Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Jijnasa - Sangama - Abstracts and Speaker Profiles

Jijnasa will be conducting first Sangama - a conference of online nationalists. For this conference, 5 topics have been listed for discussion. For each of the topics, we have invited speakers from academia/research and also based on abstracts submitted by online audience. 

Speaker profiles and abstract for each topic are as follows:

Topic 1 : Social Media influence on TV and print media 

Sugosh Nigale will be speaking on this topic. Sugosh's talk will begin at 11:15 AM. 

Speaker Profile: 
Sugosh Nigale is a Program Producer and Anchor in Samaya TV, Bangalore. He started career as Educational Consultant – Newspaper in Education (NIE), The Times of India. He joined The Vijay Times as reporter and later joined E TV Network - ETV Kannada. He was trained in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad and worked as reporter and copy editor for four and half years in Hydrabad and Bangalore. Sugosh covered major incidents in political, crime, sports, business, defence and culture beats. After a working for ANI as a correspondent, he took break from main stream media and entered entertainment world as actor and script writer for a serial named "Mukta Mukta" - aired on ETV Kannada. He worked for Department of Women and child welfare, various NGOs, companies for media related activities like making documentaries, brochures, conceptual calendars, newspaper and TV advertisements. Sugosh authored a book titled “News Pint” on his media experience. He was also a trainee RJ for FM Rainbow 101.3 FM. He has been actively blogging from past 5 years.

Topic 2 : Analysis of BJP's Karnataka Results 

Two speakers will be speaking on this topic - Kiran K S and Naresh Bharadwaj . This topic will be taken up at 11:45 AM.

Kiran K S - Speaker Profile: 
Engineer by education, IT Manager by profession, Social Media enthusiast by interest and Hindu by culture. Keenly interested in creating a level playing field across sectors in India, for a deserving bright future of this ancient society. Writes in a few online portals and a newspapers on current affairs. Also, blogs about national interest topics.

Naresh Bharadwaj - Speaker Profile:
Naresh Bharadwaj is a Bangalore based technology entrepreneur. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of a mobile applications company mentored by Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM, Ahmedabad. He is one of the very few fellows of Startup Leadership Program (http://www.startupleadership.com), a highly selective, world-class program and network for outstanding founders, leaders and innovators present in 12 cities across the globe. He is also very active in the local entrepreneurship scene being an active member of groups such as Open Coffee Club, Headstart Network and Mobile Monday. Naresh is a university rank holder with a Bachelors degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Bangalore University and a postgraduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B). He had close to ten years of experience working with several IT and telecom companies both in India and abroad before starting on his own. Naresh has been an integral part of the Information Technology Cell of Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka since 2009 and is involved in several initiatives of the cell. He believes that information technology could be a great differentiator in the field of politics and is currently working on several technology initiatives to strengthen the party.


Abstract:
The presentation will use a mixture of maps and tables to present an analysis of BJP’s Karnataka Results along the following topics:
  • Analysis across the regions of Karnataka
  • Analysis across Parliament constituencies
  • Analysis across BJP’s organization districts
  • Comparison across 2008, 2009 and 2013
  • Performance in reserved constituencies
  • Effect of KJP and BSRC on BJP’s fortunes
  • Possible scenario in upcoming parliament elections based on current trend.
  • Any other topic that might be significant.
The presentation will start with a bird’s eye of the topic and drill down into specifics. The presentation will be a statistical analysis and will not take factors such as candidate, caste and other local factors into consideration.

Topic 3 : Is a Rights based Governance model failing us ? 

Jaideep A Prabhu will be speaking on this topic. His talk will start at 12:30 PM.

Speaker Profile:
Jaideep A. Prabhu is a doctoral student in History at Vanderbilt University. He is the Foreign and Security Affairs Editor at Centre Right India, and has also written for a few Indian periodicals and appeared on NDTV.

Abstract:
The ever onward march of Left social engineering has made us all run to our dictionaries to decipher the new meanings of our old lexicon. "Rights" used to imply negative guarantees such as liberty, free association, freedom of worship, and justice; however, the new definitions employed by the Left conflate social contracts with rights, thereby creating a host of positive burdens upon its citizens. Can India - or any nation - withstand this increased pressure or should it? Is this the best way to create a just society?

Topic 4 : Should the State control temple trusts ? 

M S Chaitra will be speaking on this topic. His talk will start at 2 PM.

Speaker Profile:
M S Chaitra is Director, Aarohi - an organization dedicated for social science and environment research - located at Jayanagar, Bangalore. After his Masters in Zoology he worked with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad and Center for Ecological Sciences (CES) at IISc, Bangalore. He is in the process of finishing his doctoral work on notion of species and their biogeographic implications. His interests are now not just limited to Ecology, but ranges from social sciences , humanities to philosophy. He was director Center for Educational and Social Studies (CESS), Bangalore to initiate his work on social sciences. He was also Founder Fellow at Development Foundation Bangalore. Chaitra also collaborates with many people in India and Europe and his studies are broadly under the framework called comparative science of cultures.

Absract:
Temple control, monitoring and management by the state have been the ground of contestation in the Independent India. These controversies have led to various amendments in different religious endowment acts and produced many court judgments in past seven decades. To this list of controversies, the rumour that Karnataka Government is going to take Krishna matt into State Endowment Board Administration is another addition.

These conflicts have a long history. It seems that there was a completely different way of managing temples by communities prior to colonial interference about which we have very little knowledge. In the background of the growth of different religious endowment acts, what kind of questions could be asked to address the recent controversy on Krishna Matt and how they can be addressed, becomes a crucial issue. Eventually the nature of public discourse must aim to liberate the temples from the management of the state to sustain different Indian traditions.

Topic 5 : Can social media impact electoral outcomes ?

Amit Malviya will be speaking on this topic. His talk will start at 2:30 PM.

Amit Malviya - Speaker Profile:
Amit is a banker by profession. He is the National Co-Convener for Friends of BJP and co-ordinates Jijnasa, both movements he co-founded. Politically conservative he is doing his bit to make India a better place.

Abstract: 
Used effectively and well networked it will have a tremendous impact on influencing voters especially parties committed to principle and an ideology. As per the Census of India–2001 the population under 34 years was around 41%. Current proportion of population under 25 years in India is 51% and those under 35 are about 66%. Considering that these people are the voters they are `hungry’ to be fed with authentic and correct information that will have an impact on their future. Engaging them effectively with interactive responses gives a boost to their faith and confidence in the party, Leadership. SM is the fastest, reliable & effective means to achieve. Social media is one of the resourceful methods that can be used to galvanize positive outlook and support base. In November 2011, it was reported Indians spend more time on social media than on any other activity on the Internet. If there is effective planning and a concerted approach then definitely it can mould public opinion and reach out to a larger mass that can definitely yield electoral dividends.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Jijnasa - Sangama - 1st June 2013 - CESS Building Bangalore

Jijnasa -an initiative under CESS - presents "Sangama - a Conference of Online Nationalists".

At Jijnasa, we have always endeavored and experimented with new ways of bringing the huge online intelligentsia into mainstream discourse. We also realize that there need to be opportunities for online activists to engage in the real world. Sangama is a result of such a thinking.

At Sangama, online nationalists will not only present their views on important issues but also network with others to act on common ideas.

Jijnasa's first Sangama will take place on 1st June 2013, Saturday at CESS building in Nagarabhavi (full address and map enclosed below). This conference will deal with 5 topics:
 

  1. Social Media influence on TV and print media
  2. Analysis of BJP's Karnataka Results
  3. Is a Rights based Governance model failing us ?
  4. Should the State control temple trusts ?
  5. Can social media impact electoral outcomes ?
After 5th topic, house will be open for debate moderated by the chair.

We invite your interest to speak/present on the topics listed above. 
It would help the discourse and audience if the topic is something that you are passionate about. 
If we have more than two people keen on presenting on a particular topic then the organizing committee will take the final call on the panel although in most cases we would like to restrict it to one speaker. 
That in no way means you will not get an opportunity to articulate your views because after each presentation a vibrant Q&A will follow.
 

Interested participants are requested to choose one of the five topics and prepare a presentation.
Please send us a short abstract on the topic you wish to speak in word format (Times New Roman Font, 22 pts size) on jijnasaCESS@gmail.com NO later than 24May2013. 
We will close the speakers for the topic on an ongoing basis.  

Speakers will be notified well in time so that they can prepare their presentations before the event, which need to be submitted by 30May2013.

Presentations should be in ppt format and should not be more than 12 slides, font size 20 pts in each slide.
 

Presentation shouldn't exceed 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes of presentation, house will open for 15 minute Q&A. 
Chair will monitor the timing and 5 minute warning will be issued 10 minutes after start of the presentation. 


In case two presentations are chosen, first speaker will be provided 10 minutes.  
Following first presentation, second presentation will be provided 10 minutes.
10 minute Q&A session will follow with both the speakers. 
Chair will monitor the timing and 2 minute warning will be issued 8 minutes after start of the each presentation.
Q&A will be monitored by Chair. 

The conference schedule is as follows:

10:00 AM - Registration starts
10.30AM - 10.45AM - Saraswati Vandanam
10.45AM - 11.15AM - House introduction and welcome address by Chair
11:15 AM - 11:45 Noon - Topic 1
11:45 Noon - 12:15 PM - Topic 2 
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM - Break
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM - Topic 3
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Lunch
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM - Topic 4
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM - Topic 5
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM - Tea break
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM - Open house debate
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM - Closing remarks by Chair 
4:00 PM - 4:15 PM - Vandemataram

Lunch and Tea will be served. A small registration fee of 150/- will be charged. 
 

Please register using the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wOPsgJWhydy5rpo0hDzyqkxpSHWPXIQbIOwXE9wm9e8/viewform
 

Venue address: 
"PRAJNANAM" 
CENTER FOR EDUCATION AND SOCIAL STUDIES 
NO.6/6 BEHIND TELEPHONE EXCHANGE 
OPP:SAINT SOFIA CONVENT 
10TH BLOCK NAGARABHAVI
BANGALORE - 85
 

Google Map link: https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr=Service+Road&daddr=12.968879%2C77.511571+to%3AUnknown+road&hl=en&sll=12.96694%2C77.510522&sspn=0.001853%2C0.00284&geocode=FU65xQAdXNeeBA%3BFa_jxQAdk7ueBCmbz5YKLDyuOzHcCzRCkvXJtg%3BFcrbxQAdwLieBA&t=h&mra=dme&mrsp=2&sz=19&via=1&z=19
 

The registration form also contains a map view of the route to the venue from Central Silk Board, Hosur Road so you can get an idea of the location.

Please write to us at jijnasacess@gmail.com for any queries.

Note: We would like to know if any of the interested audience would be kind enough to pick up other participants in the area. The registration form has a field to indicate your interest.