‘America Days' programme
Staff Reporter
MADURAI: A four-day programme titled ‘America Days' highlighting some of the historically important events of United States of America and showcasing of U.S.Consulate's cultural and educational resources will be held here at American College, Gandhi Museum and Gandhigram Rural University from Tuesday to Friday.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Dan Saint-Rossy, Public Affairs Officer, U.S.Consulate, said that the “idea to organise these events in cities where we don't have offices is part of our strategy to reach out to the people there stressing upon partnership and innovation.”
One hundred and fifty-year-old American College here exemplifies those ideas of partnership and innovation by maintaining its unique position and has been serving the society while many of its contemporaries have failed to sustain.
Even though India is one of the farthest nations away from the U.S. it still has a very strong relationship and close to a million people who are of Indian origin are there as U.S. citizens.
T.Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar, Principal, American College, said that the initiative is to make the public utilise the resources available with the Consul. The events to be hosted by the College include, creative teaching and learning workshops for teachers and educators, English language teaching workshops and discussions on higher education in the U.S. and student visas will be held.
Screening of five Oscar award winning movies, A Serious Man, Julie and Julia, Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air and Up will be done. Apart from these films a special screening of Robert Mulligan and Gregory Peck's To Kill a Mocking Bird film which is based on Harper Lee's famous novel will also be screened.
America Days programme has photo exhibitions, quiz contests, poetry competitions and elocution contests for school and college students.
The highlight of the programme is a photo exhibition to be held at Gandhi Museum on Tuesday which will depict Gandhi's leadership on the freedom struggle in India and its influence on Martin Luther King Jr.
The special exhibit was produced by U.S. Embassy and is titled ‘Journeys Towards Freedom' and has 15 panels with pictures and texts.
Donald Lu, The Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S.embassy, will deliver an address on Indo- U.S. Relations at New Delhi on Wednesday at 2.30 p.m. which would be screened at American College .
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2 comments:
Prof. V. SRINIVASAN writes:
When the Missionaries who later founded the American College came to India by ship to land in Calcutta (the present Kolkata) the then British Government denied them visa for entry. The fear was the Americans could teach democracy to the people of India. So the Missionaries went away to Jaffna, Ceylon (the present Srilanka) and later entered India through Rameswaram, reached Pasumalai on horse back and established their first settlement. (All recorded history).
The democratic principles that the British feared were firmly established in the College founded by them and their successors. It is sad that the College is now not able to function freely even though we are in a democratic country. I hope the visiting US representatives were made aware of this for what ever it is worth. VS
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