Living in an ever-changing world is not easy for anyone; keeping up with cultures and traditions presents challenges with every generation. Born and raised in San Francisco, I am a Chinese American with ancestral roots in both Chaozhou Fujian. I am not any less Chinese than individuals who are born in my motherland. Since I was a child, my grandmother and parents instilled in me a plethora of essential core values, one of which stems from a Chinese idiom which literally means “when you drink water, think of its source.” This, along with many other traditional life principles that constituted my upbringing, served as catalysts that not only sparked my immense pride and curiosity but also ignited my pursuit to learn about my heritage, understand my roots, and share my culture, all of which hold immense value to me purely because they are integral to my identity. Furthermore, it is because of the hard work and sacrifices of my ancestors that I am blessed with the life that I have.
To this day, I continue to learn more about my ethnic origins, connect with my culture, and engage with communities all around the world through the beauty of language – from English, to my native languages Teochew and Hokkien, to Mandarin and Cantonese. My commitment to championing cultural awareness and inclusion also shines through music and the arts. Having performed in various festivals, concerts, ceremonies, sporting events, public rituals, and civic events since the age of four, one of many highlights includes being invited by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to sing the U.S. national anthem for thousands of newly naturalized American citizens representing over a hundred nations. Fun fact – in 2008, California Governor Gavin Newsom recognized my leadership and community service by naming February 22nd “Dennis Woo Day.”
Evolution is part of every culture. In some countries, the Lunar New Year is now acknowledged as a public holiday, and our Chinese cuisine has even become a traditional part of other cultures. As our world continues to evolve, I believe that our culture and traditions will be further integrated into the rest of the globe. Through art, food, language, fashion, music, and dance to name a few, cultural exchange and awareness will continue to blossom in our world, fostering mutual understanding among people from all corners of the earth.
In addition, cultural festivities play a major role in celebrating our world’s rich diversity. Through my active involvement in the overseas Asian community from a very early age, I have witnessed and learned that the significance of cultural festivities extends far beyond the actual celebrations themselves. As our global society evolves, cultural festivities remain as critical opportunities and gateways for people from all walks of life to learn and develop open-mindedness, acceptance of differences, and respect for diverse cultures.
In our global society and rapidly changing world, everyone brings varying perspectives and distinct experiences to the table. To facilitate meaningful exchange across continents, I founded, directed, and produced the International Lunar New Year Festival – the first-ever of its kind in the world. Lunar New Year is a celebration that transcends geographical boundaries. Although festivities across the globe in the past year have not looked the same as recent years, what remains most important is bringing the world together and uniting everyone in strength, positivity, and perseverance. Even with the technological advances today, there are numerous communities around the world that still lack visibility and exposure in the global arena. However, I am proud that the globe’s largest virtual Lunar New Year festival contributed significantly to our world by establishing an empowering platform for global leaders and talent representing over 20+ countries/regions from all across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia to join together and promote their people, cultures, businesses, landmarks, etc., all of which serve timely and relevant purposes to preserve our traditions, celebrate cultural representation, open opportunities to help facilitate cultural exchange and promote international understanding, increase foot traffic and tourism metrics to draw economic growth for communities around the world after the pandemic, and, ultimately, foster global unity and peace.
With all the hindrances and hardships that our world is currently facing, it has been especially encouraging and inspiring to witness how our generation does not hold back on actively speaking up against injustice and discrimination. However, there is still a long way to go. We must continue to support and empower one another in our fight for a world free of hate and violence. There are more solutions than problems, and regardless of how we approach and tackle these issues, we must recognize that our voices are our strongest tools. Nobody can take that away from us.
Our world has endured a long history of racism and discrimination, and these problems have managed to detrimentally flow from one generation to the next. As citizens of our world, each one of us is either part of the solution or part of the problem. We all have a responsibility to unite as one, stand up for each other, and enforce change for a brighter future. If everyone can do their own parts and leverage their voices in different ways, we can continue to support one another and complement each other’s efforts to build resilience in the face of adversity, overcome hurdles and trying times together, and focus on what truly matters. It is only through unity that we can all achieve and enjoy a better tomorrow for both our generation and future generations. With hope and optimism comes the fuel to our perseverance and determination to continue leading change and standing up for peace, love, and kindness while fostering safe and inclusive communities.
Through my passion and dedication to initiatives surrounding diversity and inclusion, I aim to further my efforts and work to continue uniting the world and building a bridge of international understanding between countries and cultures. As our younger generations grow up in diverse environments, where all cultures come together, we as the Chinese youth in the world must continue cementing ourselves in society by taking up space, actively sharing our stories and narratives, and speaking our voices for representation. By doing so, we can be the change that we want to witness in our world. Furthermore, as our generations continue to evolve, we must preserve and keep our traditions alive. It is imperative for our current and future generations to understand the rich history of our Chinese culture, so we all can appreciate and embrace such colorful parts of our identities. I hope that as our overseas Chinese communities around the world continue to grow, we continue to contribute to our ancestors’ legacies of traditions and maintain them for our many generations to come.
Photo: The Global Champion of Unity Dennis Woo
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