2020 Media Conference

Educational Seminars, Panel Discussions, Presidential Debate, Award Ceremony and Cultural Extravaganza were some of the major highlights of the 7th annual International Media Conference (IMC 2020) organized by the Indo-American Press Club (IAPC) from October 17th to 18th 2020. Meticulous planning and execution of the IMC, organized virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, by IAPC’s Board of Directors and the National Executive Committee, was live broadcast on several social media platforms, and was attended by thousands of IAPC members, supporters and well wishers from around the world.

Led by IAPC Chairman Dr. Joseph Chalil and President Dr. S.S. Lal, the IMC 2020 was inaugurated by Ms. Shanimol Osman, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Kerala, India. Ms. Osman stressed the importance of the media and congratulated IAPC for its contributions to the society.

In his inaugural address, Dr. Chalil, while describing the current phase in human history as “unprecedented times for the journalists, who are the true warriors of journalism,” he pointed out that “several media personnel have been killed due to the COVID pandemic, in their efforts to provide accurate and balanced reporting.”

In his Presidential Address, Dr. Lal highlighted the importance of journalists and the need to coordinate and bring together journalists under one umbrella. “And it is the commitment and sacrifice of the leaders and members of this organization that has helped us build collaborations between the journalists and writers of the US and India,” Dr. Lal said.

Ambassador Pradeep Kapur, in his address stressed the importance of the media, especially in these challenging times as they work hard to bring the truth before the public. While inaugurating the IAPC News Wire, which has been coordinated by Kamlesh Mehta of the South Asian Times, Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, IFS, highlighted the role of Media and how a Newswire can be a channel for educating the public, especially during the Pandemic. The annual Souvenir of IAPC was released by its Editor, Dr. Mathew Joys, Member of the BOD.

During an interactive seminar on Indo-US Relations by reputed Indian Foreign Service Officers, Ambassador Kapur and Ambassador Sreenivasan with experiences in Diplomacy and have personally served in various capacities, representing India around the world, especially in the US and at the UN, shared with the audience of their key insights into the relationship of India with the US, China, Pakistan and European nations. Chief Information Commissioner Bimal Julka, IAS, inaugurated the Educational Website Portal www.bhudhi.com and addressed the audience.

Dr. Aann Abraham served as the Emcee. A Seminar on “Freedom of Press in India & US” was led by Siddarth Varadarajan, a former editor of the Indian English language national daily, The Hindu, and the founding editor of the Indian digital news portal, The Wire. Azad Jayan moderated and Dr. Neethu James served as the Emcee. The session on “Cyber Security & Social Media” was led by Joseph Ponnoly & Binosh Bruce, and was moderated by Thomas Mathew, Vice Chairman of IAPC, and Kalyani Nair served as the Emcee. The Master Ceremony for the IMS was James Kureekkatil.

Coordinated by Ajay Ghosh, Founder President and a Member of the BOD, for the first time ever, a live US Presidential Election Debate with the active participation of prominent political leaders and observers from both the Democratic and the Republic Parties, was organized. The panelists from the Republicans Party were: Puneet Ahluwalia, Candidate for Lt. Governor, Virginia; Dr. Sampat Shivangi, Republican Delegate to the National Republican Convention; and, Dr. Anand Tamhankar, a Multi-Disciplinary Expert and a Physician. The Democrats on the Panel were: Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, Candidate for Connecticut State Assembly; Dr. Hetal Gor, a Women’s Leader and OBGYN, NJ; and, Anil Bansal, President of Federation of Indian Associations, NY, NJ, CT. The lively Debate was moderated by Dr. Renee Mehrra, TV/News Anchor, TV Asia.

Facilitation speeches were delivered by Ginsmon P Zacharia, IAPC Founder Chairman ; Parveen Chopra, Editor, South Asian Times &; IAPC Director; Anitha Naveen, IAPC Vancouver Chapter; Joseph John, President, IAPC Alberta Chapter; Bince Madapam, President, IAPC, Toronto Chapter; Milly Philip, President, IAPC, Philadelphia Chapter; Sabu Kurian, President, IAPC, Atlanta Chapter; Meena Chittilapally, President, IAPC, Dallas Chapter; and, Dr. Mathew Vyramon, Secretary, IAPC, Houston Chapter. Mini Nair, Member of BOD introduced Dr. Lal.

Vote of thanks was proposed by Annie Anuvelil, IAPC Secretary “We strive to educate and help improve the performance of Indian American journalists and those in India by imparting new knowledge and modern trends to the participants” said Ginsmon Zacharia, founder chairman of IAPC. IAPC General Secretary Biju Chacko said that the Indian community in North America and elsewhere have been very supportive of the activities of our Press Club, and have been requested to continue their support for the coming seventh International Media Conference. “Leading media personalities from around the world have been collaborating with IAPC” said Mathewkutty Easo, Secretary, Board of Directors. “IAPC is committed to connecting, training and encouraging emerging media professionals through innovative IT windows and platforms.”

IAPC Executive Vice President Annie Koshy said, “Despite the chaos around us, the IAPC has been unflinching in purpose to deliver and meet the needs of the Indian diaspora of journalists based in North America.” National Treasurer Reji Philip said that IAPC leadership and members have been working together for months for the success of the seventh International Media Conference, bringing significant presence of the media community as done during the last six years. The cultural extravaganza featuring famous artists from Southern Indian Cinema World was presented by the Hedges Group led by Saji Abraham.

The Grand Finale, the solemn Award Ceremony; Closing Ceremony was led by Korazon Varghese; Dr. P.V. Baiju. Dr. Vinod K. Shah was conferred with the prestigious Karma Shreshta Award. Ranjani Saigal and Nitin Nohria were given the SathKarma Award.

Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Kapur received the Excellence in Literature Award. Pradeep Khosla was given the Excellence in Technology & Education Award. Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda was

conferred with the Excellence in Leadership Award. The Humanitarian Award was given to Dr. Sunil D. Kumar. Satish Korpe, PE and Madhavan B. Nair received the Community Service Award and Lalit K. Jha was given the IAPC Media Excellence Award.

The Indo American Press Club was formed in 2013 with the lofty ideal of providing a common platform to journalists of Indian origin living in the United States and Canada, while fostering closer bonds and cooperation among an extensive network of journalists across the nation, who are committed to professionalism and have well-being of the larger society. We are committed to

enhance the working conditions of our journalists, exchanging ideas, and offering educational and training opportunities to our members, aspiring young journalists and media professionals around the globe.