GOPIO CONFERENCE 2007

January 5^th & 6^th, 2007 New Delhi, India

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

Theme:

OVERSEAS INDIANS -- Identity Preservation & Adoption of New Values in Pluralistic Societies

Organized by

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin

GOPIO International

The best way to network with NRIs/PIOs from all over the world

GOPIO International

Website: www.gopio.net

Tel: 818-708-3885, Email: GOPIO-INTL@sbcglobal.net

(GOPIO logo is a registered trademark of

GOPIO International, Inc.)

Program

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

(Tel: 91-11 2373876070)

Friday, January 5^th, 2007

FICCI Conference Room, New Delhi

9:30 am to 11:00 Noon GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to public)

11:00 am to 5:30pm Registration

11:00 am to 1:00 pm GOPIO General Council Meeting (Not open to public)

1:00 pm. Lunch

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm GOPIO COUNCIL REPORTS (Open to Public)

GOPIO CHAPTER NRI/PIO AREA REPORTS (Open to Public)

North America Dr. Piyush Agrawal, GOPIO Coordinator, USA and Radha Krishan, Incoming President, National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), USA

South America and Caribbean Yesu Persaud, Executive VP GOPIO Intl., Ambassador Krishna Nandoe, President of GOPIO Suriname and Dr. Arnold Thomas, St. Vincent

Europe Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium Conference Report and

Raj Lakha, President GOPIO UK Chapter Reports

Middle East Sunny Kulathakal (Bahrain ), GOPIO Intl. VP for Middle East

Pacific/Ocenia Noel Lal, GOPIO Australia Coordinator, Sydney, Australia

Far East K. Sital, GOPIO South East Asia Coordinator, Hong Kong

Africa Sagie Naidu, GOPIO South Africa Coordinator

3:30 pm to 6:00 pm – Indian & PIO MEDIA CONCLAVE

THEME: India & PIO Media Exchange and Deliberation

Chief Guest: To be announced

Moderator & Chair: Munish Gupta – Chairman, GOPIO Media Council, Journalist, Media Entrepreneur, created India’s first IPTV platform www.IndiaTVLive.com and first-ever channel for an expatriate population www.PIOTV.com

Co-Chair: San Jay Reddy MD & CEO, RJR BANCORP, GOPIO Los Angeles Chapter President

Inauguration by Mister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

Keynote Address by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Das Munshi

Session A: 3.30 – 4.50 PM

India & Indian Media Today - Rapid and dynamic changes in Indian Media, its influence on politics, economy, socially & culture

Panelists:

K. S. Sarma - Fomer CEO Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) and now CEO MAA TV, Hyderabad.

Shekhar Gupta - Editor, Indian Express Group, Delhi.

Anil Srivatsa – Chief Operating Officer, Radio Today Broadcasting Ltd. (India Today group) and a successful former Radio entrepreneur and RJ from USA.

Manoranjana Sinh – Chairperson & MD of Northeast Media Group (Private satellite and cable television and FM Radio channels group)

S. Mitra Kalita – Currently on leave of absence from The Washington Post helping set up a new business newspaper in Delhi.

Session B: 5.10 – 6.30 PM

PIOs in Media. Their Perception of India & Indian Media, and, their role in the global perception of India and bridging Indians and PIOs.

Panelists:

Indira Somani – Former CNBC TV News Producer from New York, Ph.D. student and teacher of Broadcast Journalism at University of Maryland.

Raakhee Mirchandani – Columnist, New York Post

Salil Tripathi – Freelancer, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune & Far Eastern Economic Review.

Tarun Basu – Chief Editor, Indo-Asian News Service, New Delh & Washington,DC

Nawab Khan, Editor, INEP, Brussels

Vinod Dhawan, Chief of Bureau in New Delhi for India Post, San Francisco & New York.

Other Participants:
Overseas:
Steve Agarwal – News Correspondent, Page 3 Tabloid, Washington, DC

Gunjan Taneja – Marketing Manager, Nirvana Woman Magazine, USA

Karan Bhatt – Nirvana Woman Magazine, Delhi.

Raghbir Goyal – India Globe, Washington, DC

India:

Basharat Ahmad, Deputy Director General, Doordarshan International.

Baleshwar Agarwal, Anthar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad

Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik, Community activist and leader

Dr. Kanak Sen Deka, Editor, Agradoot, Assam.

Rajendra Prabhu – Veteran Technology Journalist & Columnist.

Shivaji Sarkar, Professor of Journalism, IIMC, Delhi.

K G Suresh – PTI

Vinay Thakur – The Hindu

Narendra Bhandari – Jansatta

Arvind Singh – Haribhoomi

Tapan Roy – CEO, ATN Bangla

Atul Saraf – CEO, Seven Star Health Channel

Guptas – Sadhna TV

Subhash Sinha – Media Advisor, Gujarat Samachar

O. P. Mehra – Freelancer

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Formal Inauguration of GOPIO Conference 2007

Guest of Honor: Dr. L. M. Singhvi, Former Chairman of the Indian Diaspora Committee

Welcome: K.N. Gupta, Conference Chair and President GOPIO India, New Delhi

Welcome: Inder Singh, President, GOPIO International

Greetings: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International

Inauguration Ceremony: Lighting of the Lamp

Chief Guests Speech

Release of the Conference Souvenir

Release of the book by Anand Mulloo

Recognition of Sponsors

Note of Thanks: Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, GOPIO International

8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Reception 

Saturday, January 6^th, 2007

FICCI Conference Room, New Delhi

9:30 am Registration Coffee/Tea

10:00 am to 11:15 am - Session I – DIASPORA ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

Chair: Dr. Jagat Motwani, Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council 

Co-Chair: Prof. Adesh Pal, North Gujarat University, Patan, IndiaSpeakers:

Dr. Kavita Sharma: "Limping marriages and holiday wives."

Dr. Gulshan Sharma "Breakup of NRI Marriages – What role can community play?"

Ms. Sandhya Sinha, Chairperson, Political Forum for Women: "Diasporic influence on Indian

women."

Sunny Kulathakal , Bahrain , “Civic and Human Rights Violations of NRIs in the Middle East

Prof. Anand Kumar, JNU, "Diasporic Course and Research in Indian universities." 

Dr. M.K. Pandey, Prasar Bharti: "Indian Perceptions of NRIs, and Indians as

perceived by NRIs"

11.15 am to 11.30 am Coffee/Tea Break 

11.30 am to 12.45 pm Session II - INDIAN DIASPORA  - ASSIMILATION & PLURALISM

Chair: Ambassador Krishna Nandoe, President of GOPIO Suriname

Co-Chair: Dr. Shekhar Tiwary, Co-Chair GOPIO Roots Committee

Speakers:

Anand Mulloo, Diaspora in Plural societies

Prof. Parmatma Saran/Dr. Rupam Saran, Author and Professor of Sociology, City University, New York -- North American Experience

George Abraham, Singapore   -- Asian Experience

Lord Diljit Rana, House of Lords, London – European Experience

Dr. Arnold Thomas, St. Vincent’s Indian Heritage Foundation – Caribbean Experience

12:45 pm to 1:45 pm Lunch 

2:00 pm to 3:15 pm Session III - The NRI-PIO DIVIDE HOW TO BRIDGE THE GAP?

Chair: Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, GOPIO International, New York, NY

Co-Chair: Dr. Chandrashekar Bhat, Prof. of Sociology and Director, Indian Diaspora Institute, Univ. of Hyderabad

Speakers:

Prof Mohan Gautam, University of Leiden, Netherlands

Prof Ganesh Chand, University of Fiji

P.S. Sahai, Former Ambassador of India, New Delhi

Ms. Janis Darbari, UK

3.15 pm to 3.30 am Coffee/Tea Break 

3:30 pm to 4:45 pm Session IV - NRIs/PIOs AND INDIA: DEVELOPING PEOPLE TO PEOPLE RELATIONS

Chair: Prof. Jai Rup Singh Ph.D, Vice Chancellor, GNU, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Co-Chair: Prashant Gupta, Chairman, GOPIO.Connect, Gurgaon, India

Speakers:
Madhu Yaskhi M.P., Member of Lok Sabha, New Delhi - "Overview and Perspective from a Law Maker"

Dr. Y.S. Rajan - Scientist, Technologist, Academic, Writer and Poet and currently Principal Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industries, New Delhi, "People to People Relations in Education and Technology Transfer."

J.C. Sharma, Former Secretary, MEA and currently Executive Trustee of Chiranjiv Bharti Trust, "NRIs/PIOs Networking with Business, Civic and Community Organizations in India."

Dr. Srinivasa Rao, Editor, The Catalyst, New York, "NRIs/PIOs Networking with Developmental Groups.”

4:50 pm to 5:30 pm Wrap-up and Adoption of Resolutions

Chair: Dr. Piyush Agrawal, USA Coordinator, GOPIO International 

Co-Chair: Gurmukh Singh, Toronto, Canada

7:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Reception and Grand Awards Banquet with the Presentation of GOPIOs Community Service Awards

7:30 pm to 11:00 pm

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

Venue: Ashoka Hotel

Diplomatic Enclave

Chanakaypuri, Delhi, 110021

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

GUEST OF HONOR – Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayala Ravi

GOPIO Community Service Awards will be presented to:

• Charan Gill, Canada
• George Abrahams, Singapore
• Nevin P. Megchiani, Bahrain, Middle East
• Wahid Saleh, The Netherlands

Recipients of GOPIO 2007 Pravasi Community Service Awards

Charan Gill, Canada

Charan Gill founded British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism, co-founded Canadian Farm workers Union, President of Progressive Indo-Canadian Community Services Society, and many others. He developed senior’s housing project and raised funds towards the purchase price. He was a member Task Force on Race Relations, and organized a conference on race relations. He developed the Colony Farm Project to cultivate 167 acres of land organically and provide a training institute to grow vegetables and fruits organically. Gill has won numerous community service awards such as the Order of British Columbia, Vandusen Community Service Award from the United Way, Human Right Award from MOSAIC, Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and many more.

George Abraham, Singapore

George Abraham has served in various capacities with the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He is Chairman of The GA Group which organizing country-focused seminars, conferences and publications; and the Global Indian Business Network Ltd, which assists cross-border trade and investment within Singapore, India and the region. Abraham serves on various government, civic and community organizations, and launched the Global Indian Business Summit in 2006.

Nevin P. Megchiani, Bahrain, Middle East

Nevin Megchiani has been serving and supporting various educational facilities for the benefit of the NRI community in the Gulf, serving in various capacities in several NRI community organizations He has served as Vice Chairman of the Indian School Bahrain, the first and the largest community school today with more than 6000 students. He also worked towards helping the NRI community children to get admissions in the top class universities in India over the quota system by adding or increasing the NRI quota seating. Mehchiani is the Director of the branch of Birla Institute of Technology of Ranchi which he succeeded in bringing to Bahrain where it established its first International Centre abroad for NRI community children to pursue their degree programs while living with their parents.

Wahid Saleh, The Netherlands

Born in Assam, Wahid Saleh Wahid studied engineering in Kerala, Germany, and The Netherlands. He has served as a Board Member of the Netherlands-India Association, and guided the creation of the Dutch Indian Youth Association (DIYA). He has also served in numerous civic, community and cultural organizations in various executive positions. In April 2002 Wahid was awarded the coveted Dutch honour, Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau(the Knighthood of the Order of Orange-Nassau). Saleh also authored the book, Indiawijzer-India in Nederland, a reference guide on Indian culture in The Netherlands. For his services to the PIO/NRI community, Saleh was presented with Foundation for Critical Choices for India Silver Jubilee Award. He established the Anwar Qadir Mohammed Salehuddin and Najmun Nisa Memorial Trust for Higher Education in Assam, and donated the required funds for this trust.

GOPIO HONOR ROLL

GOPIO honors outstanding leaders by inducting them to GOPIO Honor Roll for outstanding political leadership and continued support for GOPIO and Indian Diaspora. This year, the inductees are:

Hon. Gov. M. M. Jacob, Goveernor of Meghalaya

Hon. Inder K. Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India

Hon. Dr. Karan Singh, MP, Chairman of ICCR

Hon. Gov. M. M. Jacob Hon. I. K. Gujral Hon. Dr. Karan Singh

They will be inducted to GOPIO’s Honor Roll at the finale Awards banquet.

Conference Registration

Conference Registration Fee: Rs. 1,000. Prior registration is mandatory. Total registration will be limited to 200 delegates. Limited number of Jan. 6^th banquets only registration available at Rs. 600 per person. Those from outside India, please contact GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in the US at 718-353-1900 E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com.

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

Sponsor opportunities are available for Indian businesses interested to reach out to PIOs/NRIs. Limited number of Tabletop Booths will also be available at the venue on January 6^th. Contact Mr. Rajesh Chowdhury, World Premier Productions, Tel: (91) 11-41729540/9818208811.

TITLE SPONSORS OF GOPIO CONVENTION 2007

PLATINUM SPONSOR – KINGFISHER AIRLINES owned by Dr. Vijay Mallaya

GOLD SPONSOR – PIO TV (www.piotv.com)

COCKTAIL RECEPTION SPONSOR (following the Media Conclave) – San Jay Reddy MD & CEO, RJR BANCORP. and President, GOPIO Los Angeles

KINGFISHER AIRLINES

A truly world-class airline in every sense

Efficient yet Warm. Stylish yet Comfortable

Brand new fleet incorporating the latest technology

A crew that has undergone rigorous training program

PIO TV (www.piotv.com)

The only channel for People of Indian Origin on internet

Live Feed 24/7 direct from India

RJR BANCORP

RJR Bancorp is an independent Merchant Bank and financial services holding company that is committed to helping its clients --middle-market and emerging-growth companies, small and large governments, and ultra high net worth individuals-- achieve their strategic and financial goals. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the firm provides Investment Banking, Investment Management, and Investment Advisory services.

Hotel and Internal Travel Arrangements

The Travel Corporation of India (TCI) Pvt. Ltd. has identified different types of hotels for GOPO delegates (visit: http://www.tciconferences.com/gopio/). Those wanting to go for site seeing trips in India, pre- and/or post-convention, TCI could make internal travel arrangements and accommodation. A very special rate of US$130 + Applicable taxes (12.5% of published rate) has been negotiated with Hotel Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi. Contact Narendra  Saraswat, Manager  - Business Development & E-Holidays, Travel Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd., 504 - 505, 5th Floor, New Delhi House, 27 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110 001, Tel. +91-11-23317773, 23315834, Fax: +91-11-23316705, 23327468, Email - narendras@tci.co.in

For more information on GOPIO Convention 2007, please contact: GOPIO President Inder Singh in USA at 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran at: 718-353-1900 or by email at ramsaran@aol.com