GOPIO CONFERENCE 2006

HYDERABAD, INDIA, JAN. 5TH AND 6TH

Global organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)

 

Cordially invites you to

 

GOPIO CONFERENCE – 2006

 

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

 

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

 

THEME:

GLOBAL INDIAN DIASPORA: TODAY AND TOMORROW

 

Place: Hotel Manohar Radisson, Airport Exit Road, Begumpet, Hyderabad

Date and Time: Thursday, January 5th and Friday, January 6th, 2006.

 

Program

 

Thursday, January 5th, 2006

10.00 to 12.30 p.m. GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to general public)

 

12.30 to 1.30 p.m. (lunch)

 

1.30 to 3.00 p.m.         GOPIO Council Reports -- open to general public

Chair: Inder Singh, President, GOPIO International, Trzana, California, USA

Academic Council --                            Dr. Jagat Motwani, Dix Hills, NY, USA

Business Council --                               Dwarkesh Shah, Stutgart, Germany

Cultural Council --                                Dharmatma Saran, Queens, NY, USA

GOPIO.Connect --                              Prashant Gupta, Chicago, USA

Human Rights Commission --                Ramesh Maharaj, Trinidad and Tobago and Dr. Parveen Chopra, Baldwin, NY, USA

Philanthropic Council --                        Prabodh Gupta, New Delhi, India

 

.           NRI/PIO COMMUNITY PERPECTIVES

AREA REPORTS

USA                            Piyush Agarwal, GOPIO US Coordinator, Miami, USA

So. America                 Yeshu Prasad, Executive Vice President, GOPIO International, Guyana

& Caribbean                Harold Ramdhani, Secretary General, GOPIO Suriname

Europe                         Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium

                                    Raj Lakha, President, GOPIO SE London, Kent and Essex, UK

Dr. Rajendra Tiwari, President, GOPIO-Amsterdam, The Netherland

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

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

Africa - Kenya             Dr. Markandey Rai, Nairobi, Kenya 

 

 3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m. Coffee Break

3.15 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.  Session 1: Indian Diaspora

Mobilization of Indian Diaspora Resources for Common Goal

Inauguration by Honorable Minister M.V.Rajasekharan, Minister of State for Planning

Chair:  Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman GOPIO, Stamford, CT, USA

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

 

Speakers:  

J.C. Sharma, Formerly Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, India

Prof. Rajendra Prasad, Author, New Zealand

Dr. Prem Misir, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Guyana

Prof. Mohan Gautam, The Netherland

Other speakers - To be announced (TBA)

7.0 0 p.m. to 8.00     Formal Inauguration of GOPIO Conference  2006

Dignitaries to be  announced soon

                                    Book Release “Tears in Paradise” 

Release of the Conference Souvenir

 

8.00 to 9.00 p.m.      Reception

Networking Dinner

 

Friday, January 6th, 2006

9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m.         Registration/Coffee/Tea

 

10.00 a.m. to 10.45 a.m.       Opening Session – GLOBAL INDIAN DIASPORA:TODAY AND TOMORROW

Chair: TBA

Inauguration of Conference Session by Honorable Minister M.V.Rajasekharan, Minister of State for Planning, New Delhi

Speaker: Parmatma Saran, Professor of Sociology, Bernard Baruch College, City University, NY, USA

 

11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.         Session 2: Indian Diaspora

Opportunities in Business, Technology and Investments

 

Chair: Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium and Secretary General, Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC)

 

Speakers:

Ms. Koosum Kalyan, Development manager, SHELL, UK

Mr. George Abraham, Chairman, GA Group, Singapore

Prof. Krishna R. Dronaraju, Houston, Texas

Yesu Persaud, Executive Vice President of GOPIO International and Chairman of  Demerara Distillers, Guyana

Dr. B.R. Shetty, CEO and Managing Director of New Medical Center Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

Others from India – TBA.

 

1.30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m.           Awards Luncheon and Presentation  of

Pravasi Bhartiya Community Service Awards

Chief Guest:

His Excellency Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Governor of Andhra Pradesh

 

Expected Guests:  TBA

        

3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m            Wrap-up and Adoption of Resolutions

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

                                             Co-Chair: Raj Lakha, President, GOPIO SE London, Kent and Essex, UK

 

Sunday,  January 8th, 2006       

3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.   

NRI/PIO  COMMUNITIES/COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES MEETING - OPEN DISCUSSION

(Open to Everyone. Venue will be announced on Jan.5th and 6th)

 

Conference Registration

Conference Registration Fee: Rs. 1,000. Total registration will be limited to 200 delegates. So, contact early to avoid disappointment. Pre-registration recommended.

 

Those from outside India, please contact GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in the US at 718-353-1900 E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com.  The convention in Hyderabad will be coordinated by GOPIO Hyderabad Conference Chair Prof. Gan Bukta at 91-9848-194718 or by email at:profganbhuktagift@yahoo.com.

 

Sponsor opportunities are available for Indian businesses interested to reach out to NRI/PIOs worldwide.

Limited number of Tabletop Booths will also be available at the venue on both days, January 5th and 6th.   Contact Prof. Bukta at 91-9848-194718 or by email at profganbhuktagift@yahoo.com.

 

Procedure for Hotel Bookings - Procedure for Hotel Bookings –Please reserve your hotel booking though the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas website, i.e. http://www.PBD2006.org. They have rooms at different rates. If you still need assistance, contact Prof.Bukta.

 

For more information, please contact GOPIO President Inder Singh in USA at 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or Prof. Gan Bukta, GOPIO Hyderabad Conference Chair  at 91-9848-194718 or at:profganbhuktagift@yahoo.com.