Campus Community / People of SUIntergenerational Conference Begins Again at SUWritten by Marketing CommunicationsAugust 11, 2022Image credit: Kim Nucum (based on a chapter logo design by Devin Cabanilla)No Caption ProvidedThe 19th biennial national conference is the marquee event of FANHS, a historical society with chapters across the U.S. Four years ago, conference attendees in Chicago could revisit and discuss Filipino American history. Now, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) is determined to restart its 2022 national conference by combining in-person and virtual offerings when it meets at Seattle University, Aug. 11-13. The FANHS national network, comprised of 41 chapters throughout the United States, has SU roots as it was founded in 1982 by alums Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, ’53, and the late Dr. Fred Cordova, '52. The mission of the volunteer-based nonprofit is “to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States.” “It’s truly an intergenerational conference,” says Emily P. Lawsin, historic preservation specialist at 4Culture, a sponsor of many FANHS projects in Seattle. “Intergenerational meaning from first-generation immigrants to third-, fourth-, fifth-generation Filipino Americans whose families have been here for 100 years or more.” This year’s theme, “FANHS 40: Past, Present, Future” is also a celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary. Organizers anticipate more than 300 attendees at the hybrid conference. “I think it’s really important to know your history and where you come from so you know where you’re going,” Lawsin says. “Mel Orpilla, who is FANHS’ president emeritus, coined the saying ‘No history, no self. Know history, know self.’” Highlights of the conference will include an appearance by retired Army Major General Antonio Taguba and a reading by award-winning novelist Peter Bacho, author of Uncle Rico’s Encore: Mostly True Stories of Filipino Seattle. For more information about the conference and FANHS-Greater Seattle Chapter visit: https://fanhs-seattle.org/conference/ and https://fanhs-seattle.org/about/. To watch a KING 5 interview with Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxayDpah8qE.