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Grand Celebration of Telugu Heritage on Independence Day weekend in Newark, NJ.
Summary of press conference held on July 1, at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, the venue of ATA conference. Dr. Chandra Reddy Gavva, President, American Telugu Association, addressed the media on preparations of Tenth Conference, set to begin on July 3, at Prudential Center Arena, Newark, NJ.
âDasavataram, the Tenth Incarnation, and Telugu Talli, the Pride of being a Telugu, will be the themes of the 10thATA Conference and Youth Conventionâ, declared Dr. Chandra Reddy Gavva at a media briefing organized at Prudential Center, the conference venue in the city of Newark, New Jersey.
âThe conference will begin with a banquet night on Thursday, July 3rd during which prominent members of Telugu community living in USA will be honored for their achievements and contribution to the societyâ, said Dr. Gavva. âWe are proud to be Telugu and it is our duty to recognize our fellow community members who have contributed to the progress and growth in diverse fields of activities.â
The banquet evening is expected to be an extravaganza show of music, dance and cultural programs that will be performed in the huge setting of the indoor arena of Prudential Center that has capacity to sit many thousand people.
âMore than four thousand people and their families have registered for the event and thousands more are willing to register. Unfortunately we don’t have enough space to accommodate every willing personâ, he said.
Dr. Gavva said that the three day conference could be defined as a mega conference as it was set to showcase every aspects of our activities from culture to art and politics. A day long activities have been planned for the second and third day during which scores of experts and leaders in different fields will participate.
âA large delegation of elected representatives from India has already arrived. with their presence. The three day conference is scheduled to be held on 3rd, 4th, and 5th July at the state of the art Prudential Center in down town Newark, NJ.
Dr. Gavva introduced chairpersons of all committees that were formed to plan and execute various events. It included heads of committees overseeing arrangements at the venue, transportation, hospitality, delegates, and youth events. He also thanked Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey Assemblyman for being instrumental in ensuring support and cooperation from the state and local authorities including Newark police. With an active support of Chivukula, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has accepted the invitation to attend the Banquet Night. US Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. will attend the conference on July 5th.
Addressing the media persons, Chivukula appealed to fellow Telugu people to actively participate in the democratic process in the country. He said that United States is the land of opportunity and it was right time for people of Indian origin to connect with the mainstream America through participation in the political process.
Dr. Gavva informed that a special session will be held to discuss various issues centered around political themes that affect our lives. He emphasized that globalisation was slated to be main theme of discussions in which delegates from India will also take part. Chivukula was one of the important speakers in the political forum during the conference.
ATA organizers will also receive proclamation on behalf of New Jersey legislatures.
Convener of the conference, Balram Pammi along with Co-convener Stanley Reddy, Regional Coordinator Mahendra Masuka and New Jersey coordinator Arjun Dyapa provided an overview of the preparations. Srinivas Reddy, Chairperson of Finance Committee spoke about the encouraging support he received from individual members in his efforts of fund raising. Reddy said that sixty percent of funds came through individual donations while the rest was contributed by corporate donors and vendors.
According to Pradeep Samla, Secretary, ATA, all vending stalls were booked. The number of vendors might reach two hundred. According to Ravi Gavva, Chairperson of Media Committee, special arrangements were made to facilitate smooth working of visiting journalists. He said that the conference venue was equipped with high speed wireless Internet connection for the benefit of media people.
Dr. Neelam Deo, Consulate General of India in New York will inaugurate the Business Seminar on July 4 at 1.30 PM. ATA has partnered with TiE-NJ for conducting a full length session on Venture Capital Meet to be addressed by Dr. Raj Lakhanpal, president of TiE-NJ. The business seminars will extend to next day with sessions on Information Technology and Real Estate. There will be networking sessions in the evening hours.
Dr. Gavva said that a galaxy of celebrities and prominent leaders in the field of arts, science, politics and entertainment industry will be attending the conference. A series of entertainment and youth programs have also been planned on the second day of the conference. Devi Sriprasad and his troupe of singers and dancers will perform on the concluding day of the event on July 5.
Renowned artists, such as, Ustad Zakir Hussain will make attention grabbing presentation that will be followed by cultural extravaganza by dozens of artists led by Singer Mano and Vijay Jasudas, Suchita and Priya Mohan.
Spiritual and Vedic Monk Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji will be a keynote speaker at the conference. The Government of Andhra Pradesh will be represented by a number of ministers, such as, Panchayat Raj Minister, J. C. Diwakar Reddy, IT and Communications Minister, Damodar Reddy Remireddy, and Union Minister of State for Human Resources, D. Purandeshwari. Dr. Pratap Reddy of Apollo Hospital will attend the event to enlighten delegates with his experience of running a leading hospital group in India.
The first ATA Telugu conference and Youth Convention was held in Chicago in July of 1991. In 2000, the Millennial Telugu Conference was successfully hosted by ATA that set a new tone for the organization and its mission as well as future activities.
