To be or not to be a Model Asian / Minority? Join us to discuss expectations, stereotypes & what it takes to find & walk your own truth. ONLINE GLOBAL ALL CITIES #AsianHeritageWeek
Join in an important and insightful community conversation to unpack stereotypes, expectations, realities, and myths, and discover something about passion, purpose, thriving, and joy in life.
We'll start with breakout community conversations, and then into conversations with author QinQin, TEDx pioneer Dave Lim-Light, and young Asians.
QIN QIN was always striving to be ‘good' daughter, migrant and student. By 29, she was a Harvard graduate with 4 degrees working at prestigious law firms and the UN — YET a miserable overachiever. After many crises, Qin Qin chose to question the script, a journey she shared in her autobiography Model Minority Gone Rogue, chosen this month nationally as Top 6 Book of the Year 2025 by The Age.
"Model Minority Gone Rogue is about finding yourself against the expectations your parents, society and gender set out for you and courageously venturing into uncharted terrain ... It is illuminating, generous and full of gutsy hard-won wisdom."
Also watch Qin Qin's TED Talk "Revelations of a Model Minority Gone Rogue" on YouTube
In contrast, DAVE LIM-LIGHT always strove to follow his passions and not by intent, became an "Accidental Model Asian". As a student in the Arts, he was studying to become child psychologist and anthropologist. Ironically, he ended with an Honors degree in Economics, a Masters in Finance, studied at Stanford and Berkeley, became a central banker and global fund manager of $100Bil, an early investor in Amazon, twice a high-tech VC across the Asia-Pacific (first round investor in Jack Ma Alibaba), the global partnerships and community head of Earth Hour @WWF HQ, pioneer of TEDx movement in 2009 and a TEDx Ambassador, etc.
GAVIN CHOONG is a law associate to Her Honour Judge Burchell, County Court of Victoria. He was an Australian Youth Representative to the UN, Global Youth Representative in Amnesty International, Top 100 Future Leader AFR, 40-under-40 Most Influential Asian-Australians and a Colombo Plan Scholar.
This event is a part of #AsianHeritageWeek by Asian Hustle Network, celebrating the Asian community worldwide.