Holding our Communities Together
A Southeast Asian & Latinx Community Retreat
Our communities are carrying a lot right now: uncertainty, grief, political division, family pressure, migration histories, and the daily work of survival.
At the same time, Southeast Asian and Latinx communities hold deep traditions of care, resilience, cultural memory, humor, organizing, and collective wisdom.
Holding Our Communities Together is a space to slow down, listen across difference, and explore how we can strengthen belonging, trust, and shared direction when our communities are under pressure.
Learn more (Virtual) on these dates:
May 23, Saturday from 10:30am to 11:30am PST | 1:30pm to 2:30pm EST. Open House for Curiosities, Registration Confirmation, and Check-in.
June 20, Saturday from 2:30p to 3:30p | 5:30pm to 6:30pm EST. Optional Meet and Greet, Check-in, and Sharing Community Guidelines.
In-Person retreat hosted on Ohlone-Ramaytush lands and waters (Bay Area, California) from June 26 to 28, 2026.
This retreat is not a top-down training. It is an invitation to experience the Discovery Cards together, test what feels useful, and help shape how this practice can become more culturally grounded, respectful, and relevant for Southeast Asian and Latinx communities. Let’s learn from each other.
Weekend Flow for Holding Our Communities Together
June 26 to 28, 2026 (Friday thru Sunday)
Friday Evening: Opening Circle
We will arrive, ground, share food, and name what brings us together.
Saturday Day: Discovery Cards Facilitator Lab
Participants will experience the Discovery Cards in small circles and practice using them as a tool for storytelling, listening, reflection, and community connection.
Saturday Evening: Community Discovery Circle
An evening gathering with invited community members to experience the Discovery Cards in practice. Retreat participants will help host and observe how the cards work in a broader community setting.
Sunday Morning: Integration and Next Steps
We will reflect on what we learned, what felt useful, what needs to be adapted, and how participants might bring this practice into their own communities. This will be at Crissy Field Center, Presidio SF.
Sunday Afternoon: Community Potluck Across Diasporas
A shared meal and closing community gathering across diasporas, with space for connection, reflection, and next steps. This will be at Crissy Field Center, Presidio SF.
Curiosities
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Together, we will explore questions such as:
How do we support belonging when our communities are experiencing fear, division, and uncertainty?
How can we listen across generational, political, cultural, and migration differences?
What wisdom do Southeast Asian and Latinx traditions offer for community care, repair, and healing?
How might the Discovery Cards support families, youth spaces, elder circles, organizations, and neighborhood conversations?
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This gathering is designed for:
• Southeast Asian and Latinx community organizers
• Cultural workers and artists
• Educators and youth organizers
• Community healers and facilitators
• People supporting belonging and well-being within diaspora communitiesNo prior experience with movement or facilitation is required.
All bodies and abilities are welcome.
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A simple circle practice for helping people share stories, listen deeply, and name what matters.
Experience using the Discovery Cards with real community questions.
Stronger relationships across Southeast Asian and Latinx organizing, healing, and cultural communities.
Tools for navigating difficult conversations without forcing debate or agreement.
A clearer sense of how this practice might support your own family, organization, neighborhood, or community space.
An opportunity to help shape how the Discovery Cards are shared more widely.
Our hope is that people leave feeling less isolated, more connected, and clearer about how their voice and community can shape what comes next.
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Discovery Cards are a conversation tool designed to help people slow down, reflect, and discover what matters beneath the surface.
They can help communities:
Surface stories without forcing debate.
Make quieter voices easier to include.
Reveal shared values, needs, tensions, and possibilities.
Create a bridge between healing and action.
Offer a repeatable structure for community conversations.
The cards are not just an activity for the retreat. They are a practice participants can bring back to their families, organizations, circles, neighborhoods, and community spaces.
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Participants will use early sketch prototypes of the Discovery Cards while the final deck is being illustrated.
Because this is still a developing practice, your experience matters. We want to learn what lands, what does not, what needs to shift, and how the cards can become more culturally grounded and useful in real community settings.
This retreat is part practice space, part listening space, and part co-design process.
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You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly!
The Larger Vision
The Larger Vision
This retreat is part of a growing network of Discovery Card circles — spaces where communities can gather to explore real questions about belonging, identity, and the future through embodied reflection and shared inquiry.
Participants will help shape how these circles can serve their own communities and create opportunities for cross-diaspora dialogue and solidarity.
Our goal is to develop a shared language of listening and reflection that helps our communities hold one another with empathy, care, and collective resilience.
Organizational Support
We invite participating organizers to attend with the support of their organizations when possible. Contributions from organizations help cover facilitation, materials, food, and scholarship access while supporting a cross-diaspora space for learning and community practice.
Organizations may contribute toward the participation of staff or community leaders based on their capacity. If financial support is a barrier, please still apply — we are committed to making space for organizers whose communities would benefit from being part of this gathering.
Suggested contribution range for organizations: $150–$400 per participant
Financial support is not required to apply. We are committed to making space for organizers and community members whose communities would benefit from being part of this gathering.
Apply to Participate!
We are inviting Southeast Asian and Latinx community organizers who are interested in exploring cross-diaspora solidarity and helping shape the Discovery Cards practice. We expect space for approximately 20 organizers for the full retreat.
Fill out our short form to express your interest. We will follow up with additional details about the retreat and next steps.