Sept 10th 2005

[ghost]

EVENT - Sept 10 2005:

Oxford & Cambridge Sikh Alumni Association, in association with the newly formed University of London Sikh Alumni Association present:

"Where are we going".

A distinguished set of panelists and the event will feature a performance by vocal talent, Indi Kaur.

The evening will be chaired by Aman K. Dhaliwal, a news journalist with the BBC. Our panelists include: Mr Indarjit Singh OBE (Chief Guest), Miss

Sukhraj Kaur Randhawa (Media and Education), Mr Manjit Singh Gill QC (Law), Mr Ravinder Singh Gidar (Business & Commerce), Harbinder Singh (Culture and Heritage), Sonika K. Nirwal (Politics) and Dr Jeevan Singh Deol (Academia).

Capacity is limited, so please confirm your place(s) asap by sending the

names of yourself and your guests to ocsaa@ocsaa.org.uk. Your names will then be added to the guest list at the door (no need to send in cheques at this stage), and further details emailed out next week.

We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be a great event

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"Where are we going" Sikh's in the UK

at 6pm, Saturday the 10th of September 2005

Herbert Smith LLP, Central London.

www.ocsaa.org.uk

www.sikhalumni.com

[Jungee]

The following provides some more information about the event. It is Open to all. Designed for University Students and Graduates.

This is a Platform for a Highly Intellectual Dissussion.

Plus all Students which Attended Sikh Student Camp 2005, will be allowed in at Half Price.

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The Oxford & Cambridge Sikh Alumni Association cordially invites you to its panel event on

Saturday the 10th of September, 2005

at

Herbert Smith LLP,

Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2ED

Our panel consists of prominent Sikhs in the UK from a diverse range of fields including the Media, Politics, Business, Academia and Culture & Heritage.

The event will follow the format of the BBC’s popular ‘Question Time’ programme, and will be hosted by Amandeep Dhaliwal, a journalist with the BBC.

The interactive debate will cover various topics of relevance to Sikh Community in the UK and it is hoped that the forum will provide food for thought for all those present, as well as an opportunity to meet with alumni, friends and guests.

Details:

This event is being held in conjunction with the newly formed University of London Sikh Alumni Association (UoLSAA), and is open to Oxford, Cambridge and University of London Alumni, their guests and friends of the associations.

This evening is kindly been hosted by Herbert Smith LLP, a large law firm in the City. There will be a reception with light refreshments from 6pm, followed by a performance before we are seated for the panel debate. The event will conclude by ~8.30pm. The dress code is jacket & tie or traditional.

The ticket price for the event is £10 per head. Please confirm your attendance by sending a cheque, payable to "OCSAA" to,

Daljit Sidhu, 4 Cranmore Avenue, Osterley, Middx, TW7 4QW.

Our guest panel:

· Chief Guest - Dr Indarjit Singh OBE

Dr Singh is the most widely known voice of the UK Sikh community. He edits the highly respected ‘Sikh Messenger’ and is Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (UK), with more than 80 affiliated organisations. He regularly represents Sikhs at the Commonwealth Service, the Annual Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph and on similar civic occasions. He is also a leading figure in the national and international inter faith movement, a Patron of the World Congress of Faiths and an Executive Committee member of the Inter Faith Network UK (and one of its founder members and first officers). In 1989, Dr Indarjit Singh became the first non- Christian to be awarded the UK Templeton Prize ‘for the furtherance of spiritual and ethical understanding’. In 1991 he received the Inter faith Medallion for services to religious broadcasting. He was awarded the OBE in June 1996.

· Politics - Councilor Sonika Nirwal

Sonika Nirwal grew up in the heart Southall before reading her undergraduate in Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge. She became a Councilor by the age of 27 and since then has built up a range of experience in local government having managed a variety of projects as a local authority officer and as a principal consultant for the IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency). She is an elected member of the London Borough of Ealing where she chairs an executive committee and is involved in the council’s scrutiny function.

· Culture & Heritage - Mr Harbinder Singh, Director of the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail (ASHT).

Harbinder Singh has been instrumental in setting up the ASHT, a project of the Maharajah Duleep Singh Centenary Trust. MDSCT was first established in 1993, the centenary year of the death of Maharajah Duleep Singh, with the objective of highlighting and promoting Anglo Sikh Heritage. Since then it has engaged in a series of initiatives, including the ‘Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms’ exhibition in collaboration with the V&A; the annual ‘Portrait of Courage’ Lecture at the Imperial War Museum; the Jawans to Generals’ Exhibition, in collaboration with English Heritage and numerous other projects, including the commissioning of a statue of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the first major piece of Sikh art outside India.

· Academia -. Dr Jeevan Singh Deol

Dr Deol was a research Fellow in Indian History at St John's College, Cambridge before moving to the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) in Londonwhere he now lectures. Dr Deol specialises in Urdu language and literature, Punjab history; Sikh religious history, Punjabi literature and manuscriptology, Mughal history, terrorism and security issues and has written on security and faith issues for The Times and The Independent. He is currently a regular contributor to the 'Today' programme's 'Thought for the Day' slot. He is one of the founding members of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, a voluntary organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting the material heritage of the Punjab in the UK and abroad.

· Business & Commerce - Mr Ravinder Singh Gidar

Ravinder grew up in West London after coming to the UK from the Punjab in 1965 with his parents. A couple of years after graduating as a Pharmacist in 1981, he decided to go into business at the age of 23. By the age of 30 he was running a chain of Pharmacies in the South East. In 1992, Ravinder then moved into the care business after completing a Post Graduate diploma is Community Care, and in the last 8 years has built up a company of 400 beds within 6 care homes. With businesses worth in excess of £40m, Ravinder attributes his success to the basic principles of leadership which are clearly taught in Sikhism.

· Media & Education- Miss Sukhraj Kaur Randhawa

Sukhraj grew up in Wolverhampton and read English at Oxford, graduating in 2001, after which she completed a PGCE in Secondary English and Drama. While teaching Sukhraj has been pursuing a writing career, contributing articles to Punjab Darpan as well as gaining experience while working with Vogue. Her prize-winning article on arranged marriages was short-listed for the Catherine Pakenham Award in 2003 and was published by the Sunday Telegraph. In 2004, Sukhraj won the Vogue Talent Contest writing award and her published story is in production to be turned into a short film. Sukhraj is currently combining teaching and freelance writing, with an MA course.

· Law - Mr Manjit Singh Gill QC

Manjit Singh Gill appears in the 'Legal 500' and is the editor of the Immigration and Nationality Law Reports. His chambers was the first truly multi-racial barristers' chambers in the UK formed over 30 years ago specifically to combat discrimination and protect civil liberties. Mr Gill has conducted several high profile cases ranging from the Conspiracy to Murder the Indian Prime Minister in 1985 to the House of Lords' decision in 2004 on the indefinite detention without trial of suspected terrorists. He has worked on Sikh human rights issues for over 22 years and in that time has attended several UN conferences to lobby on human rights issues affecting Sikhs resulting, in particular, in amendments to the 2001 UN Declaration on

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance specifically to cater for Sikhs.

Discussion Topics

You and your guests are invited to submit questions which you consider to be pertinent to the discussion. Example topics are given below but these are only guidelines. Please submit questions when sending your cheque using the form below.

Example topics:

Sikh Image in the West - How has the British media portrayal of Sikhs been impacted by the ‘Behzti’ play, September 11th and the London Bombings? How influential is the Sikh media in steering Sikh community opinions? Which Sikh institutions exist to interact with the mainstream media and represent our interests?

Social Issues - What forums do we have in place to discuss pressing social issues that exist today and those that may become important in the future, for example, alcohol and drug abuse, homosexuality, abortion? Is the Gurudwara a suitable place for such debate? What is the role of Sikh/Punjabi media and the internet in addressing social issues?

Unity of direction as British Sikhs - Where should we look for direction on religious/social/political issues? Are these ‘directing’ institutions united in their views? Should the source of this unity be the Akal Takht Sahib or should it be host nation based for diaspora Sikhs? What are our aspirations as a community within British society?

Submissions:

Tickets and directions will be mailed out closer to the event for which the dress code is jacket and tie or traditional. Tickets will be posted in due course. If you have not received your tickets by 5th September 2005, please contact us on 0790 382 0 382.

[ghost]

Below are further details and directions for this Saturday's event.

Directions:

The full address of the venue is Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House,

Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2ED. The nearest tube and train station

is Liverpool St. When coming out of Liverpool Street station take the

Bishopsgate exit. Primrose St is a two minute walk down Bishopsgate

from the Station.

There will be a guest list at the door, and the dress code is jacket and

tie.

Details:

Timings for the evening are as follows:

6.00pm - Reception .

6.45pm - Welcome and performance by Indi Kaur

7.00pm - Seated for panel debate

We envisage the event will end around 8.30pm.

We look forward to seeing you all this Saturday.

[Kaur_05]

paji whats the dress code?

[ghost]

formal

[Kaur_05]

o man!! u mean proper suited as in english suited!!

i was guna wera like an indian suit!!

[Kaur_05]

"Tickets and directions will be mailed out closer to the event for which the dress code is jacket and tie or traditional."

OKAY JUS gt the quote from the website? says traditional as well, means i can wear suits?

[ghost]

yeh go for it!!