TARIQ ALI TO SPEAK AT YATRA CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY INDO- AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER

The Indo-American Cultural Center (IACC) will present its second annual conference, Yatra 2003 South Asians & the "War on Terror" At Home & Abroad, on Sunday November 16, 2003 from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Loyola Marymount University, Ahmanson Auditorium. The event is open to the public with suggested donations of $10 towards IACC.

Yatra 2003 will challenge individuals to engage in critical discussion about issues such as terrorism, hate crimes, immigration and many other political debates which directly impact the South Asian community. Various art forms such as spoken word and poetry by talented South Asian artists will be interconnected with activism and politics.

This years keynote speaker will be London based Tariq Ali, an internationally renowned writer, broadcaster, filmmaker, and a major figure in the European New Left. Currently, he is editor of New Left Review and the author of The Clash of Fundamentalisms and the forthcoming, Bush in Babylon. The keynote event will be moderated by Jawad Ali, a lecturer in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at University of California, Irvine.

The event will include four panels: 1) Social and Legal implications of the domestic "War on Terror"; 2) Assessing the impacts of the "War on Terror" on South Asian-Americans: A Conversation; 3) Spoken Word Interlude; and 4) Keynote Address by Tariq Ali "The War on Terror in International Context."

Ali will discuss the effects and consequences of the war on terror as it relates to South Asians throughout the world to illustrate how this group can take immediate and substantive political action that will have a real-world impact.

During the session, various local educators and activists will engage in intellectual discourses. This includes Hamid Khan, director of the South Asian Network; Jyoti Nanda, Lecturer at UCLA School of Law; Bhairavi Desai, founding member of the New York Taxi Worker's Alliance; Sonali Kolhatkar, host of KPFKs (90.7FM) daily morning radio show, Uprising; and noted performer Anjali Nath. The event is sponsored by Washington Mutual, and South Asian Network Collaborators: Levantine Cultural Center & the South Asian Bar Association.

Parking will be free and RSVPS may be sent to gsingh@ucla.edu, however seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. A full dinner will be available for purchase to allow attendees to speak one on one with panelists and artists.

Located in Venice, California, Indo-American Cultural Center has given creative voice to the South Asian Diasporic Community. Through programs including arts festivals, exhibits, publications, youth mentorship, and special events, the IACC has become a catalyst for expression, dialogue and community building. With over 100 volunteers and about ten community based projects, the IACC reaches over 5000 people annually. The long-term mission of the organization is to build a multi-media museum and cultural center on the South Asian experience.