Houston, Texas- The first day of the three-day 4th Regional Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Conference concluded at the Westchase Marriot Hotel, Houston, Texas (USA) on May 28, 2010.

Press Release

The first day of the three-day 4th Regional Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Conference concluded at the Westchase Marriot Hotel, Houston, Texas (USA) on May 28, 2010. Continuing the traditions of past regional conferences at Doha (Qatar), Bonn (Germany) and Bangkok (Thailand), it was a matter of pride for North American NRN to host this conference.

The conference welcomed well over 300 attendees from across the world to deliberate on their potential, as Nepalis living outside Nepal, to help the achieve rapid socio-economic transformation of the country as well as to enhance the case for the enabling NRN request - dual citizenship. Ambassadors of Nepal to the US – HE Shankar P. Sharma, and UN – HE Gyan Chandra Acharya, Chancellor and President of the University of Houston Prof. Renu Khator and Dr. Frits Pannekoek, President, ICDE and Athabasca University as well as accomplished NRN from North America and worldwide were among the speakers. Other participants included businessmen and professionals from Nepal.

The prominent feature was an all-day session geared to distance education and science and technology exchange between Nepal and the diaspora.  As a part of that the concept of an Open University in Nepal (OUN) was the major topic. NRNA and Canada Foundation for Nepal (CFFN) have joined in an initiative to support the Government of Nepal (GON) to build an OUN.  The objective of the workshop, organized by the NRN Skills, Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Task Force (SKIE) in multiple sessions, was to discuss a proposal for the institution, its content and academic development, governance, management, administration and a business plan. The keynote address, delivered by Dr. Pannekoek dwelt on the lessons from his decades of experience in the field. He noted the pressing need for such institutions to in a population driven developing economy. Like Dr. Khator he remarked on the transformative nature of an open university properly run and the importance of quality parity with bricks-and-mortar institutions.

In concurrent sessions:

An overview of select Charity Programs in Nepal with involvement of various NRN highlighted the myriad ways individual initiatives have made a substantial philanthropic impact in Nepal. There was also evidence of more institutionalization in these efforts and the multiplicative beneficial effects that can result. The need for information collection and coordination of these efforts by an organization, like NRNA, was noted. The session was chaired by Mr. Jiba Lamichane and moderated by Mr. Ramakant Kharel. Projects presented were AMA, Nepal Library Project, Model Village, Room to READ, and Empower Nepal Foundation.

Women’s issues and the vital role of women leaders in social justice all over the world in numerous settings were discussed in a session by the Global Nepali Women Forum. These issues that have become a prominent concern as the numbers of NRN increase worldwide. A very diverse panel considered women’s empowerment and related issues. A very useful discussion to build a better consortium of Nepali women worldwide was talked and few development projects were shared by participants from US, Australia, Nepal and Canada. Ms. Indra Ban, Ms. Radha Basnyat, Ms. Seema Dhami, Ms. Bishnu Maya Pariyar, Ms. Luna Ranjeet and Ms. Aashmi Rana were presenters.

Kathmandu, has been identified as a highly vulnerable location for a major earthquake. NRN have therefore geared up to build a team of medical, information technology, engineering and other professionals to develop a strategy on earthquake response and disaster relief. American Society of Nepalese Engineers along with America Nepal Medical Foundation and Computer Association of Nepal - USA jointly conducted a panel discussion on Earthquake Disaster Preparedness for Nepal. Dr. Gaury Adhikary, Dr. Bishnu Phuyal, Dr. Prahlad Pant, Mr. Prabuddha Dahal and Dr. Rajendra Shrestha presented various challenges and models to discuss. NRN USA President Suman Timsina pledged support from NRN Association to support such a noble cause to connect to entire global NRN network.

Everest Day (May 29th) was honored by a session on ‘Nepal Tourism Promotion’. The conference was attended by several Mount Everest summiteers. Panelists described how Nepal is a great destination for tourists and proposed ways to help tourism. Some explained how keeping Nepali heritage and culture alive in foreign lands could help the cause. Session Chaired by Mr. Premraja Mahat and moderated by Mr. Raja Ghale was unique in its own nature where 1st couple to get married at the top of Mount everest, Mr. Prem Dorji Sherpa and Ms. Moni Mulepati, shared their experience and call for help from NRNs to promote Nepal. NRNICC’s Nepal Promotion Task Force informed of a project to build a largest Brass Status of Buddha in Lumbini. Mr. Ram Kharel discussed role of media in promoting Nepal.  Ms Bishnu Thapa and Mr. Karma G Sherpa talked about iimportance of preserving Nepali heritage in Nepal and abroad and asked NRNs to put pressure on Nepal Government to bring stability to address it.


A session explored the concept of collective investment by Nepali entrepreneurs and potential investors as a way to leverage their assets and gain negotiating advantages. Various forms of investment of different sizes and scope were proposed as models for illustration. Mr. Anjan Shrestha and Bhuwan Gurung talked about a model of The Entrepreneurs of Nepal (TEN) to build entrepreneurship among Nepalis, Mr. investment in Nepal. Mukesh Singh spoke on US Trade Treaty while Umang Rana talked of

Finally there was a Nepali Literary Festival which focused on Nepali poetry originating mostly from outside Nepal, which indicated the depth of residual feelings of NRN to Nepal.  Number of poets recited Nepali poems and severl books were released. Poet Homnath Subedi, Shiv Gautam, Bharati Gautam, Bitu KC, Biplav, Mohan Sitaula, Ganga Legal were few prominent names.

The evening was capped off with a dinner hosted by the local host organization, the Nepalese Association of Houston, and NRN-NCC of USA followed by a cultural program featuring prominent Nepali talent from the US and Nepal. Mr. Manoj Gajurel’s comedy, Mr. Premraja Mahat and Ms. Sapana Shree entertained the sudience. NRN Kids and few other presented Neplai songs and dances. Hema and Sarita Foundation gave 3 prizes worth $1000.00 to 3 best performances.

The Conference was co-sponsored by several business houses and some 50 US-Nepali organizations. It is expected to revitalize the NRNA slogan "For Nepali By Nepali". More information can be found at http://nrnusa.org

--
Suman R. Timsina

President
NRN National Coordination Council of USA
http://nrnusa.org

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