Who We Are + Mission

On November 2016, Project Voice was launched originally with a vision to provide a digital space specifically for Asian American womxn. Over time, as a podcast with 4+ seasons, Project Voice has evolved into a growing platform that serves as a resource for not only womxn but also non-binary folx of the Asian diaspora as well.

Project Voice was originally intended to be a Youtube channel series that would give space to Asian American womxn who wanted to share their voices on camera. However, after doing a run-through with several volunteers, Jessica Nguyen noticed that not everyone was comfortable enough being in front of the camera. As a result, the video initiative would have been more challenging and time-consuming for me, who already had few resources to begin with at that time, so I scrapped the idea.

After a while of feeling stuck, the idea of doing a podcast came to my mind. Jessica recycled her first few scrapped video interviews and started afresh with Project Voice, using the audio files saved from the aforementioned project.

The idea of podcasting came to be the best platform not only for our interviewees, who have become more than willing to voice their thoughts and opinions, but also for our listeners as well. Podcasting really fits with the fast pace of lifestyle that people of our generation have been acclimated to - if you’re always on the go, all you need is a pair of earphones to plug in, so overall, the podcast being technologically accessible has been a win-win situation for the Project Voice community.

To you,

     We encourage you to learn about our history and the histories of others and be aware of the space that we as an Asian American community take up as well. We need to invest ourselves on becoming better allies for marginalized communities within marginalized communities, including our own. Specifically speaking, we should take initiatives in educating others and ourselves on how we can prevent discrimination from spreading within and outside the Asian community. From sexism, to homophobia, to transphobia, to colorism and anti-Blackness that still unfortunately exist today, we as a society have a long way to go.

     Another takeaway that I hope my listeners will gain from the podcast is finding the motivation to be their own storytellers. There’s always so much more that we can create and share to elevate our own community, but we have to remember that we have to be the ones to start.

     Moving forward, Project Voice is all about continuing the dialogue about how integral of a role intersectionality plays in our daily lives - and I hope that the conversation never ends in future upcoming seasons. Since its launch, one of our goals will always be to include more narratives of marginalized “subcommunities” within our community that do not have as much visibility as other dominating “subcommunities” (i.e. East Asian, light-skinned, straight, able-bodied).

     We encourage people outside our community to listen in as well. By being more aware of where others are coming from, you're more likely to listen and empathize with them and resolve issues in a more informed place.

Warmly,

Jessica Nguyen