Every September, besea.n invites you to enjoy a month-long, collaborative programme of events, dedicated to East and South East Asian heritage, culture, history and everything in between. It’s a chance to celebrate, acknowledge and learn about the incredible ways in which our communities have helped shape the UK.

Migrant communities are often described as resilient. For many, this resilience is what puts a roof over their heads, food on the table and opportunities in front of their children. Resilience is a source of pride. But what about the other side of the coin, which we rarely discuss? Things left unsaid, vulnerability, or even exploitation?

This year, we invite you to delve into the experiences, and narratives that have shaped the lives and experiences of our diverse communities through generations, thinking about how we reframe silent stoicism to reflect on shared strength, resistance, vulnerability and interconnectedness. We see resilience in nature, in family histories, in work places, in social movements, and in communities that find themselves at the sharp end of crisis. How do we harness this complex idea and use it to overcome fracture, crisis and hardship? How do other emotions like grief, joy and anger come into play?  

East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month is a time to honour and celebrate the voices and experiences of those in our past and present. With 2025 marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, we especially want to highlight the length and strength of our histories, reflecting on how communities evolve with time.

We encourage you to interpret the theme as freely as you like. Whether you choose to discuss stories of resilience and vulnerability through history, how its definition has changed through the generations, through a personal or communal lens, or even the negative ways resilience has affected our communities, the possibilities are boundless.