| Upcoming Events
18 September
Sakhi, Kavita & Sabad Time!
Webinar ID: 841-785-841
Liv Sikhi Webinar
11:00 am - 12:30 pm CST
19 September
Jaswant Singh Khalra: An Inspiring Activist
1:00 - 1:45pm PST
Remembrance of the Disappeared
Vermont SIkh Gurdwara
los Angeles, CA, USA
October 2010
3 October
Getting to Know Vahiguru
10:00am -12:00pm PST
Sikh Academy
Surrey, BC, Canada
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Can You Pitch in for SikhRI?
End-of-Year Fundraising Kick Off
As we at SikhRI begin planning out the final months of 2010 and our annual end-of-year fundraising drive, we are asking for your help today to get the ball rolling!
Maybe you've attended one of our Liv webinars, which were recently made available free of charge to anyone join in? Or there's a chance you've been to a SikhRI event and were impressed with passion of the presentation? You could have been in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Kenya, or any of the other countries around the world where we have brought our unique education-focused programming!
Or maybe you've met one of the graduates of our leadership development program, Sidak? Or you are one of those graduates from the past eight years of our exciting summer program! Or perhaps your children use our Sojhi curriculum in their classrooms? Or it could be that you use Sojhi materials when you teach, as well as the free lesson plans and community resources from the Sikh Educator's Network blog?
Best of all, it could be that SikhRI is a part of your life in more way that one since we organized as a nonprofit in 2003. We want to continue to be a power for positive change and education for many years to come, and the reality of that dream is that, as a mission-driven nonprofit, the services we can offer rely in large part on the support of our community around the world.
In asking for your help today, we hope you will consider a donation of any amount to get us going on our end of year efforts! Thank you, as always for your time and support of SikhRI.
Sikh Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) non profit, incorporated as a charity in both the United States and Canada. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
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Sevadar
Dr. Avtar Singh
In the coming months, we would like to introduce newsletter readers to members of SikhRI's Board of Directors and Board of Advisors.
Dr. Avtar Singh is a Professor and Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at San Jose State University (SJSU). As a professor he has taught and developed several electrical engineering courses and has conducted research in the areas of digital design, communication systems, digital signal processing, and microprocessors. He has a number of publications to his credit, including eleven books that have been used around the world. His recent book on digital signal processing implementations has also been published in the Chinese language. He has served as publicity chair, publication chair, and steering committee member for the International Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers. Dr. Singh helped start the Sikh Student Association at SJSU in 1991. He led an effort to develop curriculum for the Khalsa School run by Gurdwara Sahib in Fremont, CA. He has also participated as a judge at the Annual Hemkunt Speech Competition.
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Children's Workshop
Getting to Know Vahiguru
On 29 August, Jasmine Kaur led a workshop for 40 people in Houston, Texas. The day's event, "Getting to Know Vahiguru", was especially designed for young children. Participants were walked through a sabad by Bhagat Kabir Ji, while the lesson was built primarily around materials readily available in the surrounding nature. The workshop is intended to build critical thinking skills, new vocabulary, and to leave children with lots of questions to consider as they grow and develop as young Sikhs.
This coming weekend, the SikhRI educational team and the Sikh Educator's Network will bring the first Liv webinar designed especially to be accessible to young children. "Sakhi, Kavita & Sabad Time" will be live online 18 September from 11-12:30 CST. Registration is free and the whole family is encouraged to attend together!
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Summer Camps
Guest Instruction on Banda Singh Bahadur
Sidak may have just ended, but SikhRI staff continues to stay busy as visiting instructors at other summer camps around the country. Jasmine Kaur taught on Banda Singh Bahadur at Camp Chardhi Kala in Bloomingburg, New York on 23 through 26 August. The three day workshop examined the life of Banda Singh Bahadur and the lessons his life imparts in terms of one's realtionship with the Guru today.
Jasmine Kaur also taught at Camp Sehaij in Rindge, New Hampshire, 3 through 6 September. These lessons were designed for the group of 40 campers and taught on the life of Banda Singh Bahadur and facilitated reflection of the Divan theme Sabad and hukams.
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Khalra Remembrance Day
Honoring Jaswant Singh Khalra
In conjunction with the UN's international remembrance on the Day of the Disappeared, Ensaaf hosted a two-day event at the Sikh Temple of Sacramento to honor the life and legacy of Jaswant Singh Khalra, an activist who worked to expose the secret cremation of victims, until his work was cut short by his own disappearance at the hands of state forces. A highlight of the weekend's activities was the unveiling of the list which Khalra had been working on, which led to his abduction, as public recognition of his sacrifice and dedication to exposing truth. The weekend forum was sponsored by Ensaaf, Sikh Research Institute, Jakara and Sikh Coalition, as well as members of the Sacramento Sikh community.
For its part, SikhRI hosted two Sevadar events as part of the weekend's scheduled activities. The first, which 200 people attended on 4 September, was Harinder Singh's presentation: "Jaswant Singh Khalra: An Inspiring Activist." The event built on Khalra's story to explore the needs and methods for activists today and the populations most in need of representation and service. On 5 September, Harinder Singh facilitated SikhRI's second presentation, "Jaswant Singh Khalra: Life & Legacy", which some 500 people attended. This presentation expanded on Khalra's important role in recent history and the effects of both his work in life, and the significance of his disappearance, as a call for international justice and transparency.
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Memorial Service
9/11: Keeping Faith, Keeping Freedom
On 8 September Gurvinder Singh participated on behalf of SikhRI in a memorial service for the victims of the September 11, 2001. The event, "9/11: Keeping Faith, Keeping Freedom" was held in San Antonio at the City Hall and consisted of civic and religious leaders, including the Mayor and the Chief of Police, joining together for an interfaith service the weekend preceding the attacks.
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Liv
1947 - The Partition
On 28 August, Harinder Singh presented a Liv webinar which explored the Sikh perspective of the events of 1947 which resulted in the partition of India and Pakistan. Topics covered included an examination of the Westminister Approach, the relationship of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus, and the effects of the partition and the attitude of the Indian state in the midst of the upheaval. Narenderpal Singh moderated the session and Gurvinder Singh served as host for the discussion. Surender Pal Singh assisted in the development of the content.
SikhRI regularly offers Liv webinars on a wide variety of topics, which are available to anyone, anywhere in the world with internet access. All webinars have recently become free of cost to attendees, and archived sessions will soon be available for streaming at any time. While the webinars can be attended without cost, the institute always appreciates donations in order to support the Liv program.
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Utsav!
Sikh Americans: Life and Lifestyle
On 10 September, Inderpreet Singh presented on behalf of SikhRI at Utsav! A Festival of Panjabi and Sikh Culture. The topic of his presentation was "Sikh Americans: Life and Lifestyle." Some 500 people attended the event, which was hosted by the Sommerville Arts Council and Sommerville Gurdwara, and held at Union Square Plaza in Sommerville, Massachusetts.
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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!
Bhajan Singh Bhinder, Ginnipal Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Harpal Singh, Jagdeep Singh, KaviRaj Singh, Livleen Singh, Manamrit Kaur, Maudie Muraida, Narenderpal Singh, Navdeep Singh, Parmender (Raju) Singh, Sandeep Singh, and Sandy Kaur.
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