The Year in Pictures
A.T.L.A.S. United Communities of San Antonio June 15, Texas
Grihast 15-16 August, New Jersey
Sidak Retreat 28 June-11 July, Texas
India Today 26 January, Vancouver, Canada
Sikh Educators Conference 26-27 September, New Jersey
Facilitators & Presenters Sikh Educators Conference 26-27 September, New Jersey
Vaisakhi 18 April, Dallas
Khalsa School Event
1984 Commemoration 1 November, Slough, UK
Delhi 1984 Panel Discussion 2 November, Cambridge, UK
Impunity in India, with Dr. Cynthia Mahmood 16 November, Texas
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2009: A big year for SikhRI
All we can says is: Thank you!
SikhRI would like to take this opportunity as we move into a new year in the Western calender to thank everyone who made 2009 such a big year for our organization. We launched our Liv Webinar series, put on another successful Sidak camp, organized the Sikh Educators Conference which brought talented, passionate educators from all over North America together, published our first Annual Report, did a major redesign of our own Web site, traveled across the United States, Canada and to the UK to host 33 events and trained over 968 people at our retreats, workshops and conferences. Over the course of the year, SikhRI reached over 10,000 people at more than 50 Global Awareness events.
But we wouldn't be able to do this without the support and encouragement of innumerable people around the world. In 2009, SikhRI was lucky to be able to count on dozens of volunteers who gave regularly of their time, talents and energy. In the last year we also benefited from the support of hundreds of donors-- their support is invaluable in terms of maintaining our current high quality program and expanding into new areas of development as well.
We would like to thank all those who donate their time, energy and resources to the success of SikhRI and to encourage everyone to be in touch with us about ideas, comments or suggestions you might have regarding 2010, SikhRI's eighth year!
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Spotlight
Gurvinder Singh
Gurvinder Singh, an Enterprise Systems Engineer, volunteers as the IT Consultant for SikhRI as well as the Panjab Digital Library. He says his main goal in this work is to optimize the capability of the IT Infrastructure and services being offered by these organizations. At SikhRI he takes care of the Institute's IT needs and provides tireless assistance on the technological end of hosting the Liv Webinars. Gurvinder is always finding way to make technology at SikhRI safer, faster and more effective. We are deeply grateful for his help.
Gurvinder was born in New Delhi, India, and graduated from Delhi University with a degree in Economics. He has worked in India, Canada and U.S., and currently calls San Antonio, Texas, his home. When he is not voraciously reading he is pursuing photography and pushing technology to its limits.
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Saneha
Saneha: The Sikh Revolution
The Lower Mainland of British Columbia (BC) and SikhRI teamed up again to chime in the western New Year with yet another challenging, thought-provoking and community-inspiring event. The workshop, called The Sikh Revolution: Journey of a Nation, took place on Saturday, 2 January, 2010, at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
The presentation explored the revelations and inspirations of the Sikh Revolution, and its subsequent impact on Sikh history as regards social change and Divine inspiration. The workshop consisted of three sessions: "Clash of Civilizations: Guru Nanak’s Response", "Sikh Resiliency: 18th Century Case Study", and "The Ideal Person: Iqbal, Nietzsche, Singh". Participants said they left feeling that the workshop had the potential to inspire the community toward further collaborative Guru-inspired action.
"We are hoping to use the timeless and rich history of the Sikh Revolution to inspire the participants of the workshop to begin reflecting on changes they feel need happen on personal, panthic and global levels. Our goal is to inspire the community to both challenge and rise above hypocrisy, and do so in a thoughtful, engaging learning environment," said Kirpa Kaur, BC Coordinator for SikhRI.
With nearly 100 participants from various ethnic and religious backgrounds, the workshop’s sessions, which were presented and moderated by Harinder Singh, were interactive, bustling with discussion, and of course, closed with an energetic open Q&A.
“I am very impressed by the level of enthusiasm and desire for knowledge that exists in the Sikh youth of today. They are compassionate and responsible, and take their responsibility seriously as Sikh leaders of the future. I believe they see the Sikh Research Institute as a remarkable resource and avenue to help build awareness and gather tools for their journeys to becoming strong role models for the community,” said Baljinder Kaur, President of SikhRI-Canada.
SikhRI is humbled and grateful to be a part of kicking off BC Sikhs' New Year with this successful and inspiring event. The Institute looks forward to continuing our work with the West Coast sangat throughout 2010.
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Kid's Workshop
"Getting to Know Vahiguru"
On 12 December, 2009, the Sikh Director of Education, Jasmine Kaur, was in Warwick, New York, to lead an interactive workshop. The session, titled "Getting to know Vahiguru" was designed especially for younger children, ages 6–14. Presentation materials walked attendees through Bhagat Kabir ji’s Sabad. An interactive visual presentation brought each child's questions and ideas into the discussion. Part of the SikhRI mission involves making programs and material available for members of the Sikh community at all ages and stages.
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Liv
Creating a Global Movement: Cyper Sikhs, Hype, and Type
On 9 January, SikhRI presented its first Webinar of 2010. Led by Naindeep Singh, the seminar was intended to introduce Sikh activists and technology enthusiasts to the new possibilities, limitations and cautions of using the Web in the "2.0 era." Naindeep Singh is active with the Jakara movement and is interested in using his skills and passions to promote social and global health within the Sikh community and beyond.
The event was moderated by Narenderpal Singh and facilitated by Jagdeep Singh. SikhRI thanks everyone who worked to make this Liv event a success and all of the attendees who brought thoughtful questions and their unique perspectives to the discussion.
SikhRI offers Webinars regularly on a wide variety of topics relevant to the Sikh community. Attending a session is easy and available anywhere in the world where you can get Internet access. Consider signing up for one this year!
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Upcoming Events
January 2010
30 January
Sikhs in the Modern Age
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm CST
Jacobs Center, Kellogg School of Management
Evanston, IL, USA
Februrary 2010
20 February
Sikhs in the World
Sikholars: Sikh Graduate Student Conference
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, USA
27 February
Teacher Training - Level II
10:00 am - 5:00 pm EST
Norwalk, CT, USA
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SikhRI Thank Yous
Sikh Research Institute exists to serve the community's education needs. As we strive to fulfill our mission of empowerment through education, we cannot be successful without the endless support of volunteers. Thank you to all of our volunteers this month who continue to inspire us with their strength, dedication, and passion!
Sandy and Sandeep Singh, Gursharan and Sangeeta Sethi, Harnain Sethi, Jessica Taneja, Mr. Mohinder Taneja, Gurmeet Singh Sawhney, Mandhir Singh Suri, Bicky Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Thaminder Singh Anand, Jaspreet Singh Sethi, Bhoopinder Singh Kohli, Bicky Singh, Harminder Singh Jassal, Simranjeet Kaur Jassal, Sonny Singh Kakar, Dr. Gurpal Singh Bhuller, Naindeep Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Narenderpal Singh, Pritam Singh, Kirpa Kaur, Kiran Bal, Anu Bal, Gagan Bal, Deep Hundal, Mo Bual, Pary Dulay, Parminder Mann, Jotinder Mann, Anoop Kaur, Nanakee Kaur, Satwinder Singh, Preetinder Narang, Kuljeet Narwal, Jasdeep Sandhu, Amar Virk, Shailinder Singh and Dapinder Toor.
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