DUE THIS FRIDAY, 1/16 - 2026 JACL National Convention Workshop Proposals

The 2026 JACL National Convention will be held in Las Vegas, NV, at the Paris Las Vegas from Wednesday, July 29 to Sunday, August 2, 2026. This year's convention theme is Reigniting Our Purpose and Mission.

This year, JACL is pleased to offer the opportunity for those interested to submit a session proposal. Please note that most, if not all, sessions will take place on Friday, July 31. Each session will last 75 minutes, and proposals that are accepted will be entitled to the following compensation if accepted: 

• Each session will receive a stipend (amount to be confirmed) along with one night's hotel stay for each presenter.
• All session presenters will receive a Day Pass for the day during which their session takes place; this will grant access to plenaries, workshops, and any other content-based programming. The Day Pass will also include a complimentary breakfast.
• Any presenters who would like to attend the Awards Luncheon and Sayonara Gala may purchase tickets at the registration link (to be made available in February 2026).

2026 JACL National Scholarship Applications Available Now!

Scholarship Program guidelines, instructions, and applications have been posted on the JACL website, www.jacl.org, and can be accessed by clicking the “Youth” tab on the menu bar. You may also click the button below, "To Learn More or Apply Click Here."

Freshman applications must be submitted directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Monday, March 2, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

Applications for the non-freshman scholarship categories (undergraduate, graduate, law, creative/performing arts, and financial aid) are also to be sent directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Friday, April 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

All those applying to the National JACL Scholarship Program must be a youth/student or individual member of the JACL; a couple/family membership held by a parent does NOT meet this requirement. Applicants must be enrolled in school in Fall 2025 to be eligible for a scholarship. If a student has received two National scholarship awards previously, they are no longer eligible to apply as the limit is two national awards per person.

The JA Experience - Website & Video Series

The JAExperience.org is a long-needed update to our printed curriculum guide, The Japanese American Experience. Rather than a traditional reprint, we are excited to bring the Japanese American Experience into the modern age with a fully fledged website! 

Alongside the new website, we're also introducing the Japanese American Experience Video Series! Thanks to the Takahashi Family Foundation, we'll be publishing a series of ten short videos spanning the history of the Japanese American community. The series will be available on the JA Experience Website, and each video will be narrated by a community member and feature archival footage and photos. 

Call for 2026 Day of Remembrance Events!

As we're coming up on Day of Remembrance, JACL is once again asking all of our chapters and supporters to send us information on any events that you know of so that we can share it with the wider membership and Japanese American community! 

Please send any information you have on your DOR events, including date(s), times, any website/social links, and images/flyers you might have! We'll continually update the listing, so if you currently only have some information and are still waiting on more, send us what you have, and we can update the event page. The event page and calendar will be made available later. 

Send any program information you have to Education Programs Manager, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org

January 15: San Diego JACL Monthly Virtual Dialogues

January 17: Portland JACL Mochitsuki

January 22: Japanese American Group Night at Utah Jazz 

Join the JA community for the first ever Utah Jazz Japanese Heritage Night! There will be VIP early entrance, a tribute to Watt Misaka, taiko performance during half-time, and much more!

January 24: SFV JACL Installation Luncheon

January 25: Ventura County JACL Installation Luncheon

January 31: Monterey JACL Movie Night - Tampopo

Feb 19-22: JACL Arizona Chapter - Gila River Connections: A Celebration of Shared History

A landmark community gathering, “Gila River Connections: A Celebration of Shared History,” will take place in Chandler, Arizona, from February 19-22, 2026. This vital event will bring together Japanese American WWII camp survivors, their descendants, members of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), students, and allies to honor the intertwined histories of the two communities.

March 14: Monterey JACL Documentary Screening and Discussion - Fruits of Labor 

March 22: Temari Zushi Cooking Demo with San Diego JACL

Jan 17: Undercurrents: Tracing Shared Histories from Japan to California

Tracing the Kuroshio ocean current, which connects the coastlines of Japan and California, reveals an interconnected history of migration, industry, art and culture. A number of early migrants specifically from Wakayama and Chiba, many of whom came from a fishing background, made Monterey along California’s Central Coast their adopted home as a result of being able to continue with this trade. Despite being thousands of miles apart, connections abound. Join researchers, curators, filmmakers, and descendants as they trace the interesting threads that connect these places.

Jan 2-17: Honouliuli National Historic Site 10th Anniversary Exhibition

Sponsored by Pacific Historic Parks, the exhibition will open with a public reception on Friday, Jan. 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.  The exhibition will be open from Jan. 2 to Jan. 17, Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. It will be located on the second-floor main gallery of the Downtown Art Center at 1041 Nu‘uanu Avenue.  

Jan 23: Echoes of History: Inspiring Civic Action and Building Democracy

Join the Democracy Center at JANM and meet the thinkers, artists, organizers, and civic leaders confronting authoritarianism today. This day-long symposium challenges us to imagine how we can build a democracy that endures by recognizing the threats before us, learning from communities resisting them, and envisioning new civic spaces and shared legacies for the future. The symposium also includes tours of the timely exhibition Monuments at MOCA and a mobile “banned bookmobile” presented by Bloom Wild Bookshop. 

2026 Minoru Yasui Student Contest

I Am An American - Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit Opening in San Francisco February 2026