Celebrating the Cultures of Asia and the Pacific Islands

Every day, we do thousands of little activities. We check our phones for the time and texts, eat, and take some form of transportation to our office spaces. Throughout the workday, we read, write, and use various types of office equipment and office supplies. To unwind, we read, listen to music, watch TV shows or sports, and maybe enjoy a bit of “spirited fluid.” But have you ever stopped to think how all of those little activities come from layer upon layer of cultural heritage and technological innovations from centuries of civilizations around the world?

According to the United Nations, out of 197 countries throughout the world, 62 are in Asia and the Pacific Islands. That amounts to about 71 percent of the world’s total population. Additionally, four out of 10 of the world’s ancient civilizations are from Asia. These Asian and Pacific Island cultures introduced many modern inventions to the world including the numeric system, time, wheels, forms of writing, paper, navigation (compass, map), printing, food and agriculture, alcohol, fabrics, engineering, mathematics, and so much more.

As we commemorate Asia and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, our employees share and celebrate the Asian and Pacific Island culture around themes such as music, history, architecture, technology, cuisine, and fashion.

So that you can enjoy a small piece of the journey that we are experiencing at Applied, here’s a sample of what we have seen the first week of Asia and Pacific Islander Month as we focus on music.

Yet another employee shared, “Indian music has been a part of my life as long as I can remember and still makes its way into my daily soundtrack. Hope this provides some new information on some aspects of Indian music.” This educational link from the Kennedy Center brought a new level of awareness around Indian music.

Inside Applied, 2021