PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTFor Immediate Release
Contact:
Naomi Funahashi, Symposium Coordinator,nfunahashi@jcccnc.org
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California
1840 Sutter Street z San Francisco, CA 94115
415.567.5505 z www.jcccnc.org

Symposium Workshops to Explore Strategies for Cultural andHistoric Preservation of California’s Japantowns
SAN FRANCISCO (May 30, 2006) – On
Friday, June 9, the Preserving California’s
Japantowns Symposium will bring together
experts and practitioners of historic andcultural preservation, community
development, and documentation ofhistoric sites to discuss the unique
opportunities and challenges of preserving
California’s Japantowns.

Symposium workshops will highlight thePhoto credit:
Generations: A Japanese American Community Portrait

importance of developing strategic plans
toward preserving the tangible and intangible assets of our community’s heritage and resources,and encourage individuals to learn about a variety of tools that can be used toward preserving ourcommunities. Speakers will include both community leaders and representatives from the three
Japantowns – San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles – as well as historic and culturalpreservation experts from outside of the Japanese American community who will share out-ofthe-box strategies for documenting, developing and preserving our Japantowns.

“This statewide symposium is an important opportunity for interested individuals in thepreservation of our Japantowns to come together to share resources and learn from some of theleading experts in the field,” stated Paul Osaki, symposium chairperson.

Workshops include:•“Documenting Our Communities: History, Culture, Stories and Sites”
The Preserving California’s Japantowns project team of Gail Dubrow, (Co-Director) DonnaGraves (Co-Director) and Jill Shiraki (Project Manager) will facilitate discussion among
symposium participants centering on their own questions and experiences in documentingJapantowns, and will share methodologies used for the Preserving California’s Japantowns
project. Members of the Japanese American and other ethnic communities who areinterested in documenting their history, culture, stories or sites and tie into local preservation
efforts are strongly encouraged to attend.
•Developing a Strategic Plan toward Preserving our Communities
Ensuring a community’s survival requires a carefully designed plan for preserving both thetangible and intangible assets of the community’s heritage and resources. Who will be doing
the work? What are the best resources for exploring that history? How can this history bebrought to life? This workshop will explore these questions and more through a panel ofhistoric and cultural preservation experts sharing best practices and out-of-the-box strategies
for the preservation of Japantowns. Panelists include Jeff Eichenfield, economic
development expert of Eichenfield and Associates, Courtney Damkroger, preservation
consultant and member of the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, andCaitlin Harvey and Bill Sugaya, preservation architects of Carey & Co. Moderating this paneland discussion will be Bill Watanabe, Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center(1:00pm session) and Sandy Mori, President of the Japantown Task Force Board in San
Francisco (2:30pm session).

•Community Economic Development / Community Benefits Agreements
How can communities succeed in historic preservation – not only in preserving significant
sites that contribute to a community’s sense of place, but also providing financial andeconomic benefits for that community? Learn from expert panelists about how Cultural
Economic Development and Business Improvement Districts provide valuable economic
returns in the form of increased revenue, enhanced property values, increased jobs andexpanded heritage tourism. Also discuss how Community Benefit Agreements can help
ensure that a local community can benefit from major developments in its vicinity. Panelists
for this workshop include Rich Hillis of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of EconomicDevelopment, Radhika Fox, Senior Associate of PolicyLink (a nonprofit organization thatseeks to ensure that everyone, including ethnic communities, can contribute to and benefit
from local and regional growth and development), and Marco Li Mandri, businessdevelopment consultant of New City America (a company dedicated to the facilitation andgrowth of street-based urban business districts). Moderating this panel and discussion will be
Diane Matsuda, Executive Officer of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment andformer program director of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP).

Workshop sessions will be held once at 1:00pm and again at 2:30pm, allowing for symposium
attendees to attend multiple sessions and learn about a range of preservation tools, techniquesand strategies.

Sponsored by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) and theCalifornia State Library, this event will also offer 2004-2005 CCLPEP preservation grantrecipients an opportunity to present the current progress and outcomes of their cultural andhistoric preservation work.

The Preserving California’s Japantowns Symposium is organized by the Japanese Cultural andCommunity Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) in partnership with the California JapaneseAmerican Community Leadership Council (CJACLC) and the support of the California Cultural &Historical Endowment, California Preservation Foundation, the National Trust for HistoricPreservation, and the Nichi Bei Times.

Join us in engaging our communities to learn about the cultural and historic preservation of ourJapantowns. Symposium fees are $40 general registration (by June 5), and $10 student/senior
registration. Registration fees include a continental breakfast, box lunch, and buffet reception.

For general information or questions, contact Naomi Funahashi at nfunahashi@jcccnc.org or(415) 567-5505. For registration, call JCCCNC at (415) 567-5505 or visit
www.californiajapantowns.org.

About JCCCNC
Envisioned by the Japanese American community, JCCCNC will be an everlasting foundation ofour Japanese American ancestry, cultural heritage, histories and traditions. The JCCCNC strives
to meet the evolving needs of the Japanese American community through programs, affordable
services and administrative support and facilities for other local service organizations. TheJCCCNC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community center based in San Francisco.

About CCLPEPThe California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) was created in 1999 as theresult of the passage of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Act (AB1914 and AB1915)
sponsored by Assemblymember Mike Honda. The legislation creates the California Civil Liberties
Public Education Program, CCLPEP. Its purpose is to provide competitive grants for public
educational activities and the development of educational materials to ensure that the events
surrounding the exclusion, forced removal and incarceration of civilians and permanent residentaliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered and so that causes and circumstances of thisand similar events may be illuminated and understood. The CCLPEP has funded $5.5 million
over the past six years in more than 160 projects. For more information about the CCLPEP, visit
www.library.ca.gov/cclpep.
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