2018 Indo-Caribbean Women's Empowerment Summit
Jahajees on the Rise: Journeying into the Next 100 Years
Jahajees on the Rise: Journeying into the Next 100 Years
Our 2018 Indo-Caribbean Women's Empowerment Summit was magical. We are grateful to our community for turning out in such large numbers to support gender justice on not just one, but two days of programming! Below are a few memorable highlights from our opening night and conference:
We debuted our multidisciplinary theater production, "Jahajees Rising," written and directed by our very own Steering Committee Member, Taij Kumarie Moteelall. The play reimagined the life of Stacy Singh: what if she had lived to become a gender justice leader in our community? We had a talented cast and crew who poured their heart into this production and brought the creative vision alive on stage. And, members of our community were moved to tears by its powerful message.
We honored four fierce Indo-Caribbean women at this year's summit who continue to break barriers for women in our community and inspire so many to walk in the paths they have carved. Congratulations again to Vijai Kublall, our Community Trailblazer Honoree; Dianna Madray, our Courageous Trailblazer Honoree; Annetta Seecharran, our Civic Trailblazer Honoree; and Pritha Singh, our Creative Trailblazer Honoree! We are so grateful to have you all in our Jahajee sisterhood.
Krystal A. Sital, Indo-Trinidadian author did a book reading from her new memoir, "Secrets We Kept." We couldn't hear a pin drop in the room as she shared her work with us. Community members were enthralled as they listened to her voice shift into a Trinidadian accent to deepen the impact of her written words. Thank you Krystal for birthing a book that tells so many of our family's stories of gender-based violence.
We featured a dynamic town hall discussion lifting up the stories and voices of four people in our community working at the intersection of faith and gender justice. Panelists included: Pratima Doobay of Bhavaanee Maa Mandir; Fayzan Gowani of Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board; Anupriya Lorick of Blue Star Center of NY; and Pastor Jessica Seetaran of Safe Harbor Ministries. After the panel, we brainstormed solutions with the community on ways we can work to collectively end gender-based violence.
Our social justice partners and allies showed up in full force to ensure our conference was a huge success. Community members were engaged in meaningful dialogue through several interactive workshops. Thank you to Blue Star Center of NY, Caribbean Equality Project, Chhaya CDC, Coach Shanita, DRUM, Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Let the Women Speak, Members of Jahajee Sisters Leadership & Empowerment Institute (for holding a gender justice space for children), Sadhana, Sakhi and WomanKind. We are grateful for your continued support of our work!
We debuted our multidisciplinary theater production, "Jahajees Rising," written and directed by our very own Steering Committee Member, Taij Kumarie Moteelall. The play reimagined the life of Stacy Singh: what if she had lived to become a gender justice leader in our community? We had a talented cast and crew who poured their heart into this production and brought the creative vision alive on stage. And, members of our community were moved to tears by its powerful message.
We honored four fierce Indo-Caribbean women at this year's summit who continue to break barriers for women in our community and inspire so many to walk in the paths they have carved. Congratulations again to Vijai Kublall, our Community Trailblazer Honoree; Dianna Madray, our Courageous Trailblazer Honoree; Annetta Seecharran, our Civic Trailblazer Honoree; and Pritha Singh, our Creative Trailblazer Honoree! We are so grateful to have you all in our Jahajee sisterhood.
Krystal A. Sital, Indo-Trinidadian author did a book reading from her new memoir, "Secrets We Kept." We couldn't hear a pin drop in the room as she shared her work with us. Community members were enthralled as they listened to her voice shift into a Trinidadian accent to deepen the impact of her written words. Thank you Krystal for birthing a book that tells so many of our family's stories of gender-based violence.
We featured a dynamic town hall discussion lifting up the stories and voices of four people in our community working at the intersection of faith and gender justice. Panelists included: Pratima Doobay of Bhavaanee Maa Mandir; Fayzan Gowani of Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board; Anupriya Lorick of Blue Star Center of NY; and Pastor Jessica Seetaran of Safe Harbor Ministries. After the panel, we brainstormed solutions with the community on ways we can work to collectively end gender-based violence.
Our social justice partners and allies showed up in full force to ensure our conference was a huge success. Community members were engaged in meaningful dialogue through several interactive workshops. Thank you to Blue Star Center of NY, Caribbean Equality Project, Chhaya CDC, Coach Shanita, DRUM, Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Let the Women Speak, Members of Jahajee Sisters Leadership & Empowerment Institute (for holding a gender justice space for children), Sadhana, Sakhi and WomanKind. We are grateful for your continued support of our work!
