Global Organization of People of Indian Origin

(GOPIO) International

 

Invites you to

 

GOPIO CONVENTION 2008

January 6^th & 7^th, 2008 New Delhi, India

 

In Conjunction With

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2008

 

 Venue

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Conference Room, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi

(Tel: 91-11 2373-8760/70)

 

Program

 

Sunday, January 6^th, 2008

 
9:30 am to 11:00 Noon GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to public)
 
11:00 am Registration for GOPIO Convention begins (till 5.30 p.m.)
 
11:00 am to 12.00 Noon GOPIO General Council Meeting (Not open to public)
 
12:00 Noon - 1.00 pm. GOPIO Council & Chapter Reports (Open to Public)
                            
North America - Dr. Piyush Agrawal, Regional Vice President
                        Zafar Iqbal, Delegate, Washington D.C. Chapter
                       Ashok Kumar, Delegate, San Jose, California Chapter  
South America and Caribbean - Ambassador Krishna Nandoe, Regional Vice President
Middle East - Sunny Kulathakal, Regional Vice President
South East Asia - George Abraham, Regional Vice President
Pacific/Ocenia - Noel Lal, Coordinator, Australia
Far East - K. Sital, Coordinator, Hong Kong
Europe- Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium Conference Report
          RajindreTewari, President GOPIO-Amsterdam
 
1:00 Noon - 1.45 pm. Lunch
 
2:00 pm to 2:45 pm 

Tribute to the Late Dr. L.M. Singhvi

 
GOPIO is grateful to late Dr. L.M. Singhvi, formerly Chairman of High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, for his outstanding contributions to the Indian Diaspora movement, for his role in the grant of dual nationality to NRIs/PIOs and for his initiative in starting and organizing PBD.
 

Chair: Ambassador (Retired) J. C. Sharma, Anthar Rashtra Sahayog Nyas

Speakers:  Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International, USA
     Lord Bhikhu Parekh, House of Lords, London, U.K.
     Raj Loomba, Businessman and Philanthropist, U.K.
     Ram Lakhina, The Netherlands, Former Chairman, GOPIO International
     K.N. Gupta, President GOPIO India, New Delhi
     Dr. Abhshek Singhvi, MP, Spokesman for the Congress Party, India
 
Session Coordinators: Inder Singh, President GOPIO Int'l & Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General
           

Conference Program Schedule

 

 
3:00 pm
Inauguration of GOPIO Convention 2008
 

 

Welcome: K.N. Gupta, Convention Chair and President GOPIO India, New Delhi
Welcome: Inder Singh, President, GOPIO International, USA
Greetings: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International, USA
Inauguration Ceremony: Lighting of the Lamp
Chief Guest - Honorable Meira Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Release of the book by Anand Mulloo of Mauritius
Recognition of Sponsors
Note of Thanks: Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, GOPIO Int'l., USA
 
Session I: 3.30 pm- 4.50 pm    Current Issues and Concerns Confronting the Diaspora
   

Chair:   Dr. Jagat Motwani, Author, Writer and Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council

Co-Chair: Dr. Shekhar Tewari, Co-Chair, GOPIO Tracing of Roots Committee
 
Keynote Speaker: Hon. Basdeo Panday, Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister, Trinidad
Panelists:  Vijay Kumar Sharma, Senior Partner, Arlingtons Sharmas Solicitors - Indian community Issues in Europe
Buddhdev Pandya MBE, Hon Corporate Advisor, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) - Issues of Medical doctors in UK
Mr. Ganeshan, Malaysia - Current Temple issue in Malaysia
Dr. Piyush Agrawal - Community issues in North America
 
Session II: 5.00 pm- 6.30 pm   NRI's/PIO's Property Scams and Legal Ramifications
 

There has been a growing number of scams against NRI's/PIO's property, whether it a hereditary, residential, or commercial.  One of the reasons for these scams is that the NRIs are at a great disadvantage that they can not contest court cases in India. The civil case takes 15-20 years and for a criminal case the plaintiff need to be present on every court date in India which is impossible for any NRI. In this session, we will bring out many of these issues and the legal experts in the panel will address these issues with focus on How the NRI's can use the Indian legal system in a timely fashion to resolve their property issues.

 
Moderator & Chair:  Subhash C. Sharma, Professor of Economics, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA
Co-Chair: Yatish Choudhari, USA
 
 
Panelists: Mr. M. M. Maheshwari, New York, USA
                  Ms. Anjali Sachdev, Seattle, Washington, USA
                  Mr. Subhash C. Sharma, USA
                  Ved Prakash Sharma, President Delhi Bar Association
  Dr. Surat Singh (Doctor of Law -Harvard), Advocate Supreme Court and Delhi High Court
                  Mr. Jagdish Vatsa, Advocate Delhi High Court
 

7:30 pm to 11:00 pm

Reception, Entertainment and Grand Awards Banquet with the Presentation of GOPIO's Pravasi Bharatiya Community Service Awards

Ashoka Hotel

Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakaypuri, NewDelhi

Telephone 11-2611-0101, 11-2611-6161

 
Chief Guest: Honorable Vayalar Ravi, Minister, Overseas Indian Affairs
Event Coordinator: Munish Gupta, Chair, GOPIO Media Council & Ashok Malhotra, Secretary GOPIO, New Delhi 
 
GOPIO Pravasi Bharatiya Community Service Awards will be presented to the following distinguished NRIs/PIOs.
 

• Baroness Usha Prasher, U.K.  

 

Baroness Prashar has made an outstanding contribution in public policy and public administration, particularly in the fields of social justice, human rights, criminal justice, education, equality of opportunity and race relations. Her career includes being the Director of the Runnymede Trust, the Director of the National Council of Voluntary Organizations, Chair of the Parole Board of England and Wales, Chancellor of De Montfort University and Chairman of the National Literacy Trust. Prior to her current appointment, as the inaugural Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission she was the First Civil Service Commissioner. She is also the Chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society and non-executive Director of ITV. She was elevated to the House of Lords in 1999 where she sits as a crossbencher. In 1994 she was awarded CBE. 

                                   

• PNC Menon, The Middle East

 

Menon had to drop out of Kerala Varma College, Thrissur to earn a living for the family.  In 1976, a chance meeting with Brig. Suleiman Adawi, captain in the army of the Sultanate of Oman, changed Menon's life forever.  Menon reached Muscat with Rs 50 in his pocket and partnering with Brig. Suleiman, started an interior decoration business. He later expanded his business to U.A.E, Bahrain and Qatar. In 1995, he founded Sobha Developers in Bangalore and has developed 29 projects with over 5 million sft. of built-up area while 30 major projects are in progress. In 1997, Oman government granted Mr. Menon citizenship of the Sultanate, a rare honor for a foreigner. He has won several accolades and awards, the latest being the Global Indian Splendor Awards 2007 given at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

 

Mr. Menon is engaged in numerous charitable causes and considers a God-given opportunity to pay back to society which has given him so much.  His philanthropic activities include Sobha Construction Academy which trains skilled tradesmen from the economically weaker section of society, Sobha Hermitage, a unique senior citizens' and widows' home with world class amenities, Sobha Health Care, a primary healthcare centre with high quality amenities for specialty treatment, Sobha Academy, an exclusive educational institution for the underprivileged children and social rehabilitation scheme for the people of two backward villages in Kerala.

 

• Moses V. Nagamootoo, Guyana          

Born 60 years ago in a fishing village in Guyana, South America, Moses V. Nagamootoo, joined the struggle for independence of the then British Guiana at age 14. He served as an educationist, journalist, attorney-at-law, parliamentarian, and minister of Government, and contributed to the literary / cultural life of Guyana as a poet / author.

Nagamootoo has been in the forefront of efforts to defend press freedom and restore majority rule in Guyana. His work to promote participatory "grassroots" democracy and introduce major constitutional reforms is widely recognized.

• Dr. Mani Bhaumik, USA

Dr. Mani Bhaumik spent his early childhood living in a mud hut of thatched roof and slept on rags. He came to the United States in 1959 with a Sloan Foundation Fellowship for post doctoral research at UCLA. Dr. Bhaumik achieved international recognition as a co-inventor of the laser technology that made the Lasik eye surgery possible.

Dr. Bhaumik shared his blessings by contributing to all the schools and colleges he attended in India by funding scholarships, recognizing excellence and to finance building of new facilities. A modern auditorium at his Alma Mater Scottish Church College bears his name. He has provided full financial support to over one hundred brilliant but underprivileged students for pursuing University education in science, engineering and medicine. He has been funding a revolving annual trophy through the US based Indian American Heritage Foundation, andhas instituted annual Mani Bhaumik Consciousness in Healing Award at the UCLA Medical School. He has written many articles for scientific journals and is the author of Los Angeles Times best selling book "Code Name God."

• Ram Lakhina, The Netherlands

Ram Lakhina was one of the founders of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), served as the Chairman of the GOPIO Constitution Committee and served as its first Chairman from 1994 to 2002. He was one of the pioneers in identifying NRIs/PIOs as a great national asset for India and in articulating the role which they can play in accelerating India's development.

In 1980 he started the Foundation for Critical Choices for India to mobilize intellectual and material resources of NRIs/PIOs for identifying critical problems facing India and for suggesting policy options for the solution of those problems. He was the President of the Foundation from 1983 to 1991 and then again from 1994 to 2003.  He is the founder and Executive President of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT) from 2002 to date. Earlier he was the President of the Indo Dutch  Chamber of Commerce from 1979 to 2001.

• Ambassador J.C. Sharma, SM, IFS (Ret'd), India

• ZeeTV for its Outstanding Reach to NRI/PIO Communities and help in bringing them together

GOPIO honors leaders by inducting to GOPIO Honor Roll for their outstanding political leadership and their continued support for GOPIO and Indian Diaspora. This year, the following leader will be inducted to the GOPIO Honor Roll for his outstanding leadership and continued support for GOPIO and Indian Diaspora.

ü       Lord Bhikhu Parekh, U.K.

Educated at the Universities of Bombay and London, Lord Bhikhu Parekh is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Academy of the Learned Societies for Social Sciences and a Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Westminster. Lord Parekh was chair of the Runnymede Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (1998-2000), whose report, The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, was published in 2000. He is vice-chairman of the Gandhi Foundation, a trustee of the Anne Frank Educational Trust, and a member of the National Commission on Equal Opportunity.

His main academic interests include political philosophy, the history of political thought, social theory, ancient and modern Indian political thought, and the philosophy of ethnic relations.

Professor Parekh is the author of Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory (2000); Gandhi (2001); Colonialism, Tradition and Reform (1999); Gandhi's Political Philosophy (1989); Contemporary Political Thinkers (1982); Karl Marx's Theory of Ideology (1981); and Hannah Arendt and the Search for a New Political Philosophy (1981).

Lord Parekh has received many awards throughout his career: the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for lifetime contribution to political philosophy by the Political Studies Association (2002); the Distinguished Global Thinker Award by the India International Centre Delhi (2006); the Interdependence Prize from the Campaign for Democracy (New York, 2006), and the Padma Bhushan honours in the 2007 Indian Republic Day Honours list.

Lord Parekh has been a great supporter of GOPIO since GOPIO's European Regional Convention in Stuttgart in 1991. Since then he has addressed several GOPIO conferences and conventions and has been serving as an advisor to GOPIO all these years. Lord Parekh has served GOPIO and the NRI/PIO communities all over the world.

Monday, January 7^th, 2008

GOPIO EDUCATION SUMMIT

CO-SPONSORS

India Development Coalition Association (IDCA)

GOPIO.Connect

American Indian Foundation

Pratham

THEME:

EDUCATION FOR THE MASSES IN INDIA - ROLE OF NRIs/PIOS

1.      Opportunities in mass education where NRIs/PIOs can be effectively involved

2.      Opportunities for senior NRIs who are retiring now, who could be motivated to get involved in schools and colleges from their towns/villages - What mechanism?

3.      Young professionals and younger generation NRIs/PIOs who could volunteer their time during the summer and semesters away - What opportunities and mechanisms?

EDUCATION SUMMIT COMMITTEE

Convener - Dr. Thomas Abraham

Co-Conveners - Prashant Gupta, Dr. Srinivasa Rao, Bhamy Shenoi, Vivek Singhal

Facility Coordinator - Yatish Choudhari

CONVENTION SPONSORS

Lord Diljit Rana, UK

Barjinder Sodhi, Berlin, Germany

Dr. Muhammed Majeed, Sami Labs (www.samilabs.com), USA and India

PIO TV (www.piotv.com), India

The only channel for People of Indian Origin on internet. Live Feed 24/7 direct from India

Conference Registration

GOPIO Convention Registration Fee: Rs. 1,200. Waived for those who register prior to December 30, 2007. Prior registration is mandatory. Total registration will be limited to 150 delegates. Limited number of Jan. 6^th banquets only registration available at Rs. 800 per person. To register, send an E-mail to GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in the US E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com or call him at 718-353-1900. Registration is mandatory to attend proceedings of January 6^th and 7^th.

The conference in Delhi coordinated by GOPIO-India president Mr. K.N. Gupta, Tel: (91) 11-4164-2066/9811131588, e-mail: knguptas@hotmail.com Address: D-47 Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110049.

For more information on GOPIO Convention 2008, please contact: GOPIO President Inder Singh in USA at 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or GOPIO.Connect Chairman Prashant Gupta in India at 09899987657 or E-mail at pg1619@yahoo.com