Ron Chan

FREE

San Francisco Public Library, June 25, 6:30 – 8PM, Register Here For Zoom Session

Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, Aug 4, 1PM – 3PM

Fremont Library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd, Fremont, Aug 17, 11AM – 1PM

Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio RD, Los Altos, Aug 31, 11AM – 1PM

Milpitas Library, 160 N Main Street, Milpitas, Nov 16, 3 – 5PM

Writing Family History With AI

Summary

• Hands-on Writing Family History with AI Workshop
• Blend of theory, demonstration, and practical application
• Explore storytelling fundamentals and AI-generated narratives
• Learn to use AI as a writing coach and create personalized stories
• Share family anecdotes and insights with fellow participants 
• Discover where to publish family stories online – FREE

Explore the fusion of storytelling and artificial intelligence at our Writing Family History with AI Workshop. This interactive session merges theory, demonstrations, and sharing for a dynamic learning experience. Learn storytelling fundamentals, from traditional tales to AI-generated narratives. Discover how AI can enhance your writing process and create captivating stories. Dive into movie-making techniques and unleash your storytelling prowess through personalized videos. Bring your creativity and laptop, and craft your own AI-assisted family stories. Share and connect with fellow participants, exchanging family anecdotes and insights. No prior experience necessary, just bring your creativity and curiosity, plus an internet-ready laptop with a word processor.

About The Speaker: Ron Chan

Ron is a seasoned lecturer on family history documentation principles, captivating audiences worldwide at Genealogy Workshops and libraries. As a published genealogy author, he has a passion for storytelling, teaching innovative methods to breathe life into ancestral tales. Ron is the Founder of the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group, dedicated to preserving ancestral stories. He’s also a co-founder of the Chinese American GI Project, ensuring the legacies of veterans are not lost, forgotten or ignored. Ron shares with you how to capture and share family struggles of the past so future generations embrace, remember and learn from those who came before.

Feedback From Attendee’s

“ Enjoy your personal aspects to communicate and use AI. Your personal efforts to create family stories and use your parents and grandparents history was very touching, emotional and very informational. Motivates me to do the same“.

“Used to great hook to start. The pictures were colorful. Narration was interesting. I was able to follow along. Not too much to read.”

“Learned a lot (and I am pretty geeky!) I have presented professionally, probably 7200 times before and I could tell you, you have the perfect combination to engage your audience, knowledge, and passion for your topics. Great presentation skills (audience engagement) of your topic – Family!“

“Very good. The storytelling tips and slideshow ideas were terrific.”

“Ron explained very well. Had great examples. Spoke clearly and at a good speed.“.

“I thought it was helpful – you presented very nicely. “

“I think it was very good and gave me hope to do stories about my own family. “

“Good thought to use ChatGPT as a writing coach.  Only you know your stories the best.”

FREE

Mountain View Library, 585 Franklin Street, Mountain View, Aug 10, 10:30 – 12:30PM Mountain View Library Registration: https://mountainview.libcal.com/event/12603080

Santa Clara Library, 2635 Homestead Road, Santa Clara, Sept 7, 1 – 3PM

Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road. Los Altos, October 27, 11AM – 1PM

What You Will Learn

• Utilize AI for oral history, scanning, photo restoration, and management
• Explore case studies for weaving family sagas with multimedia
• Discover free resources and best practices for legacy preservation
• Learn tools for creating a digital family heritage library

Abstract

How To Digitize & Document Your Family History 
Dive into a realm where physical artifacts meet virtual storytelling. This session immerses you in the art of utilizing artificial intelligence for oral history creation, scanning, photo restoration, photo management, movie making and storytelling. Explore real-life case studies illustrating how to intricately weave your family’s saga using multimedia methodologies. Discover invaluable free resources and best practices to preserve your family’s legacy. By session end, you’ll learn about tools and techniques to create a digital family heritage library, that will be a timeless treasure for generations to come.

About The Speaker: Ron Chan

Ron is a seasoned lecturer on family history documentation principles, captivating audiences worldwide at Genealogy Workshops and libraries. As a published genealogy author, he has a passion for storytelling, teaching innovative methods to breathe life into ancestral tales. Ron is the Founder of the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group, dedicated to preserving ancestral stories. He’s also a co-founder of the Chinese American GI Project, ensuring the legacies of veterans are not lost, forgotten or ignored. Ron shares with you how to capture and share family struggles of the past so future generations embrace, remember and learn from those who came before.

Seminar Patron Feedback

• Very pertinent and interesting information. Optics very nice. Personal story. Made it very relatable.”   
• “Inspirational! Technically wonderful.”   
• “Well delivered, comprehensive, heartfelt sharing of personal stories, links, and resources.”   
• “This is exactly what I was looking for my family stories.”
• “Great ideas and tools for writing and displaying history / story telling”.
• “Comprehensive, intelligently presented, touching, very impressive!”
• “Very organized and inspiring. All materials were accessible and easy to understand. Hard for me not to cry… So personal.”
• ‘Thorough, practical, personal, methodically prepared.”
• “Comprehensive, intelligently presented, touching, very impressive! 
• “Presenter was very well organized, engaging, good teacher/educator qualities and communication.”

May 18, 2024, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM

History Park, 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA 95112 and Kelley Park, 1300 Senter Rd, San Jose, CA 95112

Join History San Jose (HSJ) and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) for a celebration of our diverse AAPI community! Immerse yourself in a day of Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures through performances, cuisine, crafts, and discussions, as we come together to honor our AAPI heritage and strengthen community bonds.

Enjoy a panel discussion hosted by the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, crafts and paper tours provided by the Friends of the Japanese Friendship Garden, and performances hosted by CHCP and Mosaic America. There will be VIPs, Dragon Parades, Lion Dancers, Cambodian Dancers, Taiwanese Drummers, Martial Artists, Burmese Dancers, Hip Hop Dancers, Food Trucks and much more!

The Chinese American Historical Museum will also be open to visitors from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Admission: Free

For parking and directions: visit our Museum page.

FREE Admission

Sponsored by:    Chinatown History & Culture Association & Chinese Historical Society of America

Cultural Activities: 11:30 – 3:30 on Grant Avenue. Calligraphy, painting, performances, lion dance, musical and martial arts exhibitions. Free Chinese Medicine Doctor Consultation.

Parade starting 1:30 Grant Ave and Broadway.

Chinese American Stories, 1 – 5:30PM, Victory Hall, 827 Stockton Street, San Francisco, May 25, 1 – 5:30PM – come browse Chinese Historical Society of America Exhibits.

1:30 – 2:30 Panel Presentations.

Ron Chan – “Conversation With My Grandparents” – an interview using artificial intelligence.

Anna Eng – What was it like for our early ancestor’s who came to this country?

Leona Lau – How our moms gave birth to the first generation of Chinese Americans through the War Brides Act.

3:00 – 5:00 “Lingering Dream of Homeland“, a film by Li Weinian, an elderly man from Taishan bringing his American born grandson back to his ancestral hometown.

EXPLORE: https://projectkin.substack.com/s/members-corner

SUBMIT TO PUBLISH: http://projectkin.org/join-mc

Proof of Concept by Ron Chan

To see a sample layout of a combined video and story layout, go to: http://projectkin.org/alfred-chan

• PUBLISH your family stories to the Projectkin “Members’ Corner” — FREE!

• Submit your document, image, audio, or video files, Projectkin handles formatting and publishing.

• Stories of 500 to 2000 words can include voice recordings, video, photos, poems —  English and Chinese welcome.

• Your story will be published, emailed to 500+ Projectkin members & shared on Projectkin’s web & social media channels — all FREE!

• Enjoy comments, feedback & tips from the growing Projectkin membership of family historians – all hooked on stories.

Celebrate Asian American Stories, Recognize AAPI Story tellers, Kick-off Asian Pacific Heritage Month

See 1 minute videos submitted by the Asian American community to this contest and vote for a winner. You will witnessed the rich tapestry of Asian Americans’ contributions to our nation. From recent immigrants to those rooted here for generations, from humble service workers to high-achieving professionals, from everyday pursuits to profound endeavors, and spanning generations—these videos resoundingly proclaim: “All Of Us Belong Here!” Watch and vote for your favorite videos here … http://contestants.aastories.org/

Awards Dinner: Thursday, May 2, 5:30 – 9PM, H.L. Peninsula Restaurant, 136 Ranch Dr,Milpitas

To buy tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asian-american-stories-award-ceremony-registration-775800559357

For more information on the event:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZnN_tFnT9I 

From Asian American Stories and Silicon Valley Community Media

Support our Asian American stories’ storytellers in the Bay Area and the whole nation. Our project will inspire and educate young people to learn more about Asian American histories and contributions to this country, in this current climate and anti-Asian sentiment, it is very important to call attention to the contributions Asian Americans have made to our country.

To tell the stories of Asian American contributions both to the Asian American communities and to the mainstream.

To bring communities together. Promote diversity, racial justice, and equity.  Stop the hate.

To foster informational exchanges amongst ethnic Asian Americans who hardly know each other or have never worked together on a pan-Asian project. Please join us at the awards ceremony to the winners of the Asian American Stories Contest. Thursday, May 2, 5:30 – 9PM, H.L. Peninsula Restaurant, 136 Ranch Dr,Milpitas. See link above on where to buy tickets and for more information.

Gold Coast Casio, Las Vegas, NV

February 2 (Sunday check-in) to February 8 (Thursday Checkout), 2024

Conference Dates: February 5 through February 7, 2024

Conference flyer, registration form and local restaurants

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8kqq67lv4ffe971/AABPFQHrFqmaDui7tOVjmt3sa?dl=0

For more information: henry.tom@cox.net

This is a 3-day workshop, with presentations in the morning, and Round-Table discussions between attendees & experts, and a Tutorial on Documenting Genealogy Research Wednesday afternoon.

American Born Chinese (ABCs) seniors have been doing the research, but, as this generation is becoming older, there is a realistic need to document this research as part of their family history for their family & descendants.  The tutorial, “Documenting Your Family History Made Easy”, covers the development of generic templates where specific content modules can be inserted and shared across Word and PowerPoint software.

Here are some of things you will learn at the roundtables:

• Finding your ancestral village
• Brief Chinese to English translations
• OCR processing & conversion of PDF versions of your Chinese genealogy books into searchable PDF documents by computer – which is a tremendous aid in searching the massive genealogy lineages and finding & tracing / linking consecutive generations of your ancestors, Dr. Mel Thatcher & Henry Tom will be available to assist in converting your PDFs of your genealogy books into searchable PDFs.  Another valuable aspect of this OCR processing is allowing you to highlight narrative texts about your individual ancestors found in your genealogy book, and to cut & paste these Chinese annotations & narratives into any of a number of online Chinese to English translators.

Session speakers and topics will be updated as we get closer to the conference.

If you want to enjoy the Chinese New Year celebrations in Las Vegas – consider coming 1 or 2 days before the workshop, just do so by selecting the arrival & departure dates when you book your room.  

The 4-day hotel workshop package by itself is $331 and is separate from the workshop registration fee of $375.

BACGG Zoom Event: Thursday, September 14, 2023 @ 6:30 PST – 8:00PST

This session is over, and is posted on Youtube: Click Here

Have questions about tongs or associations? Please email questions in advance by September 7, 2023, to bacgg.gail@gmail.com and bacgg.jeannie@gmail.com

George Chin, (Founder of Chinatown History & Culture Association) will provide a personal overview of SF’s Organized Associations and will discuss the roles of associations in the Community & Social Services.

Additionally, Ding Lee, Director of Lee’s Family Association, Ning Yung, Bing Kong Tong, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and Chinatown History & Culture Association, will share his experience about associations and help answer questions.

Chinese Tongs, or organized associations, have served five generations of Chinese Americans for over 175 years. They have earned respect of their contributions to the Chinese American community, but they also face multiple challenges and limitations. Learn about Chinese Family Tongs / Associations, and how they impacted your ancestors and may impact you today:

• Presentation of History, Culture & Education
• Genealogy Research: Tongs have maintained membership and payment records for many years. This information can be valuable for people who are conducting genealogy research.
• Challenges and limitations of Tongs
• Where do Tong’s get respect?

SAVE THE DATE FOR SESSIONS AT THE OAKLAND FAMILYSEARCH CENTER

October 19, 2023, Thursday – Ron Chan – Digitze and Document Your Family History

November 2023, Leona Lau – Our Moms, Chinese War Brides – Their Stories From War Time China to Post War USA. Also NARA Archives Workshop – Research for War Bride documents

Contact: sarah@walkingcinema.org

The California Migration Museum is a new initiative that plans to build an immersive experience bringing together stories across California’s migration history. We are currently working on a virtual, augmented reality-enhanced historical walking tour of SF Chinatown that will pivot around the story of the 1906 earthquake and its aftermath. We’re looking for:

1. Descendants who can trace their ancestors back to those days, especially if their ancestors were involved with the reconstruction of Chinatown.
2. We’re also looking for descendants who grew up with a mother or grandmother who lived through the earthquake.

Presented by the California Historical Society: January 28, 2022 to June 25, 2022

More information here

THE CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 678 MISSION STREET, SAN FRANCISCO CA, 94105 Open Thursday – Saturday, 12:00pm – 5:30pm

In its new exhibition Chinese Pioneers: Power and Politics in Exclusion Era Photographs, the California Historical Society explores the Chinese immigrant experience during the years of the Chinese Exclusion Act. The exhibition sheds light on the history of Sinophobia and resonates with broader questions about immigration, citizenship, and border control currently being debated.

In the United States during the Exclusion Era years, depictions of Chinese people ranged from deeply derogatory to highly exoticized. The Chinese Pioneers exhibition examines the visual record of how mainstream culture influenced, aligned with, and/or diverged from politics and state actions.

Photography played a potent role in Chinese people’s interactions with the dominant culture and in the government’s fledgling systems of registration, identification, and surveillance. Chinese Pioneers presents photographs—both studio photography and fine-art photos—alongside illustrated newspapers, paintings, and ephemera from the California Historical Society’s collections.

The exhibition is drawn exclusively from the California Historical Society’s deep collections of topical material. On view are rare items, such as one of the earliest known records of Chinese immigration to California, certificates of residence for Chinese laborers (1894–1897), and a one-of-a-kind photo album compiled by a Sierra County justice of the peace who was tracking Chinese residents. Less rare but equally powerful items in the collection include formal portraits of Chinese men and women taken in photographic studios, some operated by Chinese photographers; illustrated newspapers; a painting of a Chinese woman; photographs of Chinese workers; and works by art photographers Arnold Genthe and Laura Adams Armer.

The richness of these collections presents a compelling visual history that dovetails with the social, political, and judicial disenfranchisement of Chinese Californians, as well as moments of Chinese agency and resilience.

Below provided by: Chinese Historical Society of America

As we all continue to navigate the challenges surrounding the health and safety circumstances currently affecting our community, the nation, and the world at large, CHSA has respectfully delayed the opening of our upcoming We Are Bruce Lee exhibition. Amid these ever-changing times, know that the health and comfort of our community is of the utmost priority and importance to CHSA, and we are carefully monitoring and adapting to the relevant guidelines in order to determine a new exact grand opening date.

We will get there. 

As Bruce himself said, “Be Water, My Friend.” We are looking forward to sharing with you We Are Bruce Lee in early 2022.

Please stay tuned for more information as we announce updates to the exhibition and other programming and content. To learn more about or support this exhibition, check out We Are Bruce Lee and follow CHSA.

In the meantime, pre-sale tickets will be made available soon, with CHSA members receiving first priority. For more information on how to become a member, to help sustain our museum’s work, please visit CHSA.org.

From Grant Din, grant@tonaidin.net

I just got this from fellow genealogist Renee Carl last week. “NARA just dropped a press release announcing that the 1950 Census will be powered with an AI/ML/OCR name search.” Renee was involved in a beta test and was seriously impressed with this Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Optical Character Recognition technology. I encourage you to read the NARA release she links to. It sounds like this technology will allow you to search for names right from the time the census is released on April 1, 2022, but in case you can’t find who you are looking for, there are actually other ways.

When the 1940 census results were released in 2012, the volunteers at Family Search,  the paid indexers at Ancestry and other people took about 4-6 months to index the records, so this technology could save us many months of waiting. In case you can’t find your family through this name search right away, you can also search through Enumeration Districts (E.D.s), which are smaller segments of a community and not too difficult to look at block by block.

There are ways to figure out ahead of time which E.D.s your family members may have lived in so you can look in them as soon as the census is released on April 1. I just attended a webinar by Thomas MacEntee and he had two handouts he encouraged us to share (please attribute them to him if you pass them along). One is full of great information and links (ignore where he says the 2022 release date is two years away!) and the other is a spreadsheet you can use to input your family’s (or whomever you are researching) information in an organized fashion, which he describes in the informational handout.
If you know or can figure out where the person you’re researching lived (there are many directories online, or you can use correspondence or ask someone who was alive then), you can use an amazing tool developed by Steve Morse (developer of the Intel 8086 chip!). Go here:https://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html and click on 1950 in the pull-down menu at the top of the page. Then pull down the appropriate information to find out which enumeration districts correspond with the address you’re looking for.

It also works for rural areas. For example, a lot of people have roots in the Sacramento River Delta – towns like Isleton, Walnut Grove, Locke, Courtland, etc. You can select Sacramento County, then under city, choose “Other.” I typed in “Courtland,” and got 34-119, which includes ” GEORGIANA JUDICIAL TOWNSHIP (TRACT SC-136) BOUNDED BY (N) COUNTY LINE, JUDICIAL TOWNSHIP LINE; (E) JUDICIAL TOWNSHIP LINE; (S) LAUREL LN; (W) SACRAMENTO RIVER, COUNTY LINE, AND SHOULD CONTAIN LAMBERT, VORDEN, COURTLAND.”

That’s just one example. This information should help you find family members when the 1950 census is released on April 1, 2022! Please post if you have other ideas or if I have some incorrect information.

https://whttps://www.rootstech.org/rootstech-connect-2021-registration?lang=engww.rootstech.org/?lang=eng

Join the world’s largest family celebration for free to unlock your family’s history and learn how to preserve the stories of your life.

25 – 27 FEBRUARY, 2021

Introducing RootsTech Connect: A Free Online Conference Experience

For the first time ever, the world’s largest family celebration event will be entirely virtual and completely free. Get ready to celebrate shared connections with people from around the world. Connect with friends, your family, your past, and your heritage and homelands—all from the comfort of your home and in your browser.

Celebrity Keynote Speakers

Keynotes are a huge part of RootsTech events. They deliver messages of inspiration and hope. Stay tuned for the full lineup of keynote speakers to be announced soon.

Virtual Marketplace

The virtual Marketplace will be the perfect place to see the latest innovations, interact with companies from around the world, and find answers and resources to aid you in your work. Plus, get real-time help via video or live chat!

Cultural Activities

Celebrate the world’s cultures with activities such as homeland cooking demonstrations, yoga, and music from around the world. These experiences will be available throughout the online event and on demand.

Connect with Family from Anywhere

Finding cousins and interacting with other attendees is an important part of the RootsTech model. Enjoy exclusive opportunities to chat with other attendees through various messaging boards, social media interactions, and video chats.