FAQ

The UVSA East Can Vietnamese Inspiring Tomorrow Amalgamation Summit is an event that comprises of educational, professional, and interactive workshop and team-building activities aimed at empowering youth to become better leaders within their community. The Summit intends to bring students, community leaders, and professionals together to build social networks, discuss issues relevant to the Vietnamese community, and find ways to address those issues through student leadership initiatives.

This Summit is geared towards college and university students as well as young professionals. Most attendees are associated with a Vietnamese student organization and attend Summit to help build their leadership capabilities, work on professional development and network expansion. If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary to fill out a minor waiver form that will be submitted during check in.

We are excited to announce the 3rd Annual Vietnamese Inspiring Tomorrow Amalgamation Summit theme!

This is Me, This is We: Đây là Tôi, Đây là Chúng Tôi

“Who am I?” A constant question we ask ourselves as we navigate in this journey through life, trying to find our individuality and voice. How often are we referring to our cultural heritage in this identity search? By factoring in the influences of our cultural upbringing and the challenges faced with having a multifaceted identity, we can recognize how integral culture is to this question. 

The theme of this year’s VITA Summit is centered around our self identity and culture as well as their associated impact on our lives. Through introspection and reflection of who we are as individuals, we will explore and uncover the complicated, difficult, and important truths of our culture and its effect. Our individual identity is a reflection of our culture and the effects of our culture ripple throughout generations. Akin to an iceberg, the iceberg above the water represents our individualistic nature and the submerged part represents our culture, its values, traditions, morals, and lessons which contribute to who we are as a whole. 

We will break the barriers to talking about sensitive topics to create an open, engaging, and immersive dialogue about what it means to be Vietnamese-Canadian/American. Through this conversation, we will uncover the similarities in our stories as well as the special differences of each individual. Using the knowledge of our cultural identity, this will propel us into discovering our individual truths, passions, and aspirations and ultimately, using our newfound passion to contribute to our community. 

UVSA EC invites you to join us as we try to write our individual stories, which is woven into our collective community story of This is Me, This is We.

Starting the afternoon of Friday, June 5th, 2020 at 3:30 PM and ending the afternoon of Sunday, June 7th, 2020 at 5:00 PM.

Summit guests are asked to stay at the Seneca College Newnham Campus, 1750 Finch Avenue East, North York, Ontario where all of Summit will take place. UVSA East Can has secured a discounted rate for guests.

“Vita”-min and not “VITA” Soy

May 15th will be the registration deadline.

• Tier 1 ($85): Early Bird Tickets
• Tier 2 ($95): Regular Tickets
• Tier 3 ($105): Late Tickets
• VIP/Alumni ($85)

Yes you can get on a waitlist for Summit registration. Please complete the Waitlist registration form (link pending). Tickets are allocated on a first come first serve basis. Being on a waitlist DOES NOT guarantee a spot to VITA Summit-3. A Staff member will contact you if a spot becomes available. All tickets will be allocated by May 20th, 2020.

Accommodations are not included in the Summit fee.

Friday dinner will be on your own with your respective families. On Saturday, a light breakfast will be provided, you are welcome to go off site to grab more food to eat. Saturday lunch & dinner will be provided. A light breakfast will be provided on Sunday morning, once again you are free to find your own food.

Registration included three days Summit programming including four (4) workshops, one (1) keynote speaker,amily programming activities, and entertainment; a VITAS-3 T-shirt and swag bag; meals (Saturday lunch, Saturday gala dinner, and Sunday lunch).

The application portal will inform you when your application has been completed and been sent to the Hospitality and Registration and Information and Technology committees, you will also receive a confirmation email.

Paypal will be the method of payment integrated into the registration form. Refunds will also be processed through paypal.

Yes. If you have registered and paid for a summit ticket but no longer can attend Summit, you MUST send an email to the Hospitality & Registration committee ([email protected]) with the subject line TRANSFER or REFUND.

The Seneca College Newnham Campus has rooms available for Sunday night, however attendees must book these spaces on their own accord. The rooms booked for Friday and Saturday will be available to be booked on Sunday. If you have any concerns, please direct them to the Hospitality & Registration committee at [email protected] with the subject line: [VITA Summit-3] Sunday Night Lodging..

No. Accommodations are not mandatory but highly recommended. We recommend staying at the accommodation site to help facilitate bonding and ensuring that attendees do not miss out on the entire summit experience by having to leave early or arrive late as a result of commuting.

Parking is available at a discounted rate of $5 per day.

May 15th will be the last day to register for accommodation through the Seneca portal. An email will be sent out after registering with more detailed instructions on how to register through the Seneca portal.

Yes! Use the code “VITAS3” for 15% off your accommodations booking.

You must find your own transportation however instructions on how to get to the venue from major transit hubs (ex. Toronto Pearson Airport) will be provided in an email.

If you would like this information now please email the Hospitality & Registration committee ([email protected]) with the subject line: [VITA Summit-3] TRANSPORTATION.

Please visit the Seneca website for information. https://senecaresidence.ca/termination-cancellation-policy/

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

• Uber directly to the residence building (1750 Finch Avenue E, Toronto, ON M2J 2X5);
• Public Transit Link: https://goo.gl/maps/fbox6U1qmxQPVRvu6;
• Rideshare (an FB Group)

Check out will proceed at 11:00 am. Luggages will be brought to the Student Centre and can be kept there for the rest of the time until Summit is over.

The gala serves as a way to celebrate the accomplishments of the VSAs throughout the year by recognizing outstanding VSAs in Eastern Canada and supporters within the Vietnamese student community with the VSA Awards Ceremony.

Registered attendees will enjoy access to a three-course meal, entertainment from talent within the Vietnamese community, and engage themselves in a culturally-themed experience with the photo backdrop and themed night. Dress code for the gala will consist of semi formal or ao dai attire.

The night will conclude with the Afterset, which is a themed dance party hosted by a DJ. The dress code for the Afterset will be casual and is dependent on the theme.

Need headshots done? Want to learn about the Vietnamese people across North America? We got you. There are opportunities to explore our Vietnamese identity and culture, opportunities for professional development. There will be opportunities to bond with people you just met, whether they are a part of your family or not. There are also opportunities to speak to UVSA Eastern Canada alumni, who are there to share knowledge about their VSA challenges and successes as well as their professional careers. VITA Summit-3 is to empower and unite our community.

It will be a jam packed summit full of many learning opportunities so one must arrive and participate in all VITA Summit-3 programming. Be ready to share and learn from others.
Beyond the attendance of workshops we aim to provide a more innovative, distinct programming for learning to occur. Take this opportunity to get to know other attendees in order to learn from one another’s experiences and interpretation of the programming presented.

The programming this year takes on a novel and unconventional approach compared to previous VITA Summits.In staying true to the theme This is Me, This is We, there are many speakers from all over the continent to explore this theme through cultural education, professional development, career resources, and more.

To encourage self-discovery about our individual identities, attendees will be able to cater this journey to their learning preferences by choosing workshops that have different styles of learning. You will have the opportunity to learn from one another, in a museum style workshop, through different mediums, through cooking food and much more.

Prior to VITA Summit weekend, every attendee will be organized into different “family” groups – these families provide attendees with an opportunity to bond and build relationships with other members of our region. Each family will be led by a family leader and as a group, they will be competing in various small and large group games for a chance to be the champion! Throughout the Summit, attendees will be spending majority of their time with their respective families.

During registration, attendees are required to complete different personality quizzes and will be sorted into their families by the Family Programming Committee. Attendees will be contacted by their family leader closer to the conference to begin bonding as a family!

YES! You can become a Family Leader, similar to a frosh/welcome week leader, to help facilitate the summit experience for a group of attendees. You can audition to be a performer or emcee at our gala. If interested, please contact the Family Programming director and the Entertainment director respectively by emailing [email protected] and adding Family Programming or Entertainment into the email subject line.

Please send all questions to [email protected] with the Subject Line: [VITA Summit-3 X COMMITTEE] Concern

Please find the staff member associated with your question/concern topic who will be replying to said email:

• General Summit Inquiries: Jennifer Tran (Executive Director)
• Programming: Tiffany Tran (Director)
• Entertainment: Andrew Nguyen (Director)
• Family Programming: Jason Jin (Director)
• Logistics: Jun Woo Choi (Director)
• Hospitality & Registration: Chloe Nguyen-Cao (Director)
• Marketing: Danny Vo (Director)
• Sponsorship: Nancy Hoang (Director)
• IT:  Andrew Young (Director)