OVERVIEW
What is ACCP?
The Association of Chinese Canadian Professionals (ACCP) is a registered non-profit society with a mission to foster social responsibility and leadership of professionals to serve the community through advocacy, education, and mentoring of youths. We consist of a diverse membership ranging from scientists and physicians to lawyers and accountants, all working towards the common goal of providing social leadership and equality of opportunity for all Canadians.
Why is ACCP important?
Chinese-Canadians have a special place in Canadian history, contributing greatly to the growth and development of this country. However, Chinese-Canadians have fallen short of providing the social leadership of which they are capable, and their presence is visibly diminished at the highest levels of the corporate, political, and media world. The need for Chinese-Canadians to take a leadership role in shaping the social and political landscape and to participate in defining the future direction of the country is more pressing than ever.
The membership of ACCP represents a unique and powerful group within the population towards which all Canadians turn for advice and guidance. By drawing upon our skills, knowledge, and influence, the ACCP can positively influence matters of concern to the Canadian public, ensuring that the Chinese-Canadian facet of our society is adequately represented.
What does ACCP do?
We organize professional educational seminars, health workshops, youth education programs, and have organized radio programs providing legal, medical, and financial advice. Advocacy issues, particularly relating to equal representation of Chinese-Canadians at the highest levels of social, political, and corporate leadership is a fundamental raison-d'etre of the organization. By demonstrating goodwill and leadership, ACCP encourages the involvement of all Chinese-Canadians in matters affecting the country.
2009-2010
This fiscal year, ACCP continues to focus on the theme of the Glass Ceiling in Canada. "Glass Ceiling" refers to situations where the advancement of a qualified person is hindered due to reasons other than their ability to do their job.
ACCP held a number of key events in 2006 and 2007 on this topic which brought discussion and attention to this important subject matter. In 2008-2009, ACCP will continue to advocate on this topic and will work on the following key initiatives relating to this topic:
1) Online Public Database – to document cases of glass ceilings and other forms of discrimination within the Chinese Canadian community. This will empower us as a community to provide the ready statistics that would be necessary to lobby the government and public to recognize this as an important problem, and to overcome the scarcity of research and information on this subject currently.
2) Professional Development Seminar Series – a selection of topics dealing withovercoming the glass ceiling issue by educating our members on professional and career development skills. These will be offered from January to May 2009.
3) Mentorship Program – A new medical sciences group will be established this year. In conjunction with the law group, science/engineering group, and business/accounting/finance group, the mentorship groups play an important role in addressing the glass ceiling issue by providing a venue for discussion of the various issues relating to advancement in the respective professional fields.
4) Fundraising – Raise funds to further work on the glass ceiling issue. The Board has various ideas on how to use the funds raised, including to put the funds towards further research on the glass ceiling issue, or to sponsor the production of a documentary regarding the glass ceiling or related issue.
ACCP will continue to hold its regular events, like Careers Day and monthly socials.
