aapi heritage month activities

how to celebrate aapi heritage month at work

This article will feature 20+ team-building ideas to celebrate aapi heritage month at work, including arts and crafts, classes, workshops, games, and gift ideas!

AAPI Heritage Month, or Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to our organizations and our communities. It is a time to celebrate their rich culture, history, and impact on American society.

For your teams, celebrating minority communities like AAPI that are often excluded from mainstream media is vital. For AAPI employees, seeing their culture celebrated can be incredibly rewarding and foster a sense of pride and community within the workplace. For non-AAPI employees, it can be an opportunity to learn and connect. Plus, celebrating communities will help build company culture and boost employee morale, creating a better working environment!

1. bubble tea making workshop

Bubble tea is a delicious global phenomenon originating in Taiwan, and anyone can make it from home! In this bubble tea making class, your team will learn about the history of bubble tea and enjoy a tea-house atmosphere. Then, they will learn how to brew, assemble and enjoy two delicious bubble tea flavors and be able to impress their loved ones with this fun new skill!

2. Japanese marbling workshop

Japanese marbling is an ancient art form used to capture the movement of ink in water. In this class, your team will learn how to recreate this technique using fun instruments like a pipette and a comb and tap into an immersive art form. They will use ink and water to create masterpieces they would be proud to display in their home!

3. ORIGAMI CLASS

Origami is an ancient technique that turns paper into a finished sculpture using various folding methods. Today, origami is still practiced as a hobby and skill that promotes fine motor skills, encourages mental concentration, and develops hand-eye coordination. As a team building session, your team will learn a new skill together, practice mindfulness, and have a great 2D and 3D model to show off at the end.

4. Virtual Cooking Class 

AAPI cuisine is world-renowned and full of diverse, intricate delights that you may already enjoy, like Japanese Yakisoba, Vietnamese Pho, Indian Aloo Gobi, or Korean Bibimbap, among many others. For your AAPI celebrations, invite a chef to come along and show your team how to recreate a classic dish while learning about that dish or that nation’s history through classes like this sushi-making class with Breakthrough Sushi or dumpling making with Mei Mei Dumplings.

5. MIXOLOGY

For the ultimate AAPI celebration, treat your team to a themed mixology session and learn how to make some yummy cocktails. You can send your team a cocktail-making kit and invite a professional mixologist to teach them how to shake, stir and pour three delicious AAPI cocktails like a Mai Thai, an Asian Lychee Daisy, or an Asian pear mojito.

6. YOGA

Modern yoga originated in ancient India, and modern yoga often consists of postures and meditation, and is a well-loved form of mindfulness for people across the world. Yoga allows people to try bring harmony between their body and mind, to feel more present and unwind. For remote workers, yoga classes are a great way to incorporate stretching and mediation into their daily routine, boosting mind and body function.

7. Lunch & Learn

Invite your team to attend a virtual tour, exhibition, or collection that celebrates AAPI artists, culture, or history.  The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, CA, holds free virtual tours of exhibits like Contemporary Art Anew, which features impressive art installations and Tiny Things featuring intricate miniatures sculptures.

UnLadyLike2020 is an incredible collection of short films and a one-hour documentary compiling historic women and highlights the stories of Asian-American and Pacific Islander women who have often been forgotten about in history. Among them are fashion icon and movie star Anna May Wong, the last and only female monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Queen Lili‘uokalani, and Margaret Chung, the first American-born Chinese female doctor. 

To turn this into a Lunch and Learn, send your team a gift card or arrange a meal delivery service that they can use to purchase a delicious meal from an AAPI restaurant! This discussion can also be a great team-building activity as everyone shows off their favorite dishes! 

8. Team Book Club 

If your team is full of bookworms and already hosts a book club, AAPI Heritage Month is the perfect opportunity to learn about and appreciate AAPI authors! Penguin Random House published an awesome compilation of must-read books by AAPI authors and is a great place to start!

• The Farm by Filipino author Joanne Ramos is a harrowing dystopian novel about the lengths women will go to secure a future for themselves and their families. 

• House Of Many Gods by Hawaiian author Kiana Davenport depicts a complex love story in the midst of the Hawaiian struggle against military invasion, poverty, and destruction. 

• The Joy Luck Club, by Chinese-American author Amy Tan, tells the stories of immigrant women across generations and examines the connections between mothers and daughters. 
  

9. gift ideas for aapi heritage month

Send your virtual team a care package full of goodies by small AAPI businesses! We know how important it is to put our dollar where our mouth is, and supporting small businesses is the most tangible way to support AAPI communities this month and beyond.

• Nguyen Coffee Supply is a specialty award-winning woman-owned Vietnamese coffee roasting company from Brooklyn, NY. Their shop includes coffee premium coffee, traditional phin filters, and curated bundles! Check out their Original Phin Kit and coffee subscription service.

• Bokksu is a curated snack box service that partners with small family-owned businesses to produce premium Japanese snacks and share them with the world. Their offerings include a classic Bokksu gift box that includes 20+ Japanese snacks and sweets and a tea pairing, seasonal boxes, and subscription services.

• MìLà is owned by a couple of second-generation Chinese-Americans who seek a way to preserve their culture and heritage through food and tradition. Their offerings include traditional soup dumplings, Chinese noodles, crafted sauces, ice cream, and their full MìLà experience, which includes a bamboo steamer!

10. aapi hERITAGE MONTH ICEBREAKERS

AAPI Heritage Month Icebreaker Questions

1. What is your favorite AAPI cuisine?

2. Who is your favorite AAPI author or book series? 

3. What is your favorite AAPI snack or dish?

4. Who is your favorite AAPI singer or band?

5. What is your favorite AAPI show or movie?

AAPI HERITAGE MONTH WOULD YOU RATHER QUESTIONS

1. Would you rather have unlimited sushi or unlimited dumplings?

2. Would you rather read manga or watch anime?

3. Would you rather visit The Forbidden City or the Taj Mahal?

4. Would you rather watch Everything Everywhere All At Once or Shang-Chi and the Legend Of The Ten Rings?

5. Would you rather read The Joy Luck Club or Little Fires Everywhere?

AAPI HERITAGE MONTH TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. Where is the movie Crazy Rich Asians set?

• Japan

• Singapore

• Taiwan

2. Who is the leading actress in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever?

• Deepika Padukone

• Koska Patel

• Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

3. Who is considered the most famous K-Pop band of all time?

• BTS

• Blackpink

• Red Velvet

4. Who played the first Asian Marvel superhero, Shang-Chi?

• Simu Liu

• Ross Butler

• Harry Shum Jr.

5. Which of the following is a Korean side dish made of salted and fermented vegetables?

• Kimchi

• Morkovka

• Pao cai

6. What is the national dish of the Philippines, consisting of stewed meat?

• Pho

• Chilli crab

• Adobo

7. What is the only country in South East Asia that was not colonized?

• Malaysia

• Thailand

• Laos

8. Which country had the world’s first democratically elected female prime minister in 1960?

• Sri Lanka

• Malaysia

• East Timor

9. The people of Easter Island, Tonga, and Hawaii are _____?

• Melanesians

• Micronesians

• Polynesians

10. Which country’s flag consists of a white crescent moon and star on a green background?

• Saudi Arabia

• Tibet

• Pakistan

CHECK OUT SOME AAPI HERITAGE MONTH SHEETS TO PLAY WITH YOUR TEAM!

ABOUT KRAFTYLAB

KraftyLab is a leading corporate event provider for remote teams across the US and Canada. Our fun team building experiences include activities and games which provide opportunities for connection and engagement wherever your employees may be!

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