AAPI Month: Top 3 Team Events to Celebrate

How will your office celebrate Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage month? Hosting a team building event is a great way to gather employees and learn more about the unique cultures, cuisine, and practices of the area.

We’ll get into specific team building events soon, but first, let’s look at what AAPI Heritage Month is all about.

What is AAPI Heritage Month?

Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month celebrates the contributions of a community that consists of roughly 50 different ethnic groups with connections to Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Hawaiian, and other Asian and Pacific Islander ancestries.

When is AAPI Heritage month?

May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month.

The effort to establish this month stems back to the 1970s. President Jimmy Carter was the first to recognize an AAPI week. Through the 80s, each president passed proclamations to recognize this group for one week of the year. In 1992, at the direction of Congress, President George Bush signed a law recognizing the AAPI people for the entire month of May.

How do you celebrate AAPI at work?

With a growing population of 22.6 million in the U.S., Asian American and Pacific Islanders represent the fastest growing minority in the U.S. To celebrate this vast heritage at work, here are three AAPI team building ideas you can try:

Try new cuisine

Bring the employees together to try a new meal. If you have an employee with AAPI heritage, he or she might be interested in leading a class or you can set up a virtual cooking class too. Here are a few classes to choose from:

• Filipino Smash Burger
• Scallion Pancakes with Dipping Sauce
• Pork Ginger Jiaozi

See a class you like? All you need to do is schedule the class. Offsyte will ship a box of ingredients for each employee. On the day of the event, employees gather in the kitchen, click on a Zoom link, and create their tasty dish at the direction of an expert chef.

Explore a new drink

If making a meal feels like a bigger event than you’d like to take on, opt for a drink-making class. Consider these choices:

• Modern Bubble Teas with Jelly & Tapioca
• Gongfu Tea Making and Tasting
• Explore Japan with a Virtual Sake Tasting

Bubble tea is all the rage right now. This tea-based drink with chewy tapioca balls hails from Taiwan, but is gaining popularity in the states.

Gongfu tea making is an ancient Chinese tradition. It literally means “tea making with skill.” During this class employees get a quick history lesson, tea-making instructions, and get to taste a new beverage.

You could also host a virtual happy hour where the drink of choice is sake, a Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice.

Destress by learning ancient customs

Every office could use a stress-busting class. From demanding clients to fast-paced deadlines, make an investment in the your employee’s mental health while celebrating AAPI heritage, with these ideas:

• Gua Sha Ritual for Teams
• Earth Meditation and Mindful Tea Practice

Used to relieve muscle tension and firm skin, Gua Sha is a soothing Chinese practice that will relax your team in no time. Or, you can try Earth Meditation, with the added benefit of making tea.

Celebrating diversity and culture can bring your team together, build an inclusive company culture, and introduce employees to new experiences. Schedule a team building event today.