Observing a surge in Asian hate crimes and misunderstandings, Diana Weiping Ding took action to bring communities together to stem the tide.
Ding initiated the Asian American Stories Video Contest in 2020 through her Ding-Ding TV. The first Asian-American Stories awards ceremony and dinner gala was held at Milpitas’ H.L. Peninsula restaurant on Thursday, May 2.
In addition to being founder and president of Ding Ding TV, Ding is also founder and CEO of Silicon Valley Community Media. She designed the video contest to honor Asian American heritage, foster a more inclusive society, bring diverse communities together and highlight Asian American stories.
The awards ceremony, which kicked off Asian Heritage Month, drew about 500 guests, storytellers, committee members, sponsors, dignitaries, VIPs, volunteers and partners.
The 2024 contest theme was “All of US Belong Here.” The Asian American Stories committee received 73 video stories from thousands of diverse community members, ranging from seasoned filmmakers to first-time storytellers, with contributions coming not only from Northern and Southern California but also from Washington, DC, Alaska, Boston and elsewhere.
For the past 20 years, Ding has devoted herself to telling Asian stories through various media. At the awards ceremony, she shared that growing up in a Chinese family, she learned the importance of being humble and developed a tendency to keep her stories to herself. This sentiment is shared by many Asian American households where success is often met with modesty and struggles are silently endured, Ding added.
The ceremony showcased the award-winning videos and creators and featured performances by the APAM Youth Choir, Sunny’s Drama Space and 85Fun Dance Studio that highlighted the culture and heritage of Asian American children.
Award-winners included Tim (Jian) Zheng in the adult division and Sylvie Nguyen for the youth division. Nguyen founded the Vietnamese Culture Club (VCC) in 2023 as a sophomore at Gunn High School. VCC is Gunn’s first Vietnamese cultural affinity group.
Second and third place in the adult division went to Min Zhou and Jiayi Li, respectively. Samantha Quynh Huong Tran’s video took second in the youth division, and Abby Wu’s entry placed third.
Adult Excellence Awards were presented to Victor William Chen, Long Jin, Min Zhou, Ann and Yue Chang and Dr. Arthur L. Jue. Youth Excellence Awards were presented to Ethan Guan, Kaihua Skyler Chong, William Chui, Lauryn Chew and Sophia Cheng.
The WeDance team and Samantha Quynh Huong Tran won Viewer’s Choice awards, Avalyn Wu and Cathy Chang received the Judges’ Special Merit awards, and the Gerrye Wong was named the Legend Storyteller.
The Youth Ambassadors awards honored Sophia Cheng, Ethan Guan and Michelle Ahl. The Most Valuable Player award went to Amy Zhao, the First Submission award to Romeo Morales and the Team Contributors Awards to Chin Lin, Alex Liu and Liyan Zhao.