On Thursday, August 18th 2011, Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center (ODALC) hosted the first meeting between the Burmese Community and Daphne Kwok, Chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. This historic gathering in downtown Oakland was part of the White House Initiative for positive change in the AAPI community.

This student group will be conducting surveys of small businesses and restaurant owners in the Oakland Chinatown area as well as the neighboring areas August 12th through August 17th. The purpose of these surveys is to gauge the owners’ technological proficiency and comfort level with utilizing the Internet for business purposes, as well as formulating a consensus on the needs and technological deficiencies that the local commercial community has. The surveys will also see which businesses are interested in utilizing a system of security cameras, and what are the reasons prevent these businesses from already installing one.