New York’s UniPro launches chapter in San Diego, California

Hon. Consul General Audie de Castro opens the UniPro San Diego launch. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

SAN DIEGO, California – More than 50 members of the Filipino community here on February 6 welcomed the new San Diego chapter of the New York City-based Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro).

The gathering at the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW) Community Hall was co-sponsored by UDW, National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and Silayan Filipina.

Consul General Audie de Castro urged the audience to strive for unity and to promote Filipino American interests in San Diego. “In the past couple of years, our community has worked together better than ever.  A major reason is that I have seen many of you reach out to all generations and to others with different political views.  This is the best time for UniPro to be created in San Diego. I look forward to working with all of you.”

Small group discussions tackled what UniPro can do to serve the San Diego area. Some of the recurring themes included the needs for improved communication, greater visibility in the political sphere and professional and personal development.

Some of the possible solutions presented were the creation of a Filipino community center, a database of Filipino American organizations in San Diego, regular town hall meetings and leadership and mentorship programs in the community.

Attendees in small group discussions at the UniPro San Diego launch. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

UniPro’s San Diego chapter is the organization’s first venture outside of New York City. “UniPro has always been interested in expanding beyond the metro-NY area. How could we work towards our vision of a unified and engaged Pilipino America without a presence in other major Pilipino American communities?” asks UniPro NY President Iris Zalun.

“The answer came when we became involved in the Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration (EPYC) conference, held in San Diego last August. Through EPYC, we met a group of passionate leaders whose values of collaboration, advocacy, and education aligned with ours. That team then approached us, expressing a need for UniPro in the San Diego community. Thus, UniPro San Diego was born.”

UniPro San Diego will host a Town Hall and Community Dialogue Follow-Up on May 15, 2015. For more information, visit www.unipronow.org and contact [email protected].