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GOPIO NEWS  SPECIAL BULLETIN 

November 10, 2011

A Publication of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)

Issue: X-14 November 10, 2011
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In This Issue
GOPIO BIENNIAL CONVENTION 2011, NEW JERSEY, USA - THEME "ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA"
GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
EDITORIAL BOARD
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GOPIO BIENNIAL CONVENTION 2011, NEW JERSEY, USA - THEME "ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA"

 GOPIO Convention 2011 - Iselin, New Jersey, USA

November 18 - 20, 2011

 

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) is holding its Bi- Convention 2011 in Iselin, New Jersey, USA from November 18 - 20, 2011. Everyone is invited to participate. The venue is the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, New Jersey, USA.

 

GOPIO's conference on November 19, 2011 will evaluate, assess, debate, discuss and deliberate on the current, critical issues of interest and concern that confront persons of Indian origin of more than 25 million people living in many countries outside of India. The overall theme is "Issues and Concerns of the Indian Diaspora" and will examine issues of: Consular services, property, taxation and related issues; Consular Services, Property, Taxation & Foreign Accounts Disclosures; issues related to health, women and youth; the Kolkata Memorial and Indian Migration; Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship; challenges and opportunities for political and economic empowerment and successful adaptation in adopted countries.

 

The program will start with an evening Inaugural Reception Dinner on Friday, November 18 starting at 6:00pm at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, New Jersey. Then conferences will be held on Saturday, November 19 followed by an elaborate Reception and Convention Banquet that evening that are expect to be well attended.

 

As in previous GOPIO international events, many prominent persons have attended as special guests. These included present and former presidents (Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo), prime ministers (former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry of Fiji and former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday of Trinidad & Tobago), ministers (Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi) and other government officials at various levels and from many countries. Notable and prominent VIPs from the global Indian community are expected to attend this year as well.

 

A memorable colorful souvenir brochure for this occasion is being published and will be distributed free of charge to all our Corporate and Personal sponsors, Participants, Government agencies, members and guests.

 

GOPIO, since its inception in 1989, has been creating awareness and promoting understanding of issues of concern -- social, cultural, educational, economic, or political - of the NRI/PIO communities around the globe. GOPIO also provides an active and well recognized platform for dialogue and discussion to the worldwide Indian Diaspora and to further advance that objective, GOPIO has been at the forefront to network the globally spread overseas Indian community by regularly organizing conferences in various parts of the world. During the last five years alone, GOPIO has organized ten international conferences, both in India and overseas. GOPIO recognizes that NRIs/PIOs have contributed significantly to the countries of their settlement and adoption and have added a special glitter to the resurgence of India. GOPIO conferences and conventions help bring the Indian Diaspora closer to mother India and strengthen the inherent bond between India and its diaspora.

  

Chief Guest Ambassador Nirupama Rao 

Chief Guest - Honorable Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to the US

 

Program Summary

 

Friday, November 18, 2011

11:00am          GOPIO Executive Meeting (Not Open to the Public)

2:00pm            GOPIO General Council Meeting:

Country, Chapter and Council Reports (Open to the Public)

6:00pm            Reception & Dinner

 

Saturday, November 19, 2011

9:00am            GOPIO General Council Meeting

10:00am         Session I: (Inaugural Session) Issues and Concerns of the Indian Diaspora

11:00am         Session IIA: Consular Services, Property, Taxation &

                                               Foreign Accounts Disclosures

                        Session IIB: Kolkata Memorial - Indian Migration

1:30pm           Session IIIA: Health, Nutrition & Wellness for the Indian Diaspora

                        Session IIIB: PIOs/NRIs: Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship

3:15pm           Session IVA: Issues of Abuses, Inter-Generations & Women

Session IVB: Road to Entrepreneurship:

How to Leverage Diaspora Networks to Jump Start New Ventures

4:45pm           Session VA: Conclusions, Resolutions

                        Session VB: Workshop - Road to Entrepreneurship

7:00pm           Reception

8:00pm           Banquet        

 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

10:00am          GOPIO Executive Committee & General Council Meetings

  

Registration:Registration fees for all events: $125 per person ($200 per couple).

Registration fee for delegates from outside USA & Canada are waived.

Choice of all events or selective events per registration fees schedule.

Register on line via PayPal or payment by check. Make check payable to GOPIO at a US bank and send to GOPIO Convention 2011, Regus Business Center, Suite 600, 33 Wood Ave, Iselin, NJ 08830 USA.

 

For On-Line Registration visit www.gopio.net orhttp://www.gopio.net/Convention/Gopio_Convention_2011_Register.html.

 

Contact Registration Chairperson Jaswant Mody at jmody23@hotmail.com (tel +1-732-236-7084).

 

Advertising:Advertising in Convention Souvenir Brochure - Contact: Navin Pathak,Chairperson, Advertising Contact tel: 1-732- 983-0154, mail: npathak@entryindia.com

Sponsorships:Sponsors and supporters are invited to participate. Contact General Convener Dr Piyush Agrawal, at sudhapca@aol.com (tel +1-954-648-6494). Refer to sponsorship rates atwww.gopio.net

 

Venue: Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, 515 US Highway 1 South, Iselin, New Jersey 08830 USA (tel: 1-732-634-3600)

 

Accommodation: Rooms at $99 USD per night at Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel ((tel: 1-732-634-3600)

 

Contacts:       

Dr Piyush Agrawal, General Convener at sudhapca@aol.com (tel +1-954-648-6494)  

Arvind Sood, Co-Convener at ak-sood@hotmail.com (tel +1-732-277-6313)

Dr Rajeev Mehta, Co-Convener at rajimehta@hotmail.com (tel +1-732-463-7929)

Dr Greesh Sharma, Co-Convener at gcs42ol@yahoo.com (tel +1-267-467-4878)

Jaswant Mody, Chair, Registration at jmody23@hotmail.com (tel +1-732-236-7084)

Mahendra Pratap, Treasurer at mpratap@progia.com (tel +1732-216-5807

Navin Pathak, Chair Advertising at npathak@entryindia.com (tel +1732-983-0154

Nami Kaur, Chair Media at namique@gmail.com (tel +1 914-969-2504

Inder Singh, Advisor at gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net (tel +1-818-708-3885)

 

 

Detailed Conference Program

Saturday, November 19, 2011

 

 9:00am - 10:00am    Conference Registration

9:00am - 10:00am    GOPIO Elections

 

10:00am - 11:00am   Session I: Issues and Concerns of the Indian Diaspora

- Inaugural Session

 

Chair               Inder Singh (USA - Chairman of GOPIO International)

Co-Chair         Dr Piyush Agrawal (USA - Convention General Convener)

Special Guest:   Joint Secretary G. Gurucharan (MOIA, India)

Special Guest:   Hon. Upendra Chivukula (Deputy Speaker, New Jersey Assembly)

Thanks            Munish Gupta (India/USA - Chair of GOPIO Media Council)

 

11:00am -- 12:30pm    Session IIA: Consular Services, Property, Taxation

& Foreign Accounts Disclosures

 

Chair              Inder Singh (USA - Chairman of GOPIO International)

Co-Chair        Arvind Sood (President, GOPIO Edison, New Jersey, USA)

Speakers          Dr Thomas Abraham (Former Chairman, Founding Pres GOPIO International)

Sam Kannappan (GOPIO of Houston, Texas, USA)

Molly Banerjei (GOPIO of Toronto, Canada)

Cecil Nazareth (ACA-CPA, IFRS Partners, New York, USA)

Alex Vilanilam Koshy (Indian Pravasi Action Council, Newark, New Jersey, USA)

Q&A

Thanks            Navin Pathak (Chair of Advertising, GOPIO Convention 2011)

 

11:00am -- 12:30pm    Session IIB: Indian Migration & Kolkata Memorial

 

Chair              Dr Parmatma Saran (India-USA, Prof City University, New York)

Co-Chair        Vijay Nahata (India-USA-Caribbean)

Speakers          Ashook Ramsaran (USA - Exec VP, GOPIO International)

Satruhan Sukdeo (USA - Pres, GOPIO of Upper New York)

Schlain Bhayla (South Africa - UDS, Washington, DC)

Sylvia Gilharry Perez (COEICH - Belize)

Dr Jagat Motwani (India-USA, former Chair of GOPIO Academic Council)

Dr Chona Thomas and Sunny Kulathakal (Middle East)

Q&A

Conclusion      Jhairam Persaud (Vice President, GOPIO of Upper New York)

Thanks             Nohar Singh (Guyana-USA)

 

12:30pm -- 1:30pm      Lunch

 

1:30pm -- 3:00pm      Session IIIA: Health, Nutrition & Wellness for the Indian Diaspora

 

Chair              Sangeeta Ahuja (USA- Chair, GOPIO Health Council)

Co-Chair       Zafar Iqbal (GOPIO Metro DC, Washington, DC, USA)

Speakers          Dr Vivian Rambihar (Canada -Co-Chair, GOPIO Health Council)

Dr Sunita Kanumury (USA - President, AAPI)

Sangeeta Ahuja (USA - Chair, GOPIO Health Council)

Jeevan Zuthsi (USA - Co-Chair, GOPIO Health Council)

Dr Sunanda Gaur (USA - PID, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA)

Q&A

Conclusion     Dr Rajeev Mehta (Co-Chair, GOPIO Health Council)

Thanks            Dr Renuka Misra (Area Coordinator VA/DC/MD, GOPIO North America)

 

1:30pm -- 3:00pm       Session IIIB: Challenges & Opportunities for Political Empowerment Toward Successful Adaptation in Adopted Countries

 

Chair              Mridul Pathak (GOPIO International)

Co-Chair        Jay Bandhari ( President GOPIO Northern Virginia)

Speakers          Hon Upendra Chivukula (Deputy Speaker, New Jersey Assembly)

Prof Paul Tennassee (UDC - Washington, DC)

Hon. Prabha Ganeshan, MP (Sri Lanka)

Q&A

Conclusion      Mahindra Pratab (Treasurer, GOPIO Convention 2011)

Thanks            Shailash Naik (President, GOPIO Connecticut, USA)

 

3:00pm - 3:15pm        Coffee/Tea Break

 

3:15pm -- 4:45pm       Session IVA: Living in Fear: Gender & Inter-generational Abuse

 

Chair              Sudha Acharya (Executive Director, SACSS; GOPIO Founding Life Member)

Co-Chair        Dr Najma Sultana(SHAHI Group, GOPIO Founding Life Member)

Speakers          Veera Mookerjee (SACSS, New York, USA)

Chan Jamoona (Exec Dir UHCC Senior Center, New York, USA)

Maneesha Khelkar (Executive Director, Manavi, New Jersey)

Bhanu Dwarika (Program Coordinator, Asian Heritage, DC37 - New York, USA)

Q&A

Conclusion     Dr Ramesh Pandey (GOPIO Metro DC, Washington, DC)

Thanks            Bina Mahabir (Co-Chair, GOPIO Media Council, New York, USA)

 

 

3:15pm -- 4:45pm       Session IVB: Road to Entrepreneurship: How to Leverage Diaspora Networks to Jump Start New Ventures

 

Chair             Dr Abe Phillips (Session IVB Co-Coordinator, Saber Cloud, New Jersey)

Co-Chair        Saji George (Session IVB Co-Coordinator, Saber Cloud, New Jersey)

Speakers          Dr. Sid Gautam, Prof;Founder/ Dir,

Center for Entrepreneurship at Methodist University, NC

Shaheen Majeed, Director and  Vice President, Sabinsa Corporation, NJ

Dr. Yesu Persaud, Chairman of Demerara Distillers Group,

Founder of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED, Guyana

Ms. Pavni Bagga, Innovation Zone Officer for Camden (NJEDA)

Mr. M.R. Seetharam, Chairman, M.S. Ramaiah College of Engineering, Bangalore

Presentation    Deepak Sharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Mumbai, India

 

Panelists:         Mr. Suresh Arya, Partner, Klick Capital LLC and Founder of Imbot, Anisoft  

Mr. Nick Pahade CEO, TRAFFIQ, New York, NY

Ms. Preeti Pandya,  CEO, International Sleep Network (ISN)

Ms. Sahasra Sambamoorthi, Entrepreneur, Dancer, Choreographer

Ms. Preeti Gupta Shah, Founder of Copper Pages.com, CPA,

Financial Planner &and Entrepreneur

Mr. Ragy Thomas, CEO, Sprinklr

Mr. Siby Vadakekkara, CEO, Marlabs

Q&A

Thanks            Jay Banerjei (GOPIO Toronto, Canada)

 

 

4:45pm -- 5:30pm       Session VB: Workshop on Road to Entrepreneurship:

How to Leverage Diaspora Networks to Jump Start New Venture

 

 

4:45pm -- 5:30pm       Session VA1: Conclusion

 

Chair              Dr Greesh Sharma (President, GOPIO Princeton, New Jersey, USA)

Co-Chair         Mahavir Arya (GOPIO Sydney, Australia)

Speaker           Ashook Ramsaran (USA - Exec VP, GOPIO International)

 

                                    Session VA2: Resolutions

 

Chair              Sunny Kulathakal (GOPIO International Coordinator, Middle East)

Co-Chair         K N Gupta (President, GOPIO India - New Delhi, India)

Thanks            Netram Ramdudhan (Public Relations Officer, GOPIO Upper New York)

 

7:00pmReception

 

8:00pm Finale Banquet - Chief Guest: Honorable Ambassador Nirupama Rao, Embassy of India, Washington, DC

GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION

 

GOPIO is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global organization with chapters in several countries, actively promoting the interests of people of Indian origin worldwide by monitoring and addressing current critical issues of concern, and by enhancing cooperation and communication between groups of Indians living in various countries.

 

GOPIO Individual Life membership is open to all who believe in the mission of GOPIO. The one- time fee is $5,000 for Platinum Life Membership, $2,500 for Gold Life Membership and $1,500 Silver Life Membership and half the amount for each category for those from developing countries and India.

 

GOPIO is looking forward to opening chapters in all major cities of the world so as to network people of Indian origin all over the world. If you do not have chapter in your city, please visit GOPIO website (www.gopio.net) and get details of chapter initiation (visit http://www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm). Process involves sending a letter of intent to start a chapter by a committee of five people or more. For more information, contact:

 

 

GOPIO Chairman - Inder Singh, Tarzana, California, USA, Tel: 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net

GOPIO President - Lord Daljit Rana, UK, Tel:  +44 28-9807-8787, Email:president.gopiointl@googlemail.com

 

GOPIO Executive Vice President - Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows, New York City, Tel: 718/939-8194, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com

 

 

To become a Life member of GOPIO, one can sign up online at http://gopio.net/online_membership.htm or fill up the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO International, PO Box 560117, New York NY 11356, USA.

 

EDITORIAL BOARD

 

Chief Editor: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President and Chairman Emeritus, GOPIO (Stamford, CT, USA)

Editors: Ashook Ramsaran, GOPIO Executive Vice President (New York, USA)

Webmasters: Prashant Gupta (Hyderabad, India) and Abu Thomas (New Rochelle, NY, USA)

 

GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO related stories from all over the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or reporter. Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham, Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net.
 

Visit GOPIO's Official site at www.gopio.net or www.gopio.com