 High powered round table on climate action held at Indian Consulate in New York September 26, 2024. PHOTO: X @IndiainNewYorkThe Indian Consulate in New York held a high-powered round table on the ‘India-US Partnership on Technology and Finance for Climate Action.’ Former Secretary of State and Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry headlined the event held September 26, 2024. Others who joined India’s Consul General in New York Binaya Srikant Pradhan, included Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma, as well as USTDA Director and Deputy Secretary of State Enoh T. Ebong, and Sumant Sinha of ReNew. Sinha spoke on the progress  A heavily attended round table on US-India climate partnership, held September 26, 2024, at the Indian Consulate. PHOTO: X @IndiainNewYorkIndia has made on renewables and climate action. The round table emphasized the US and India’s shared commitment to building a green economy, scaling renewable technologies, and fostering public-private partnerships, the Indian Consulate said on X. “India offers the highest return on investment per dollar in the renewable energy sector,” Kerry said praising India’s leadership in climate action. Ambassador Pyatt echoed his remarks in his closingstatement. “It is my passionate belief that we have no more important energy and climate relationship in the world than our relationship with India.” In his closing remarks Deputy Secretary Verma noted, “Energy has been really at the center of our relationship from the year 2000 forward,” celebrating the deepening ties between the two nations on climate initiatives. Consul General Pradhan emphasized India’s commitment towards the energy transition & Net Zero & recent actions taken by Government in that direction alongside India-USA cooperation in the field. The event also featured the launch of the report ‘Strengthening India-US Relation on Climate Action.’ Indian Consulate hosts high-profile climate action meeting in New York |
Indian American women hotel-owners hold successful two-day conference (2024-09-23T12:38:00+05:30)
 Collage of scenes from the HerOwnership Conference held in Redondo Beach, California. PHOTO: Provided by AAHOA. Women hoteliers from across the US converged at the 2024 HerOwnership Conference mid-September, hosted by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, AAHOA, in Redondo Beach, California. The two-day event “crafted by women for women in the hospitality industry” centered around the empowering themes of executive presence, hotel ownership, and mental health and wellness, a September 17, press release from AAHOA said. The conference was successful in terms of networking, taking leadership, and thriving in an industry where women’s voices were critical, the organization said. Some 300 people attended the event, which marked the third annual HerOwnership Conference for AAHOA. “The hospitality industry stands out because women comprise most of the workforce,” AAHOA Chairman Miraj S. Patel is quoted saying in the press release. “They are not only the backbone of our families but also our industry and association.” According to AAHOA, women make up about 40% of its membership today. And AAHOA owns more than 50 percent of the hospitality industry in the country. “As we celebrate our 35th anniversary and reflect on the work and growth, we see how women members have played a crucial role in our association’s development and success,” Miraj Patel added. Keynote speakers included Neeti Dewan, author, speaker, and CEO, who spoke on “Mindset Makeover: Personal and Business Growth Strategies of Top Women Hoteliers.” Raji Brar, co-founder of The Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association and chief operating officer of Countryside, spoke on “Building Bridges: The Power of Women in Political Engagement.” The event featured breakout sessions covering each of this year’s conference’s pillars. There were also two pre-conference masterclasses: one by Kalibri Labs on commercial strategy and the second by Gauthier, Murphy & Houghtaling on insurance-purchasing essentials. “The energy and unity of women hoteliers from across the country was truly inspiring,” said Shetal Zina Patel, Women Hoteliers Director, Western Division. “HerOwnership is not just about breaking barriers, but about creating lasting change—ensuring that future generations of women in our industry are equipped to lead with confidence and vision.” Networking breaks, ownership conversations, and panel discussions also took place along with the La Dolce Vita Festa Reception. “The reception reminded attendees to embrace la dolce vita, or “the sweet life,” with the Redondo Beach sunset as the backdrop,” organizers said. The Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina on-site team had carried out elaborate decor, service, and special touches. “Being surrounded by remarkable women in hospitality, all eager to learn and support each other, is truly empowering,” said Purnima Patel, Women Hoteliers Director, Eastern Division, adding, “The HerOwnership Conference is not just an event but a movement. We are creating spaces for women to thrive, grow, and own their success in an industry where their leadership redefines the future.”The date and location of the next HerOwnership Conference is yet to be decided. But AAHOA said it plans to hold regional events across the country., Indian American women hotel-owners hold successful two-day conference |
The Benefits of Virtual Conferences (2024-04-23T15:22:00+05:30)
 The entire world is walking on the path of becoming digitised, right from the way we interact with our friends and colleagues to how we play our favourite casino games. People no more flock the land-based casinos to have a go at their fav card game or table games. Instead, they can just log in to https://www.fortunemobilecasino.co.uk/ right from the living room of their home and play the games of their choice without even having to get up from the couch. This right here is the power of the virtual world. The world of conferences is no exception, and many event organisers have been experimenting with innovative technologies to improve the conference experience. Meeting virtually is a great alternative when a face to face conference is not possible. Virtual conferencing utilises technology to deliver an immersive and engaging conference experience in an online environment, offering the same learning, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities as a traditional face-to-face conference. There are several benefits to hosting your conference online that you may not have considered: They are cost-effective: Hosting your conference online removes costs associated with the venue, catering, travel and accommodation, as well as offering a potential reduction in AV costs. There are no capacity constraints: Not bound by the physical limits of a venue, your virtual conference can accept any number of attendees and create space and opportunities for a larger number of exhibitors and sponsors. Virtual conferences have capacity constraints as users are immediately transported to the conference without having to physically travel there. Reduced costs for delegates: The ability to connect online ensures that there is no need to drive and less time out of the office for the participants. This can result in increased admissions, combined with relatively lower ticket rates compared with a conventional meeting. Provides Flexibility and Convenience: Virtual conferences are often shorter than a traditional conference with a reduced number of live sessions and offer attendees the flexibility to access pre-recorded content at their own pace, allowing attendees to more easily balance commitments such as work, study or child care. Reduces Environmental Footprint: Travel for staff, speakers and delegates, food waste, single-use exhibition builds, freight, satchel inserts, hard-copy programs, name badges and lanyards add up quickly to leave a large environmental footprint at a traditional conference, none of which are needed when you meet online. Inclusivity: Digital conferencing allows engaging with geographically scattered delegates, many of whom would otherwise not be able to participate. Digital technology can improve accessibility and inclusivity through options such as translation or captioning. Analytics: Many virtual conference platforms provide advanced data collection and reporting, and can easily monitor the number of attendees in each session, monitor sponsor leads, and show who interacted with what content and for how long, often in real-time and potentially many more depending on your particular conference goals and delegates cohort. Networking made easy: The online environment also allows delegates to use a few mouse clicks to communicate with speakers, exhibitors and other attendants. No more racing through packed exhibition halls only to miss the person you would like to see the most. 3D world technology offers an immersive solution: A conference organised in a 3D virtual environment can provide a truly immersive experience and represents the closest thing to recreating the traditional conference experience. 3D avatars and 3D VOIP technology allow attendees to interact with one another naturally, being able to talk, react and move around as they would in the physical world. Conclusion These virtual conferences could serve as a ground for testing. Although virtual and hybrid meetings have increased in popularity over the past few years, COVID-19 has left many organizations with no choice but to host them. Although it may have happened sooner than you expected and you may think like you didn’t have enough time to build the perfect experience, celebrate it as a success and consider it an opportunity to try out new waters.The Benefits of Virtual Conferences |
UN chief commends BRICS countries for battling global warming (2016-06-17T21:43:00+05:30)
Abu Dhabi, May 5 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended efforts made by the BRICS countries in fighting global warming but urged them to increase their contribution. Ban Sunday said contributions of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to combat global warming was most important as they were on the way to transforming themselves into developed countries, Xinhua reported. "But we expect the BRICS to increase their efforts and do more as time is against us," Ban said. The UN chief made the remarks here at a
BRICS is an international political organisation of leading emerging economies
press conference in the 2-day Abu Dhabi Ascent, a pre-summit for the UN Climate summit in New York in September. More than 1,000 participants, including govt. ministers & energy experts, are gathered in here for the event. Ban said China has been spearheading the promotion of green energy within the BRICS, especially in mega cities. He also praised South Africa for a "good step forward" in establishing the Southern African Power Pool, a cooperation among national electricity grids of 12 countries in the southern hemisphere. Ban stressed that efforts to stop global climate warming must be supported by all states. Source: Article, Image: http://flickr.com/, http://wikipedia.org/ And https://pixabay.com under Creative Commons CC0      |
Scandal rocks Miss Supranational 2013 pageant: Polish business partner fails to distribute winner's prize (2013-12-01T23:07:00+05:30)
Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski poses with Ekaterina Buraya of Belarus, Miss Supranational 2012, during the press conference of the Miss Supranational 2013 pageant in Minsk, Belarus.
A reliable source informed Critical Beauty that Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski, the Polish producer, host and launch partner of World Beauty Association (WBA), the Panamanian-based company that owns and produces the Miss Supranational pageant, has failed to distribute the cash prizes for the 2013 winner, Mutya Datul, and her runners-up. This information was sent via e-mail to all license holders by WBA Chief Operating Officer, Marc Russell, dated November 15, 2013. WBA is now considering a possible class action against von Lipinski, who heads his company called Nowa Scena, This source then forwarded the e-mail to Critical Beauty. The e-mail also reveals that von Lipinski pretended to be WBA President Tryny Marcela Yandar Lobón when he wrote a
Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski (front row, third from left) eyeing a contestant during the swimsuit preliminaries of Miss Polski 2013 pageant last June in Poland.
circular e-mail to all license holders on October 17, 2013. The e-mail looked suspicious as it had been written from a different e-mail address that Yandar Lobón never had. Russell's e-mail also mentioned Edwin Dominguez, the national director of Panama. Russell states that Dominguez does not work for WBA. Russell writes: "We assume that our National Director from Panama will wake up from his frivolous mistake to assist Mr Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski when seeing the poor financial statements of Nowa Scena since 2010." [I don't quite understand what Russell is saying, but it seems to suggest that he wishes that Dominguez should
Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski and Panama's national director Edwin Dominguez. Date & location of photo unknown.
have reported von Lipinski immediately to WBA after having seen Nowa Scena's near-bankrupt situation in 2010. Russell's e-mail ends with a note of disappointment, accusing von Lipinski of behaving "greedy and dubious at the end of our 5-yrs launch and regret the damage our clean and superb brand may suffer" - and a little bit of optimism: "We will do our best to get the situation under control and will inform you about our owners’ next exciting steps." We'll see about that. Photos from Miss Supranational website and Gerhard Parzutka von Lipinski's Facebook page. By Rafa Delfin: Updated:11-30-2013. Per readers' request, publishing Marc Russell's email here. Judge for yourself. Source: criticalbeauty.com......................................................
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PM announces $50 million for bio-diversity conservation (2012-10-20T19:15:00+05:30)
 HYDERABAD: The Prime Minister Tuesday announced 50 million U.S. dollars to strengthen the institutional mechanism for bio-diversity conservation in India. Addressing the 11th Conference of Parties on Convention on Biological Diversity here, Dr. Manmohan Singh said thesefunds will be used to enhance the technical and human capability of the national and state level mechanisms to attain objectives of convention on bio diversity. He said government has also earmarked funds to promote capacity building in developing countries. The Prime Minister said, developing new models of inclusive conservation is a challenge to protect environment and ecology in future. Stating that India has recently ratified Nagoya Protocol, he said global action on achieving UN targets of Biodiversity can not be delayed further and called upon member countries to follow suit. Dr Singh reiterated that India stands committed to biodiversity conservation linked with poverty reduction programmes. He explained about how livelihood is being provided to rural people under the Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Programme which in turn is also facilitating conservation of resources Dr. Singh asserted that his government has legalised the rights of forest dwellers by passing Forest Rights Act and similar innovative approaches are under way to deal with the issue of protecting fishermen livelihoods. Outlining the measures being taken by India for protecting the endangered species, the Prime Minister said the Species Recovery Programme launched by the country has helped to protect 16 endangered species including Snow Lepeord and Lungoor. He said 600 protected areas covering 5 percent geographical area in the country are being conserved. In her opening remarks, Union Environment and forests Minister, Jayanthi Natarajan expressed concern that resource mobilization remained as most unfinished agenda in CoP11 deliberations so far and called upon participant countries to arrive at consensus on it soon. Source: theindianawaaz.com, Image: pixabay.com Under Creative Commons CC0 |
