Jain Digest 2014 11

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

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JAIN DIGEST
2014 YJA CONVENTION
Daytime Programming Over 90 inspirational speakers, who keep Jainism and its values alive in the hearts and minds of youth, presented almost 150 sessions at this convention. Included in programming were diverse sessions on Jain education, interfaith cooperation, social justice, environmentalism, lifestyle, college, career development, and much more.
Keynote Speaker: Nimesh "Nimo" Patel
From Wharton Business School to Wall Street, to fame and fortune as a MTV Rap star, at some point Nimo realized he was walking a path of suffering and that the only path to light was through selfless service to others and his own internal purification. He currently works with slum children in India and is the founder of Empty Hands Music.
Keynote Speaker: Sonal Shah
Sonal Shah is Professor of Practice and the founding Executive Director of the Beeck
Center for Social Impact & Innovation, and co-founder of Indicorps. She was the Deputy Assistant to the President and founding Director of the White House Office of
Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
Jain Networking Forum Keynote Speaker: Masum Momaya
Dr. Masum Momaya has been working for social change and social justice for more than twenty years. Currently a Curator at the Smithsonian Museums, her most recent exhibition "Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation" is showing there until March 2015 and will travel around the country for 5 years afterwards.
Jain Academic Bowl
Speakers and Sessions
YJA Gives Back
YJA hosted its first ever Jain Academic Bowl. 16 semifinalists who passed a rigorous preliminary test were randomly placed into four teams to compete at the convention. The winning team was the Jain Jewels: Akhil Ajmera (MD), Parshva Vakharia (ND), Saagar Shah (NJ), and Vishwa Shah (FL).
In addition to fantastic speakers within the Jain community, many speakers came from the local D.C. area, including prominent social activists, interfaith workers, and White House and government affiliates. For a full list of speakers and sessions, please visit convention.yja.org/daytime and convention.yja.org/inf.
In the spirit of the convention theme, "Today's Learners, Tomorrow's Leaders", YJA youth took part in a volunteer activity. During a session, almost 400 hygiene kits were made for the homeless community in Washington, D.C.
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AUG- NOV 2014