Bhavraj Singh served as the master of ceremonies and Harinder Singh, Chief Programming Officer of SikhRI, delivered the keynote address of the evening on the theme “Harmony in a World of Difference.” The event drew inspiration from the Sikh celebration of Vaisakhi,which commemorates the inauguration of the dedicated Sikh community, the Khalsa Panth. The evening was sponsored by Vancity Credit Union

“This event was very informative and inspiring about how the community should be trend setters and not trend followers,” said Gurjot Bassim, who attended from Surrey. “The discussion that followed was very engaging as we had the opportunity to share our community challenges and issues.”

Inder Sanghera, who also attended from Surrey, contributed thoughts on the evening, “The experience we shared with many people tonight has impacted our minds about viewing life as different perspectives. There are so many different angles to view the world and we must be open to that.We think we know everything but reality is that there is no one conclusion o anything.”

Prabhdeep Johal who had attended the event in past years, added: “It helps to reflect on who I am and why am I here. More importantly, it helps us think about what we can do to help ourselves become better people and how to help others bring out the best in them.”

On 20 April, Harinder Singh presented on the main stage at Surrey’s Khalsa Day Parade, an event attended by over 200,000 participants. The theme of the event was “The Three R’s: Reflect, Revive &Respond” and the presentation invited people to examine the true meaning of Vaisakhi. The message focused on the responsibilities of the Khalsa and ways in which Sikhs can make Vaisakhi as relevant to their lives today as it was in 1699.

“It was heartwarming to see so many Sikhs and non Sikhs of all ages coming together in the spirit of celebration and enjoying being part of this community,” commented Baljinder Narang, President of SikhRI-Canada.

In addition to these two large community events, Harinder Singh and SikhRI-Canada worked together with community groups, local media, Mayor Diane Watts and the Surrey City Council to build awareness in the community of Sikh heritage and history through a series of presentations,dialogues, and media appearances, including radio interviews. Spots on Omni and Joy TV will air in the following week.

SikhRI Canada is looking forward to hosting another series of workshops this summer. The local community has continuously expressed their desire for more Sikh Education. To stay on top of newly scheduled events please sign up at www.sikhri.org and follow SikhRI on Facebook (\sikhresearchinstitute) and Twitter (@ SikhRI).

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Contact person: Lali Pawa

info-canada@sikhri.org | 604.505.0502