WASHINGTON: The Intl Sikh Youth Symposium, 1992 sponsored by Sri. Hem Kunt Foundation of New York and organized joinery by Guru Nanak Foundation of America, Sikh Foundation of Virginia and The Washington Sikh Center was held in Metropolitan Washington from April 1719, 1992. The 1991 Symposium was held in London, England last year. Sikh children of different age groups from United Kingdom, Kenya, Canada and United States participated. The Washington Zone volunteered to host the 1992 Symposium in which nearly 800 persons, children and adults, took part.

The Symposium began at the Center level in each Zone in October 1991; A zone has four or more Centers The winners from each Center from the four age groups, 7-10, 11-14, 15-18 and 19-25 competed at the Zonal level. The winners from each of six Zones, finally, participated in the International Symposium, In this process, about one thousand Sikh children got a chance to read (and understand) salient aspects of Sikhism.

The first three groups had to peruse a specified book, were required to prepare a report and present it publicly in a seminar setting, first at the Center level, then at the Zonal level before presenting it at the Intl level. The books assigned were Naveen Paneeree (Sakhian Sri Guru Gobind Singh) for the Group I, 710, Bijay Singh for Group II, 1114 and Baba Naudh Singh, Part II for Group III, 15-18 age group. Group IV, 19-25, was assigned a topic, The Role of Women in Sikhism for which they were provided with some articles and references. They, however, were not to be confined to these papers alone,

Participants and their families were the guests of the Washington Zone. The guests from abroad were received at the airports on arrival and driven to homes of the host families who provided a pleasant environment for their stay to be warm and affectionate. For several of the guests, it was their first visit to America or at least to Washington DC, Some of them did arrive a few days earlier and some of them stayed a few days after the Symposium,

The Program was presented in three parts: (i) At the Guru Nanak Foundation of America for Groups I and IV on Friday, April 17 evening (ii) At the Sikh Foundation of Virginia for Groups II and Tilon Saturday, April 18 morning, and (iii) the finale at The Washington Sikh Center on Sunday afternoon, April 19. The program at each of these locales was very well attended by over 500 persons. The speeches by each of the competitors were all inspiring. The keen sense of dedication of these youngsters to learn about Sikhism was a source of enormous satisfaction and hope. They lead everyone to believe that Sikhism has a bright future. The highlights of the program included a thrilling speech by the keynote speaker, S, Saran Singh, IAS (Red), Chief Editor, The Sikh Review, Calcutta.

The winners of the International Competition were: Group I, 7-10 Jasmeet Kaur (Canada); Group II,

11-14 Roop Jyot Kaur Arora (U.K.); Group III, 15-18 Amrita Kaur (USA); Group IV, 19-25 Kamal Deep Kaur Mahajan (Kenya). All winners received 24carat gold medals.

We are really honored to have SJoginder Singh Ji Mann, ex Speaker, Punjab Assembly, Chairman, Sri Hem Kunt Trust and father of S. Simranjit Singh Ji Mann, who was magnanimous enough to make this arduous trip all the way from Punjab to America inspite of his frail health and advanced age.

The series of events for this 3day program also included a sightseeing tip to Washington monuments and the Smithsonian Institute, and a Banquet in honor of the visiting guests at the Ramada Hotel in Tysons Comer, Virginia attended by over 300 persons.

According to Dr. Bawa, the Washington Zone Convener, the completely unified support and unqualified cooperation of the three Sikh organizations in the metropolitan Washington area was so evident in the enormous success of this Symposium. Sincere thanks are due to numerous unnamed volunteers and families who offered their full support and services at odd hours at a considerable personal discomfort and inconvenience to make the stay of the guests so enjoyable. May Satguru bless them all with His Naam,

The next International Symposium will be held in Toronto in July 1993. For further information, please contact Shamsher Singh (516) 481-5652, Amarjit Singh (716) 688-1174 or Ujagar Singh Bawa (301) 854-9886.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 15, 1992