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Vision
Our vision for long-term social change calls for a participatory democracy composed of empowered and engaged communities where everyone has a voice and the power to act. It is a vision for all individuals and communities to have equity and fairness that is informed by and respects distinctions of class, gender, race, and sexuality, and of even stronger organizations serving them. By "equity" we mean the equal distribution of power, representation, and access to resources within any conditions and systems.
Values
The NGEC is guided by our values and understanding of how social change and movements for justice develop. Social movements are not built overnight rather they have life cycles. At times it is thriving and achieving high impact and other times it is dormant, retreating and sometimes in a state of decline. Persistent institutional and cultural barriers have meant that our communities have been unable to equally create, influence, or participate in our democracy. A social justice movement is critical to making advances along cultural, economic, environmental, political, and social lines to achieve systemic change.
The NGEC believes that the broader social justice movement is effective when:
- Multiple constituencies are included where those most impacted are best positioned to identify priorities and strategies that address their needs.;
- Cultural change and transformation occurs by listening to and building on existing assets within communities while nurturing leaderhip;
- A gender and equity framework is applied—one that addresses the disparities that exist between people based on the intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, among other identities;
- There are strong community-based organizations that organize their base, build strategic alliances, and sustain networks among multiple constituencies.
Goals
The NGEC aims to build strong community-led organizations that activate communities to speak and act for themselves. Our goals are to:
- Develop powerful grassroots leadership;
- Build the capacity and leadership of AAPI organizations to be strong and accountable to communities;
- Strengthen the infrastructure within AAPI communities to have increased political influence and to create systemic change; and
- Engage philanthropy and leverage philanthropic resources to advance justice and equity for all communities.