美國AARP樂齡協會 女朋友 (The Girlfriend*)競賽計劃頒獎給陳彥如女士

The Girlfriend is AARP’s digital newsletter for Gen X women

The Girlfriend 是 AARP樂齡協會 針對 X 世代女性印發的新聞信

陳彥如女士長期以來為開創地方華裔社區媒體而努力. 自一九九零年代開始, 彥如注意到在她居住的馬里蘭州, 蒙哥馬利郡 (Montgomery County), 缺乏中文媒體. 中文報紙都是在幾天後以郵寄方式送達. 這對許多不揞英語的美籍華人, 尤其是年長者, 因無法接觸到即時中文新聞和資訊, 而造成與社會脫節.

有鑒於此, 彥如於全職工作之餘, 在蒙郡社區電視臺參加培訓, 學習製作電視節目. 她首先製作了一個半小時的華語節目「萬象」(The Info Zone). 二十六年來, 她主持了近兩百輯節目, 內容涵蓋許多即時且重要的話題. 碰到不說中文的受訪來賓時, 她提供即時中文翻譯. 彥如繼續不斷創新節目. 在一九九九年, 與江惠珍女士合作推出了一個英語節目Ginny’s…Where East Meets West. 節目中探討亞裔人士面對東西文化衝擊, 且成功地融合東西文化的過程, 更提升了亞裔在社區的形象. 在 二零一二年她針對學生和就職在業的觀眾, 製作了「各行各業」(Career Choices) 討論就職途徑和建議.

彥如不僅體認到蒙郡華裔移民需要華語的媒體服務, 且以實際行動滿足了這項需求. 她還繼續不斷地增強節目內容, 以英語媒體節目來吸引下一代的觀眾. 彥如在她全職工作和照顧雙親之餘, 貢獻她的時間和才能, 以文化交流的方式來對抗社會孤立, 並鼓吹大眾積極參與社區活動. 彥如對當地社區的奉獻和努力是值得肯定的.

Yen has been a longtime media pioneer in her local Chinese-American community. . In the 1990s, Yen noted that the Chinese-American residents in her own Montgomery County had limited access to Chinese-language (Mandarin) multimedia content. At that time, Chinese-language daily newspapers were delivered by mail several days later. This lack of timely news and access to in-language resources resulted in social isolation for many Chinese Americans not fluent in English — particularly, the elderly.

While working full time, Yen enrolled in training offered by the local public access station (Montgomery Community Media), where she learned to produce multimedia content. She started a Chinese-language half-hour show called The Info Zone(Chinese: 萬象) with culturally relevant content. Twenty-six years later, with Yen as the host, the program has covered many important, timely topics and archived nearly 200 shows. For guests who do not speak Mandarin, Yen provides interpretation in Chinese. Yen continued to innovate: In 1999 she started the English-language program Ginny’s…Where East Meets West, which highlights the Asian-American community and features Asian Americans who have successfully combined the best of the East and the West. She started Career Choices in 2012 for a target audience of students and mid-career people by discussing different career paths and advice. Yen deserves recognition for her selfless contributions to her local Chinese-American community. She identified a pressing need for in-language outreach to Chinese-American immigrants residing in Montgomery County and worked to fill that need. She continues to innovate by creating quality in-language or English multimedia content that engages multiple generations. With a full-time job and caring for aging parents, Yen contributes her time and talents to offer cultural content that fights social isolation and promotes community engagement.