Marking Three Decades of Learning: The Indo-American Community Federation (IACF) Looks Back

April 3 :
Recently, the Indo-American Community Federation (IACF) celebrated their 30th anniversary with their annual Unity Dinner. Under the banner of "Unity through Diversity: Breathing Life into Education," the gathering highlighted the value of a well-rounded education that included lessons on social and emotional development.

Tania Gupta sang the national anthems of India and the United States, and the event began with a Bollywood performance by Aerodance. After a presentation commemorating the achievements of the IACF over the past three decades, the audience was treated to an illuminating talk by 9-year-old Shyla Zutshi, titled "Understanding Yoga." Anjali Zutshi, an attorney, presided over a panel discussion that focused on stress management programmes like SKY Schools, which teach students yoga and meditation. Training educators and young people in the United States and around the world has been a major focus of this programme for more than 20 years.

More than 200,000 students and teachers in the Western Hemisphere, including countries in South America, the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico, have benefited from these strategies since 2008.

On the panel, we had Bill Herman, director of SKY Schools, Kasturi Basu, principal, Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, founder of Home of Hope, Vivek Prasad, member of the Fremont Unified Board of Education, and Elaine McDonald, member of the Alameda County Board of Education.
Dr. Lokesh Muni, founder president of "Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti," and Alam Khydeeja, executive director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (APIA), were among the speakers who emphasised the importance of togetherness and social responsibility in their speeches. A keynote speech was given by Ash Kalra, an assembly member, who emphasised the strength of diversity.

At the event, notable figures such as the mayors of Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara were in attendance, as were councilmembers from Fremont, San Jose, and Santa Clara; David Haubert, supervisor of Alameda County (CA-1), and Otto Lee, supervisor of Santa Clara County, were also in attendance. Other notable figures included representatives from the California attorney general's office, Ro Khanna, and numerous chamber of commerce and board members. More than 350 dignitaries and community members from different counties and cities showed up for the occasion.