Posted Friday, January 29, 2010
By: SDSU University Relations
This Friday, three days after India's 60th Independence Day celebration , a group of individuals and organizations will come together in Brookings to study the ways the world's largest democracy has impacted global affairs.
A symposium on the South Dakota State University campus "India: A Rising Power in the New Global Order" will look at changes in ways India contributes to commerce, research and education .
Events begin at 1 p.m. Friday in the Volstroff Ballroom in The Union. A will follow the formal presentations .
"Whether it is answering a telephone marketing question halfway around the world, influencing research and development of food or finding answers to the growing demand for energy, India is truly a rising power," said Harriet Swedlund, executive director of South Dakota World Affairs Council, one of the primary sponsors of the seminar.
Presentations at the gathering will provide an overview of the characteristics and conditions that contribute to India's growing prominence in the world.
Symposium speakers and audience discussion will detail India's relationship with South Dakota as well.
Keynote address
The symposium, free and open to the public, features three speakers. Chief among them is Ambassador Ashok Kumar Attri, from the Consulate General of India in Chicago. His keynote address,"India: A Rising Power," looks at India's evolving role. This is the ambassador's first visit to South Dakota, which is on the western edge of the consulate's jurisdiction.
Prem Jauhar, research geneticist from the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Fargo, N.D., will discuss "India's Glorious Past, the Present Struggle and Where the Country is Going."
Jauhar's plant research experience in both the U.S. and India will provide links to South Dakota agriculture.
Lionel Sweeny will discuss "Suzlon: Pioneering for a Greener Tomorrow." Sweeny is vice president of human resources at Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation in Pipestone, Minn., a manufacturer of wind energy parts. The company is based in India. Sweeny's presentation will provide insight into growing opportunities for wind energy.
A panel of East Indian and second-generation natives now living in the state will address "The Story of People from India who live in South Dakota."
Panelists range from business executives to community volunteers to high school and university students. They will relate how their cultural background can be part of South Dakota.
A reception and cultural program will follow the symposium at 5:30 p.m. The gathering will give audience members the chance to meet guest speakers and extend the afternoon's conversation .
Reception reservations
Reservations are required for the reception and cultural program . Tickets for the reception and cultural program are $10 for the general public and free to SDSU students. For reservation information, contact Swedlund at 605-688-5416 or harriet.swedlund @sdstate.edu.
In addition to the South Dakota World Affairs Council, the program is sponsored by The Stanley Foundation of Muscatine, Iowa.
The organization has developed a series of "Rising Powers" programs on the shifting positions of political, economic and social power in the U.S. as they relate to nine countries around the world.
Other sponsors for the event include the Brookings Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, South Dakota Humanities Council, Consulate of India, Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
