Programs
Every year, SAALT’s programming shifted to meet the needs of varying community ecosystems and demands. Take a look at how we’ve built programming historically.
SAALT’S PROGRAMMING INCLUDEd:
- Hate Violence Survivors’ Project
In 2023, SAALT launched The Hate Violence Survivors’ Project, the first in the organization’s history that directly engaged survivors. Fifteen survivors had space to explore outside the conventional limitations of justice that are often restricted to policy and law enforcement while being supported by coaches and peers in their personal healing journey. The program was intended to break open the paradigm that we can work only within a criminal justice system that was intentionally designed to fail and punish people of color. - Visiting Scholar In Residence
From 2021–2022, SAALT worked with Dr. Khalid Anis Ansari, an international Pasmanda Muslim scholar to begin engaging SAALT board and staff in principled learning on caste. - Voices from the Community
Community members write for SAALT’s Medium series, Voices from the Community, where SAALT features posts from community members on key issues and their intersections. - Campus Sessions
A Campus Session is an opportunity for a student-driven discussion around issues that impact the South Asian community.
- Campaigns
SAALT engages in campaigns around the country focused on areas with high-density South Asian populations. - Regional and Local Initiatives
SAALT leads campaigns and programs in various parts of the country with a special emphasis on areas with high-density South Asian populations. - PROCESS: 20 Years Since
PROCESS: 20 YEARS SINCE is a mini-docuseries and interactive digital exhibition which amplifies our young siblings’ calls to process — the past twenty years, and the next twenty years — in just, transformative, and unifying ways. On 10 September 2021, SAALT and the artists, allies, and storytellers involved in the making of PROCESS: 20 YEARS SINCE celebrated the launch of the project at Judson Memorial Church and Washington Square Park, bringing together community members for an afternoon of collective reflection. See pictures, taken by Iqra Shahbaz, here. On 16 September 2021, SAALT, alongside co-hosts Justice for Muslims Collective and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), hosted a virtual Congressional Briefing on 9/11 and the War on Terror, where multiple storytelling siblings shared their stories. Read their reflections here, and watch the Congressional Briefing here. On 21 September 2021, SAALT held a virtual event celebrating “PROCESS: 20 YEARS SINCE” with the exclusive launch of a compilation video highlighting themes from the docuseries, with commentary from panelists Shravya Kag, Saira Mangat, Atif Akhter, and SAALT’s own Lakshmi Sridaran and Simran Noor. Watch the compilation video here. - Political Education: National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO)
From 2020–2021, SAALT worked with external facilitators to engage the NCSO in political education work on issues of white supremacy, anti-Black racism, and casteism as part of the effort to become a more values aligned coalition. Learn more about the NCSO here. - Mini-Series Guest Lectures
EarthBound was a 2021 SAALT series exploring our communities’ connections to lands currently and ancestrally tied to our people. - National South Asian Summit
From 2007–2017, SAALT’s National Summit was a biennial gathering and platform for advocates and allies across the U.S. to convene in Washington, D.C., providing skill shares, critical discussions, and strategy sessions to advance civil rights and equity for South Asian Americans. For details on our previous Summits, click here. - We Build Community
The We Build Community initiative is designed to enable four groups in the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations to deepen their capacity and involvement in civic engagement that connect South Asian American communities with broader movements for racial justice, immigration justice, gender justice, and/or LGBTQ justice. - Young Leaders Institute
SAALT’s Young Leaders Institute (YLI) is an opportunity for undergraduate university students to build leadership skills, connect with activists and mentors, and explore social change strategies around issues that affect South Asian and immigrant communities in the US. - Be The Change, Day of Service
Be the Change was an annual national day of service honoring Gandhi that was historically coordinated by SAALT to inspire and foster civic engagement and stronger communities through volunteerism and community service. As of 2016, SAALT ended its role as the effort’s national coordinator in response to understanding the critique of Gandhi’s principles, specifically from non-upper caste, Indian, Hindu populations. - SAALT Circles
A SAALT Circle is a safe space for community members to come together and learn about local and national issues impacting the South Asian community in the US, share their experiences, and explore ways to create change.