Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on January 13, 2014, at Committee Room No 2, Queens Park
Present:
Thomas S. Saras
Neel Nanda
Maria Voutsinas
Tatyana Fursenko
Jacques Varbedian
David Nguyen
Mohammad-Bagher Samimi
Teshome Worldeamannuel
Nicole Crellin
Marek J. Gonden
Suleyman Guven
Moorthy Sellathurai
Jonathan Annobil
Sultan Ali Shunbuli
Ali Mahbou-Shadkhou (ITCTV)
Lawrence Kim
Mohammad Tajdolati
Sandeep Prabhakar
Rakhi Prabhakar
Nishert Don
Susana Donan
Jose Donan
Bhaskar Sikkma
Ranjit Wicks
Srimal Abeyewardene
Suhanthy Tharmasrirajah
Tharmasrirajah Thairunavukkarash
Anus Niemczyk
Raffi Der Boghossian
Sevag Harouturian
Yohannes Ayalen
Hermie Garcia
Mila Astroga-Garcia
Paulraj Rajapandian
Poologanathan Ravi
Siva Niohan Sivalingam
Syed Tausif
John Saraidaris
Marcelle Parrenas
Khan Khoda, Dr.
Arif Ahmed
Suhan Ali Shunbill
Ahmed Hotaki
Hai-Tien Lin
Nagamany Legendrinligan
Luba Cherny
Logan Logendraliugan
Agenda
1. Welcome Remarks by the chair.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting
3. Report of the President.
4. Presentation by Nicole Crellin – Toronto Director, Youth for Human Rights
5. New Business
6. Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mr. Thomas Saras chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open. Suleiman Guven moved a motion to approve the agenda. Rakhee Prabhakar seconded it. The motion was carried.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Rakhee Prabhakar moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on November 25, 2013. Dr. Tajdolati seconded it. The motion was carried.
President’s Report/Discussions:
• President Thomas Saras thanked and congratulated everyone who attended the educational seminar in December 2013. Thomas Saras requested members to submit their feedback on the recently concluded seminar in Seneca College in December 2013. President Thomas Saras said the educational seminar in 2013 was an historic event for the ethnic media sector and thanked all partners and participants for the resounding success of the event. President Thomas Saras acknowledged the hard work put in by the Faculty of Seneca College towards the preparation of the educational seminar and expressed gratitude to the assistance given by Ministry of Canadian Heritage and the Government of Canada. There were various discussions on the conclusion of the highly successful seminar and many members presented their feedback towards the event.
• Members praised the efforts of Maria Saras –Voutsinas, Tanya Fursenko and all other volunteers of NEPMCC for a highly successful seminar, including the Gala Dinner on December 7, 2013.
• President Thomas Saras informed the members about the roundtable meeting with Mayor Rob Ford which would take place at City Hall on Monday, January 20, 2014
• The annual ethnic press exhibition for Press freedom Day (May 3,2014) of the UN will take place on the week of Monday May 5, 2014 at the rotunda of the Toronto City Hall. President urged members to submit their three best copies of their publication.
• Nomination for NEPMCC annual award 2014 is already open and will end on June 1 2013.
. The President asked the members to pay their annual membership fees as soon as possible as the organization depends primarily on the membership fees to survive.
• President Thomas Saras acknowledged the honour given by Lt. Governor in hosting the NEPMCC awards ceremony every year
7. Presentation by Nicole Crellin- Toronto Director, Youth for Human Rights International.
Nicole Crellin gave a brief about her organization she represents.
Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, an educator born and raised in apartheid South Africa, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination and the lack of basic human rights.
The purpose of YHRI is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. YHRI has now grown into a global movement, including hundreds of groups, clubs and chapters around the world.
Youth for Human Rights International teaches human rights education both in the classroom and in nontraditional educational settings. YHRI aim to reach people from diverse backgrounds, with materials which often appeal across generations. By teaching human rights through all means—from conferences and workshops to hip-hop and dancing—this message has spread around the world.
Suleiman Guven, Rakhee Prabhakar and other member participated in the discussions
Nicole Crellin thanked NEPMCC for the invitation and handed out a booklet of YHRI to all the members present at the meeting.
Adjournment:
The Chair Thomas Saras asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mohammad Tajdolati moved the motion and Maria Voutsinas seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair President Thomas Saras adjourned the meeting at 9:30 pm. The next monthly meeting would take place on February 10, 2014 at committee room N# 2, at Queens Park.