Friday December 17, 2010

5:00pm to 5:15pm: Prayers (Ardas) - Swaran Singh

5:15pm to 5:30pm: Introduction –Ranbir Singh, Director, UNITED SIKHS Canada

5:30pm to 7:30pm: The Role of Women in Protecting the Sikh Identity

Speakers:

7:30pm to 7:45pm: Opening Speech - Becky Monroe Acting Director, U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service

Saturday December 18, 2010

10:00am to 10:30am: Prayers (Ardas) - Swaran Singh; Introduction: Ilana Ofgang, Legal Fellow, UNITED SIKHS USA, Bikramjit Singh, President of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara

10:30am to 12:00pm: Minority Rights under Domestic & International Law

Speakers:

- Micheal Vonn, Policy Director, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association

- Ravjeet Singh, UNITED SIKHS UK Director

- Moderator: Hansdeep Singh, Senior Staff Attorney, UNITED SIKHS USA

12:00pm to 12:15pm: Conference Address - Mayor Dianne Watts Surrey, British Columbia,

12:15pm to 12:30pm: Conference Address - Sukh Dhaliwal Member of Parliament Newton-North Delta

12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunch

12:30 to 1:00pm: Film: Urdaari , Introduction by Gurvinder Singh –Director, UNITED SIKHS, USA

1:00pm to 1:30pm: Grassroots Mobilization: Protect our Identity – Loveleen Kaur, CEO & UNITED SIKHS Volunteer

1:30pm to 3:00pm: Religious Discrimination & Accommodation

Speakers:

3:00pm to 4:15pm: Bully Prevention

4:30pm to 5:45pm: Sikhs in non-traditional fields: Breaking Barriers

Speakers:

5:45pm to 6:15pm: Video Addresses, Introduction by Hardayal Singh, Director, UNITED SIKHS

Speakers:

- Gurbax Singh Malhi, Member of Parliament for Bramalea-Gore-Malton

- Vicky Dhillon, Brampton City Councillor Wards 9 & 10

- Mark Persaud, Lawyer & Former Head of Liberals’ Multiculturalism Committee

6:15pm to 8:15pm: Dinner

6:15pm to 8:15pm: Film, Harvest of Grief, Film Clip: Holy Kitchens, Introduction by Hardayal Singh, Director, UNITED SIKHS

8:15pm to 10:00pm: Concert - Sangharsh (Revolution): rapping for human rights

Sunday December 19, 2010

10:00am to 10:30am: Prayers (Ardas) - Swaran Singh, Introduction by Ranbir Singh, Director, UNITED SIKHS Canada, and Kuldip Singh, President, UNITED SIKHS USA

10:30am to 1:00pm: Challenges & Solutions Throughout Sikh History

Speakers:

Speaker Bios

Bikramjit Singh

Bikramjit Singh is the President of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. He is currently working towards finishing his university degree at Simon Fraser University with a major in Criminology and minor in Psychology. I am also an Insurance and Mutual Fund Broker and President of Roadways Insurance Corporation. His short term goal as a sevadaar of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara is to reach out to the entire community to ensure that everyone has a voice in the future of one of North America’s largest Sikh institutions. His long term goal is to see the establishment of programs and services focused on the youth. We thank him and everyone at the Gurdwara for their participation and invaluable contributions to this conference.

Harminder Kaur is a columnist for Global Sikh News and an accounting major at Portland State University. She is a regular contributor to Sikhnet under the pen name of Sanmukh Kaur. Additionally, she is a member of the moderator team for Sikhsangat. In her free time, she develops projects aimed at helping youth learn about Sikhi and empowering them to be more adherent Sikhs through online and grassroots programs. She is an active member of Gurudwara Sahib in Oregon, USA.

Harminder Kaur

Harminder Kaur is a Research Scientist in Immunochemistry where she is testing future drugs for cancer treatment. She did her entire education in French and she was one of the first French high school, college, and university students to wear a dastaar. She is Voices for Freedom (VFF) Coordinator in Canada and has been an ardent activist in fighting for accountability in India.

Jessi Kaur

Jessi Kaur is the author of two children’s books: Dear Takuya and The Royal Falcon. She is Co- Founder of International Institute of Gurmat Studies, a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the universal teachings of the Sikh Gurus to Sikh youth across the World. She is also on the board of Kaur Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to making Sikh studies a part of the curriculum in public schools. She is an active speaker at inter-faith conferences and has been invited to speak at the Parliament of World’s Religions in Barcelona in 2004 and in Melbourne in 2009. Starting as an educator teaching English Literature to undergrads, she made the transition to being an HR consultant to high tech companies in the Silicon Valley. She is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Fine Arts Commission of the city of Cupertino.

Kiranjot Kaur

Becky Monroe

Tejal Kaur

Tejal Kaur, M.D. is a Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, focusing on issues of children's mental health, community psychiatry and research in early intervention of psychotic disorders. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, after which she went on to complete her residency in General Psychiatry also from UCSD. In addition to her medical background, a passionate advocate, Tejal has a long history of volunteering her time for community empowerment and has dedicated time to marginalized and under-served communities. As a UNITED SIKHS volunteer, she draws upon her extensive knowledge of mental health to inform and guide an anti-bullying campaign. Additionally, she also engages the community in other civil and human rights advocacy and health-based initiatives.

Jasdeep Kaur

Jasdeep Kaur holds a master's degree in counseling and is the daughter of a noble Gursikh, Shaheed Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji. Jasdeep was born and brought up in a deeply religious family and is currently working as a counselor at Rancho Medanos Junior High School. Her work provides her with a unique perspective about the challenges that Sikh youth and their parents face in daily life. She is a mentor to many teen aged youth and their parents. In this role, she has helped many families. Her love for Kirtan, teaching, Sikhi and Sikh youth makes her a role model for the youth community. Jasdeep, through her good example, has inspired many Sikh youth at El Sobrante Gurdwara Sahib in San Francisco, California. Three years ago, she started Saturday Gurmat camps and Sunday morning Simran and Aasa Di Var Kirtans. As a result of her efforts, many young people are actively involved in the community life of Gurdwara Sahib.

Micheal Vonn

Micheal Vonn is a lawyer and the Policy Director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. Ms. Vonn has been an adjunct professor in the faculty of law at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where she has taught civil liberties and an adjunct professor at the UBC School of Library, Archival and Information Studies where she has taught information ethics and intellectual freedom. Ms. Vonn is an Advisory Board Member of Privacy International and regularly speaks on topics relating to privacy, surveillance and security. She has presented to the Center for Global Security Law and Policy Conference on Surveillance and Privacy in an Age of National Insecurity and to the Canadian House of Commons Committees on Transport and Public Safety on both the Canadian and American “no-fly” lists.

Daniel Mach

Daniel Mach is the Director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. He leads a wide range of religious-liberty litigation, advocacy, and public education efforts nationwide, and often writes, teaches, and speaks publicly on religious freedom issues. Prior to his work at the ACLU, Mr. Mach was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Jenner & Block, where he specialized in First Amendment law.

Palbinder Shergill

Palbinder Shergill is a lawyer and mediator practicing in Surrey, British Columbia, with her law firm, Shergill & Company. Palbinder was raised in Williams Lake, B.C. and attended the University of British Columbia, before completing her law degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1990. Palbinder was called to the B.C. bar in 1991. She has been in full-time private practice ever since. Palbinder has acted as counsel in numerous major and complex litigation cases, including Charter and Constitutional Law, US Customs (relating to the Softwood Lumber Agreement), wrongful death, and murder. She has appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada; all levels of trial and appellate court in B.C.; the trial and appellate courts of the Federal Court of Canada; and numerous administrative tribunals. Palbinder has served two terms as an elected member of the National Sections Council of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA); been the Provincial and National Chair of the CBA’s Administrative Law Section; sat on the Law Society of B.C.’s Multiculturalism Committee; and served as an Appeals Board member for the Liberal Party of Canada (BC) Appeals Board. Palbinder was appointed as a Director to the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) Board from 2002-2008, where she also chaired the Governance and Human Resources Committee. The FHA is the largest health region in B.C., and manages a budget of over 1.8 billion dollars. For the past 19 years, Palbinder has voluntarily served as the General Legal Counsel for the World Sikh Organization, appearing and advising on human rights cases across Canada. Palbinder was counsel for the WSO in Multani versus Commission Scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, and Amselem versus Syndicat Northcrest, 2 of the 3 landmark cases that form the recent trilogy of human rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.Palbinder is an active volunteer in pro bono legal clinics, and often serves as a guest lecturer at universities, high schools, and various community organizations, on issues relating to human rights, law, politics, and gender equity.

Karen K. Narasaki

Heading one of the nation’s premiere advocacy organizations, Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, is a nationally respected authority on immigrant, voting and civil rights and affirmative action. Under her guidance, AAJC works to advance the human and civil rights for Asian Americans, and build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Ms. Narasaki, a renowned advocate for the Asian American community, holds a number of leadership positions in the civil and immigrant rights arenas, including vice chairwoman of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation’s oldest and broadest civil rights coalition.Ms. Narasaki also leads the Rights Working Group, a coalition of human, civil and immigrant rights groups working to address the erosion of civil liberties and basic immigrant rights since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Additionally, Ms. Narasaki is the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition’s chairwoman. Her work in this area earned her a spot on the Federal Communications Commission’s Advisory Committee for Diversity in the Digital Age. She also sits on the boards of Common Cause and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, all of which led Washingtonian Magazine to name her one of the “100 most powerful women in Washington” in 2001, 2006 and 2009.Ms. Narasaki is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Yale University and Order of the Coif, of the UCLA School of Law.

Harpreet Singh Sandhu

Harpreet Singh Mokha

Harpreet Singh Mokha earned his Juris Doctor from Michigan State University College of Law and Bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Human Resource Management from the University of Houston. On November 23rd, 2009, Harpreet Singh Mokha joined the Community Relation Service at the Department of Justice as the Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region (Region 3) after serving as a civil rights attorney and the Legal Director of United Sikhs in Washington, D.C. There, he provided legal guidance and counseling on issues such as civil rights and liberties violations, post 9/11 backlash, airport profiling, employment discrimination, and immigration law. As the Legal Director, Harpreet was involved in numerous outreach initiatives, served as consultant to create cultural awareness programs, and conducted educational seminars with federal, state, and local government agencies. Harpreet also represented the interests of the Sikh community with respect to pending legislative matters in Congress and partnered with a coalition of civil rights organizations to influence legislation. As a result, Harpreet worked with members of Congress in co-drafting legislation regarding ending racial and religious profiling and the enhancement of civil rights and liberties.

Loveleen Kaur

Loveleen Kaur is a graduate of Economics from University of DELHI in India. She spent almost two decades in import and export of textiles elevating from marketing manager to vice president of sales, marketing, and design. For the last 6 years, Loveleen has run a medical spa business as CEO in Fremont, CA. Recently, Loveleen joined as a volunteer for UNITED SIKHS and is now the Executive Fundraising Manager for UNITED SIKHS.

Sukhsimranjit Singh

Sukhsimranjit Singh teaches and trains in dispute resolution. Being Associate Director for the Center for Dispute Resolution at Willamette University College of Law, he is part of Willamette’s full-time law faculty. His specializes in cross-cultural dispute resolution, a course he has taught and trained lawyers in Spain, France, India and United States. He recently trained Oregon City employees in effective dispute resolution techniques and regularly speaks about minority and cultural issues at American Bar Association and international dispute resolution conferences. Prof. Singh earned his law degree from the most prestigious law school in India and clerked with the Chief Justice of India. After working in the field of international arbitration, he earned an LL.M. in dispute resolution from University of Missouri. He has worked with the Superior Court of San Mateo County-California, Mediation Center-Minneapolis, and has completed a post-graduate fellowship in dispute resolution at the Dispute Resolution Institute, Hamline University School of Law. He currently teaches Negotiation, Advanced Negotiation, Mediation Theory and Advocacy, and Arbitration Law and Advocacy.

Jaswinder Kaur

Jaswinder Kaur born in Nairobi District is a Philanthropist involved in many philanthropic activities for the needy running into millions of Kenya shillings. She was honored by His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and was inducted into the Order of the Grand Warrior for her good works in the field of social justice under the title of philanthropist. She is the only Sikh woman to have received this honor. Jaswinder serves as a board member of the National Counsel of Children’s Services in Kenya and is the Director for UNITED SIKHS Kenya. She is a member of the Lions Club Eye Bank.

Romy Ritter

Romy Ritter became Regional Director of Canadian Jewish Congress – Pacific Region (CJCPR) in January 2008. Prior to becoming Regional Director, Romy worked as an independent consultant to various human rights and anti-racism organizations in BC. She previously served as Community Relations Coordinator for CJCPR from 2000 – 2005 where, among numerous other projects, she developed anti-racism programs which were implemented throughout the province. Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., Romy completed her B.A. in Sociology at the University of Western Ontario and received her Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University, focusing on hate crimes and white supremacist organizations in North America. Through her work at CJCPR, Romy has worked on a variety of issues including combating antisemitism and hate crimes, anti-racism education, inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue, the Provincial commemoration of Yom HaShoah, and the coordination of security for the community.

Jarnail Singh

Jarnail Singh has worked as a journalist for national media in Delhi from 1994 until 2009, when he made a symbolic protest against the denial of justice to the victims of 1984. After this, Mr. Singh wrote a book on 1984 in three languages “I Accuse: Anti-Sikh Violence of 1984” published by Penguin books –English, Punjabi, Hindi. This book exposed the conspiracy behind 1984, the role of government actors , police, and the ongoing denial of the injustice that took place during that time. He currently works as a freelance and human rights advocate.

Randeep Singh Sarai

Randeep Singh Sarai is a lawyer, developer, and Vice President of a publicly traded lending corporation. He has been active in Sikh Community interests in Lower Mainland and helped create the West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance, Sikh Societies of Lower Mainland against Youth Violence, and part of 3HO Foundation Canada's Camp Raj Yog in Sechelt, B.C. He is also active in Federal and Provincial politics, including being the Liberal panelist for television debates and a key organizer in two leadership races.

About the Films

“Harvest of Grief”:

“Holy Kitchens”

Art

Kanwar Singh Dhillon

Born in Amritsar India, Kanwar Singh Dhillon has been engaged in the process of art making for as long as he can remember. He is influenced by a host of past masters such as Sobha Singh, Caravaggio and J.W Waterhouse. Growing up in Toronto Canada, Kanwar explored several paths that would allow him to work as a professional artist including animation and book illustration. However, it wasn’t until he started to take an interest in the history of the Sikhs that his art took a definitive turn for the better. With his painting style Kanwar Singh Dhillon aspires to combine the grace and beauty of Sobha Singh’s portraits with the documentary style of Sikh history painters such as Devender Singh. Punjab’s history is rich with the exploits of heroes and sages from the time of Alexander to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The spread of the Sikh faith and the rise of the Khalsa have featured heavily in his recent works.

SPEACIAL THANK YOU TO:

Bawa Music and Handicraft

124-12885 85 Avenue
Surrey, BC V3W 0K8
(604) 590-4585

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