Convention Program k'July 4 tt, 3:00 - 5:30 PM Registration 9:00 - 9:30 PM Opening Ceremonies 9:30 - 12:00 PM Entertainment Program 1 Invited Group of Artists July 5 it' 6:30 - 7:30 AM Yoga Session 9:00 - 9:30 AM Startup Program 9:30 - 10:30 AM Keynote by Manohar Parrikar 11:00 - 12:30 PM Panel Discussion 2:30 - 5:00 PM Entertainment Program 2 Talent Performances 5:30 - 7:00 PM Bollywood Workshop 9:00 - 11:00 PM Entertainment Program 3 Bhoole Bisre Geet Talent Performances 11:00 - 1:00 AM Dancing to DJ Music July 6 th 6:30 - 7:30 AM Yoga Session 10:00 - 12:00 Noon Closing Function GOAN CONVENTION 2008 Convention Organizing Committee Surendra Naik President Gauri and Shekhar Ambe Registration and Finance Directors Dinker Bir Sponsorship Director Paresh Kenkre Souvenir Editor Surendra Naik and Ajit Desai Hotel and Food Directors Ganapati Mauze Program Director Ajit Kulkarni and Suresh Sansguiri Entertainment Directors Priyada Shinkre Youth Program Director Mayur and Sneha Naik Webmasters Rahul Shinkre and Manoj Naik Media Directors Chitra Jalihal Decoration Director GOAN CONVENTION 2008 r7rRpr 31-rforRt zrr 31-pft q--Trr 1 Cal o1 i14u ot:c4ct) co err dII c1 *e0fr 3fft Tgar TITZEVt 144Ft- ?Tit c,iCr) 1:k). 9-al). Vi)g Cr) 4-1 3TrIft 47ft fEttt- tft7 R-Rgrr tzrr urruf 7c -1T 37ft 4717 RI fiftadi Gauri is married to Shekhar Ambe and is the mother of Dinker and Radha Ambe. She moved to the US from Goa after her marriage and has lived in San Jose for the past sixteen years. Gauri's hobbies include knitting, quilting, gardening and trying out new recipes! GOAN CONVENTION 2008 3 Welcome Address Dear Goenkar Friends, From the It is my great privilege to welcome you all to the 2008 Goan Convention in Silicon Valley, California. And on behalf of all of you, Convention I am extremely honored to welcome Shri Manohar Parrikar as a Keynote Speaker for this convention. Many of you have attended Organizer several past conventions. And for some of you, it is the first experience. I have no dOubt that all of you are looking forward to reuniting with your old friends and making some new connections. My fervent hope is that whether you are a veteran or a first time attendee this three day gathering will provide you all with an unforgettable experience and lots of memories to take back home. I was very fortunate that I was able to put together a very capable team in our very first meeting. While planning for the convention, we decided to do two things early on — one, to have a theme for the convention and two, to invite a keynote speaker to address the convention. We accomplished both these objectives in a democratic manner. First we invited our local Goan community to make suggestions, followed by a discussion of all entries prior to Surendra Naik voting and making the final selection. President, We selected the theme "Celebrating our roots, Spreading our Goan Convention 2008, wings" for this convention. Thanks to Sara Kenkre-Nfitra for Silicon Valley, California July 4m, 2008 suggesting the core idea of this theme. We have tried to fashion this convention around this theme. When we set out to plan this convention, we decided to make a deliberate effort to attract the younger generation. With this theme, we thought we can reflect on our past as well as glimpse into the future. Our convention program focuses on our rich cultural heritage and also envisions the future for the next generation. This being the 9th biennial convention, we in Silicon Valley have the distinct honor of hosting the convention that is now entering adulthood, eighteen years after its inception. The convention is now coming of age, and going forward will require increasing contribution from the younger generation. To that end we have strived to get more youth participation. I do not know what was the make up of the past convention attendees and how far we have succeeded in that mission, but nearly 25% of the attendees this time are under the age of 30. We have also endeavored to include programs that will appeal to youth. 4 GOAN CONVENTION 2008 We have been fortunate enough to have Shri Manoharbab Parrikar as a Keynote speaker to address his thoughts on the theme. He can relate to the transformation of Goa from a liberated territory into its full statehood in the Indian Union. Being a very progressive and successful Chief Minister of Goa in the past and currently serving as a Leader of the Opposition he is in a unique position to provide his vision for the future of Goa and the generations ahead. Before closing, I want to express my thanks to all the sponsors for this convention who have contributed generously, as the registration fees are not enough to meet the expenses. I want to thank Sanjay Wagle and his Chicago team for sending all of their savings of Twenty Thousand dollars to this convention, which allowed us to keep the registration fees low. I want to thank all of the participants who have come from near and far. And last but not the least; I want to thank my team - Gauri and Shekhar Ambe, Dinker Bir, Paresh Kenkre, Ajit Kulkarni, Suresh Sansguiri, Ajit Desai, Ganapati Mauze, Priyada and Rahul Shinkre, Sneha and Mayur Naik, Siddharth Naik, Chitra Jalihal and Manoj Naik. Without their enthusiastic support, hard work and sincere efforts organizing this convention would have been an uphill task. Beyond this team, there are many others including spouses of the organizing committee who have played a key role to make this convention a reality and I whole heartedly thank them all. And now enjoy this wonderful three day event. Most sincerely, Surendra Naik GOAN CONVEN ON 2008 5 Keynote Speaker are very honored that Shri Manohar Parrikar has accepted WWeV our invitation to be a Keynote Speaker for the convention. He is a well known personality in Goa, a former Chief Minister and currently serving in Goa Legislative Assembly as the Leader of the Opposition. Born in Mapusa, Goa, Manohar Parrikar graduated from IIT- Bombay in 1978 in Metallurgical Engineering. After graduating from IIT he returned to Goa and entered into manufacturing business. In 1988 he joined BJP and entered Goan politics and was elected legislative member of Goa 1994-2000. He became chief Minister of Goa in 2000 for the next five years. During his tenure as the Chief Minister, he had a vision going beyond daily problems. He is credited with single handedly bringing Shri Manohar Parrikar the IFF1 (International Film Festival of India) to Goa, and creating more international quality infrastructure in Goa for the event in a short time than any other former government. IFFI now has become an annual fixture in Goan life, providing it the world attention. Beyond the glamorous aspect of this accomplishment, he introduced many programs that benefited senior citizens, single women, education of children, cyber age scheme that provided computers to students at home. He is also known to be a man of action, and principles. As a Chief Minister he had a vision to take Goa beyond its sushegaad image and introducing many programs that uplifted the life of many. He has had a multi-faceted life, growing up in Goa during its turbulent post-liberation political time and making a successful transition as a well respected politician into new millennium. He can relate to the past and equally articulate the present and the future vision. He is an accomplished speaker and with a wealth of experience of making speeches in a wide variety of forums, addressing different audiences from all walks of life. Elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Panaji Constituency (State Capital), Manohar Parrikar is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is also a Member of the National Executive Committee of BJP. He is an avid reader and his favorite pastime is watching cricket and movies. He is the first IIT graduate to become a Chief Minister of any Indian State and is listed as one of the Famous Alumni of IIT- Bombay. He brings a unique perspective of a technologist turned politician as a Keynote Speaker for the 2008 Goan Convention. 6 GOAN CONVENTION 2008 Message From Manohar Dear Goenkar Friends, Parrikar It is always a pleasure to address one's fellow brethren. I greatly appreciate the Goan Convention 2008 for giving me this opportunity to address all of you. Thank you. Friends, today Goa stands at a unique threshold in time. On one hand, we are poised to be India's charm, on the other hand, we see ourselves being shackled by umpteen hurdles. To me, it is very clear that the road ahead - is the one that we forge together. Each person - who is Goan at heart - has a role to play. It saddens me to know that in recent times, Goa is in the limelight for all the wrong reasons - whether it is the land scam, SEZ imbroglio, the sex-drug-crime tourism news, the terrorism stories. In such times, I often wonder- how to remedy the situation? Timely remedy to any situation is the cure and this, unfortunately, is severely lacking in Goa today. During the tenure of my government, I am glad to note that no such incidents ever occurred. My government was committed to provide good governance, stability and growth. We are still committed to the same ideals.