Saratoga residents Diane Cheng and Felicia Dorng, both of Asian descent, were among the students who attended the 2003 Asian Pacific American Youth Leadership Training Program.

According to Anna Wang, executive director of sponsoring organization Vision New America, the training—offered on March 1 and March 2—was held by Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, which focuses on leadership training for corporations and college students.

The daylong event was divided into three segments. The first discussed how to be an effective leader; the second, understanding cultural values and how those affect leadership; and the last, communication skills, including speaking and writing.

Cheng, a sophomore at Lynbrook High School, said she first heard about Vision New America from her school.

"I thought it would be a fun opportunity to meet young people from other schools in the Bay Area," Cheng said. Plus, she said, she wanted "to see what other perspectives this program offers—what it really means to be Asian and try to find a way to be in leadership in this area."

As president of the Interact Club at Lynbrook and a member of the speech and debate team, Cheng said she has some interest in the field of political science.

Dorng, president of the sophomore class at Saratoga High, said participating in the training helped her to "definitely learn better leadership skills and meet new friends." Dorng said, "I thought it would be a really good experience and it sounded really interesting."

"We're trying to create and encourage leadership," Wang said of the organization, which was founded in Cupertino in 1996.

Raj Desai, a member of the Vision New America board of directors, said the percentage of Asians in the community is disproportionate to the percentage of Asians who vote. As a result, the organization's goals are twofold: to increase voting registration and political participation among Asian Pacific Americans and to make them aware of how to get involved.

"In five, 10 years' time, we've got some more balance in terms of representation," Desai said. Desai, executive director of The IndUS Entrepreneurs, said he recently joined the board because he is "just sold on the project."

"The Bay Area, especially the Asian community and the youth, has not been organized in the past," said Mark Hsu, another board member. Due to centuries of turmoil in their native lands, Hsu said, many Asians in the Bay Area look upon politics with negativity.

However, "I think you will see the next generation moving up the civics value chain," Hsu said. Hsu said he hopes Vision New America will mobilize youth to participate, whether in joining city commissions or running for national political office.

Hsu, who is vice president of corporate projects for H&Q Asia Pacific, said Vision New America is not only trying to expand its demographics geographically—by reaching out to schools in the East Bay and Peninsula area, not just the South Bay—but also ethnically, by recruiting participants of all heritages.

Besides Dorng, Saratoga High students who went to the training were Nidhi Bhat, Diana Chang, Shenje Hshieh, Philip Hsia, Eva Leung and Catherine Yang.