Over the last couple of weeks, in honor of National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, we’ve partnered with the Connected Asian Affinity Network (CAAN) to highlight the organization and raise awareness about the recent rise in Pan-Asian hate crimes. This partnership has included the launch of our exclusive CAAN product collaboration, and several blog posts spotlighting the organization and its members.

Throughout this partnership, the CAAN organization has shown itself to truly live up to its name as, “the most generous inclusive community.” They have demonstrated passion, kindness, and a welcoming attitude to others that want to get involved with the group and help the community. In this blog, we’re focusing on how we can all be better allies to our Pan Asian community at Cisco, and why fellow Cisconians should get involved with CAAN.

Expand your worldview with CAAN

The CAAN community at Cisco is incredibly diverse. The Pan-Asian community spans many different nationalities and cultures, and CAAN is a melting pot of all these different people. Despite these differences, their shared experiences as a part of the Pan-Asian community brings them together in a unique way to make the group even more special. With so many different types of people to learn from, CAAN is the perfect environment to expand your worldview and learn more about the Pan Asian community. Everyone has their own unique experiences that form their belief systems, stereotypes and/or biases, and education can be an important step for overcoming these biases. Learning about others creates a shared understanding and empathy that can ultimately help us all become better allies to the Pan-Asian community. Cisco employees can explore CAAN's social justice and education resources here.

As a way to continue educating Cisco employees about the Pan-Asian community, CAAN provides its members with events, trainings, and sessions that help people learn more about the community, and facilitates important conversations about diversity in the workplace. The Connected Asian Affinity Network will be celebrating their 5^th annual World CAAN celebration at the end of May. This is a time for recognizing the contributions and influence of Pan-Asians with a focus on history, culture and achievement across the globe. This year, CAAN is welcoming the Cisco community to take a deeper look into the Pan-Asian experience in the context of the rise of Asian hate, systematic racism and the importance of solidarity.  Learn more about all the events taking place here.

Serving others with CAAN

As we continue to grow, learn, and become better allies to the Pan-Asian community, one of the most simple things we can do for one another is offer our support to our colleagues. Check in and reach out a “virtual hand on the shoulder” to let your coworkers know you are there for them. Whether it’s putting some time on a teammates calendar to have an open conversation about how they are doing, or sending a quick message to let them know you’re thinking of them, sometimes the most simple displays of support can be the most impactful. 

Being a part of CAAN is all about serving others. Whether it’s the Cisco community, family or friends, or the global Pan Asian community, the CAAN organization is all about doing good for everyone. Being a member of CAAN gives employees a chance to be a part of meaningful work outside their day-to-day job. “We are an inclusive community where your voice and efforts matter, [and] you can find a place to be a difference maker. Join the movement and be part of the CAAN family,” summarized Cheryl Chin, the global operations lead for CAAN. Cisco employees that would like to get involved and give back with CAAN can find more information here.

Cisco Store customers can make an impact with the Connected Asian Affinity Network throughout the rest of May! Shop the exclusive collaboration to raise awareness about the rise in Pan-Asian hate crimes, and round up your purchase or make a donation at checkout to the CAAN Fighting Pan-Asian Hate and Discrimination Fund. If you are a Cisco employee interested in joining the Connected Asian Affinity Network, you can learn more about the organization here. Additionally, take their reccommended bystander training, found here. Keep up with CAAN on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Keep up with the Cisco Store on Instagram and Twitter! Visit the Cisco Store website for 24/7 Cisco merchandise shopping, and don’t forget to log in if you are a Cisco employee to receive your discount! Want to learn more about the Cisco Store? Check out our case study here .