All posts tagged: center for lao studies

Exhibit explores Lao refugee experience, idea of home

Photos courtesy of Dale Thongmahavong A traveling exhibit documenting the experiences of multi-ethnic Lao refugees opens this weekend. “Between Two Worlds: Untold Stories of Refugees from Laos,” hosted by the Center for Lao Studies, opens Saturday at Turtle Bay Museum, 844 Sundial Bridge Drive in Redding, California. The exhibit will be open from Oct. 6, 2018 through Jan. 13, 2019. According to the center’s website, the exhibit examines the idea of home and the stages of what home has meant for Lao refugees and multi-ethnic Lao Americans throughout history. It highlights life in four areas: Laos, captivity, refugee camps and America. It will make four more stops throughout California, including Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. “We have been in the U.S. for at least 40 years and if we don’t gather this information and stories they will forever be lost,” Vinya Saysamouth, project co-director and executive director of CLS, said in the exhibit’s trailer. “It’s a unique story in American history and it’s also universal in many different ways.” The project began in …

Photo Snippets: The 5th International Conference on Lao Studies in Bangkok

Wrapping up a busy year of 40th commemorative festivities across the country, Center for Lao Studies (CLS) organized its 5th internationally-known conference for the first time in Southeast Asia. The conference was this past July 8-10th, hosted by Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. Check out the photo snippets below. All photos credited to Radio Free Asia. “The conference served as a venue for scholars and community members to gather and discuss various aspects of Lao Studies. I felt like coming to a family reunion every three years, and seeing different aspects of Lao studies progressing in a positive way. The International Conference on Lao Studies is the only conference that focus exclusively on Lao Studies and I am glad to see how it has grown throughout the years.” -Vinya Sysamouth, Executive Director of Center for Lao Studies  -Staff, editor@littlelaos.org