Jain Digest 2001 07 Vol 19 No 03

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 21

HIGHLIGHTS OF CONVENTION 2001
gathering. Mr. Girish Shah of California ran two sessions on Jain Society interactions for the officers and volunteers of all the Jain centers to learn from each other about running pathshalas, fund raising, publishing of newsletters etc. The spirit of growing by sharing and learning was so evident that this new feature will be
feature will be the permanent feature of the future conventions. Dr. Mahendra Mehta of Canada held a panel discussion on "Are we (Jains) going on the right Path? Another panel discussion headed by Pravin Shah of North Carolina on Jain Unity with many important speakers like Dr. N. P. Jain, Sadhvi Shilapiji, Deepchand Gardi, Dr. Mahendra Pandya, Dr. Dhiraj Shah illustrated very vividly why we were all here. He issued a call for one single agenda - a plan of action-behind which Jains around the world can unite and result in the unity everyone is looking for. Unity was the theme that ran throughout the convention.
Friday night was the musical evening. Bhanu Vora and Trupti Chhaya group provided a relaxing mix of devotional and folk songs. Saturday night was for cultural programs by various Jain Societies. This is one chance for our young ones to present themselves to the national audience and it was a fun filled evening.
Plenty of programs were planned for the Youth. As if this convention was a carefully planned mixture of two conventions one for the adults and one for the youth. There was a cruise the most popular event with young adults. Jain Network Forum (formerly known as Marriage Information Service) was organized very well by Vijay Mehta. The other attractions for the youth were : The Jain Academic Bowl, and of course dancing.
Young Jain Professionals organized several well-attended sessions. Twilight Zone pondered philosophical questions in the realm of the unknown. Jain Ethics and Social Activism raised the issue of applying Jain teachings by helping create a better world for everyone. Jain CEO's - The Secret of their Success - discussed the professional, ethical, and social struggles encountered by a panel
of CEO's. Evolving Role of Jain Men and Women created a dialogue about the changing of women's roles to personal and financial independence in addition to the traditional role of wife, mother, and homemaker, the impact this change has on women, and the subsequent impact this has on men. Finally, the YJP Leadership Session gave an overview of YJP's activities from its inception and highlighted executive board positions available.
Anop Vora of Rochester gave a slide presentation on the meaning of the Samvatsari Pratikaman that was very well received. JAINA Education Committee organized a pathshala teachers' meeting. About 60 to 70 teachers and coordinators attended the meeting arranged by Pravin Shah, Sailesh Jain, Pradip Shah and Darshna Shah. They discussed making educational materials available to pathshalas. 20 volunteers agreed to review and edit the existing material. Dr. Manibhai Mehta assured that the funding would be available for this project. All the events ran smoothly and no problems were reported.
There were many meetings for helping the earthquake relief
There wer operations in Kutch. Ramesh Shah of Cleveland introduced "Wheels of Hope" program wherein working with American Red Cross he obtains hundreds of wheel chairs, fixes them and sends them to India for the earthquake victims.
The International Alumni Association of Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalay (IAAMJV) held its Biennial General Body meeting on the 8th at the convention. They elected the new executive committee for two year term with Rajnikant T. Shah of Warrenville, Il as new President.
The crowds gathered around many exhibit booths between the lectures. There were many booths offering religious books, tapes, CDs. There were many kinds of booths-informational, charitable causes and commercial ventures.
The Jivdaya booth offered a unique mix of information. Vegetarian Resource Group's dedicated volunteers displayed their popular guides to ingredients and vegetarian food available in fast food restaurants. The booth also highlighted the work of the Jivdaya Committee, headed by Rati and Bonny Shah of Texas, with pictures and handouts depicting their work with animals and people
affected by the earthquake in Kutch, India, as well as their efforts to spay animals in the US to prevent animal overpopulation and the suffering that follows. Sangeeta Kumar, a young activist who
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JAIN DIGEST- FALL 2001/19