat of erasure by buyers and investers in the area. Their team was also acutely aware of the needs of queer Asian youth in the community, who are looking for safer spaces to gather preserve their culture, and simply to be. That's why they dedicated the second volume of their magazine to the theme of (BE)LONGING: The Queer Edition. It's also why they decided to bring these two issues together for their #RisingYouth project. "I imagined a Pride event that felt not only inclusive but home for Asian folks and their allies," Viet explains further. "Pride to me does not always equate confettis, parades, and overt expressions of sexual freedom, which is what you can expect in most pride events. For many, pride is about yearning for belonging, working through internalized shame, and experiencing expansive love." Viet and the Sticky Rice team organized a Fierté au Quartier — the very first Pride in Montreal's Chinatown. The festivities brought attention to the neighbourhood, Fierté au Quartier: The First Pride in Montreal's Chinatown Viet Tran I imagined a Pride event that felt not only inclusive, but home for Asian folks and their allies... supported local merchants, and also addressed LGBTQ+ issues in the Asian community. They distributed Pride In Chinatown stickers, and discussed the significance of it to all who came through to take part in the celebration. "I am proud to have organized the first ever Pride In Chinatown, which is important because Pride needs to be discussed in a culturally sensitive way for different communities," Viet reflects. "It takes a lot of work to engage in these conversation in sometimes more conservative circles. To be able to organize an event like this, in collaboration with the local merchants and the Asian community-at-large, is a big step foward." A link to Viet's magazine: Sticky Rice! A special thank you to Centre Communautaire LGBTQ+ de Montreal and Sticky Rice Magazine for sharing the #RisingYouth grant opportunity with Viet to make this project possible.

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