Established in 1992, Asian Media Access (AMA) is an organization dedicated to using multimedia and technology for social betterment. AMA utilizes comprehensive strategies to enrich lives, especially for immigrant/refugee youth. The mission of AMA is to “Connect the Disconnected.” Essentially, AMA exists to provide available opportunities for people to use multimedia technology to engage in healthy and creative activities, so that they can participate in the decision-making process and to resist negative socioeconomic pressures.
Here's the Issue:
- Lack of culturally- and linguistically-appropriate information to support limited English proficiency (LEP) AAPIs.
- Lack of AAPI’s voices in most multimedia platforms and channels, although AAPIs have the highest rates of technology access, cell-phone ownership, and at-home internet access in the US.
- AAPIs shy away from active communication, due to cultural teaching – “Silence is a Virtue.” Often AAPIs choose not to engage in communicating Pan-Asian issues despite working hard internally to overcome barriers, not sharing our progress with the general public.
- AAPI youth are discouraged from opportunities in public speaking and showcasing their talents; often AAPIs do not recognize that voicing our opinions is not showing off, but a way join the participatory decision-making process, and is a basic democratic right for everyone in order to better build a safe, supportive environment together for all of us.

Our Solution:
- Sharing our voice widely and training AAPI youth as cultural brokers to speak up and produce content in both English and heritage languages through diverse multimedia tools.
- Establishing a multi-lingual digital presence featuring localized as well as interdependent AAPI contents and information, supported by trained AAPI cultural brokers and diverse local partners, to deepen public understanding of the benefits of AAPI inclusion.
- Developing an Asian-Pacific Minnesotan (APM) TV. The APM TV will be built on youtube, through an Asian American Community Influencer Network in partnership with Asian and mainstream media networks in MN. APM TV will feature multi-cultural, multi-lingual entertainment and health promotional information with language-specific playlists that present original content to connect AAPIs with our content providers, community-based partners and media affiliates. We hope this CULTURETAINMENT reaches all Asian Pacific Minnesotans on social media in addition to millions more in podcasting, streaming video and print distribution.
We're the right people to do the work because:
Serving average 15,000+ low income members, 500+ youth and 1,200+ families a year, Asian Media Access (AMA) has more than 27 years of experience in researching, developing and/or adapting communications strategies for specific cultural and language groups such as American Indians, Africans, African Americans, Southeast Asians and Hispanics. AMA demonstrated its ability in researching, developing and/or adapting communications strategies for specific cultural and language groups. AMA has produced media campaigns in multimedia formats in Chinese, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Somali, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese and English languages, etc. Many agencies choose to work with us because of our specific strengths in communicating intercultural issues to the general public.
With our abundant multimedia experience, and on-going showcasing the broader societal impact with AAPI’s contributions through English and Heritage languages, AMA is the right group with right mission at the right timing to support APM TV.
