South Asian Society

We cordially invite you to participate in the 2022 Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM 2022) of SAaS 

Date – Sunday, 16th October 2022
Time 6pm – 7:30pm 
Location – Online Zoom [Link Emailed to members]

Agenda 
1. Welcome by SAaS Chairperson
2. Secretary report
3. Treasures report.
4. Discussion – Annual Event and future events
5. Discussion – Membership management
6. Members comments- AOB

If members want to discuss anything in particular please email us (chairpersonsaas@gmail.com) your agenda item by 10th October so that we can add it under the AOB Meeting item. 

All trustees please email (chairpersonsaas@gmail.com) at least 2 weeks prior to AGM (i.e.3rd Oct 2022) that you would like to continue as a trustee for next year. We strongly encourage others members to come forward and contribute to our society as Trustees. If anyone would like to join as an associate trustee, please send an email to chairpersonsaas@gmail.com by 3rd Oct 2022. 

We look forward to seeing you all during the AGM. 

Thank you
SAaS Trustees

This year’s respect festival was organised both in-person and online. The Festival which showcases Plymouth’s diversity and enables different communities to come together and promote the intrinsic message of respect and equality for all. Organised by the Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council, the one-day event includes parades through the city centre, live music, dancing, children’s activities, world food, information stands and much more! Since humble beginnings in 1998, Plymouth RESPECT Festival has continued to grow and develop each year. Similar to previous years SAaS participated with much fanfare and was a very successful event. There were a number of performances from the South Asian Community as part of the programme coordinated by Dr Arunima & Prof Jha. We would like to thank PDREC once more for the initiative and their support. Please view the gallery for some images from the event.

[Show slideshow]

The basic life support training organised by our trustees was well received by our members. Over 50 participants benefitted from the session and we will look to run this again later in the year. Special thanks for Pete and Barry who were supported by Girish and Amit to deliver the session. Special thanks to the Peninsula Medical School who were our integral partners across number of projects and kindly offered the venue for the session. Overall a great community event and effort.

[Show slideshow]

1 2 ►

We shared our intent to run a BLS course in Autumn 2021. Our Trustees Dr Amit Dhulkotia and Dr Girish Ventak have now planned a session for members. We are looking to run the session on the 15th of May morning as per the availability of the trainer. The session will last for a max of 2 hours. 

BLS refers to the basic first aid procedures that can be used to keep someone alive until the emergency medical services can get to the scene. The most important skills are chest compressions to pump blood around the body, and rescue breaths to provide oxygen. 

We feel this is an important skill that everyone should be aware of. Members of the Clinical community receive regular BLS training. We strongly encourage our younger and non-clinical members of the community to utilise this opportunity. The course will be offered face to face and will have limited spaces available. 

Register by 11th May

Similar to last year, our Trustees Dr Shrestha and Dr Tripathi are coordinating a charity walk on the 29th of May 2022. 

Details about the charity walk will be shared with interested members in due course. It was really fun last year and we encourage members to take his opportunity.

Please see pictures from last year’s event. 

Register Interest by 20th May

Our society is looking to offer a temporary role to help us with specific community engagement activities as outlined in the attached document. Please respond to us by 4th February 2022 if you want to speak more about the opportunity or want to share an expression of interest to carry out the work. Please email chairpersonsaas@gmail.com 

Even though the opportunity is temporary in the first instance, we would consider extending the same over a longer period subject to satisfactory performance.

Dear Members

Due to the ongoing challenges and risks linked to the Covid 3rd wave, we decided to postpone our Annual Event.  We anticipate that with the current booster vaccination drive, we should be able to run a face to face event in Spring. We will get back with an update by mid-February after due consideration. 

Wishing you laughter, contentment, joy, and peace in 2022 and always.

SAaS Trustees

SUNDAY 28^th NOVEMBER 2021,   10.30am 1.30pm and 3pm (3 groups of 6 individuals each)

SATURDAY 8^TH JANUARY 2022,    10.30am 1.30pm and 3pm (3 groups of 6 individuals each)

                  6 groups of 6 (36 in total)

The new museum, art gallery and archive for Plymouth and the South West  (https://www.theboxplymouth.com) has extended a special invitation to SAaS members to visit the museum and experience ancient stories from the world’s oldest continuing culture, told through more than 300 paintings and objects by over 100 different artists.

Visiting members will be taken on an epic journey that crosses three states, three deserts and some 500,000 square kilometres. With ceramics, paintings, sculpture, installation and film.

If you are interested, come and immerse yourself in an exhibition that uses the power of art and culture to connect us across time zones and international borders. The exhibition is going to be stunning.

For further information about the exhibit, please see the information published in the Guardian and on ‘The Box’ websites from the links below.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/sep/27/we-will-teach-the-british-how-to-survive-indigenous-australian-culture-hits-the-uk

https://www.theboxplymouth.com/events/exhibitions/songlines

The guided tour will last for about an hour and there will be a special free workshop looking at how craft creates a culture to enjoy at the end if members wish. A complimentary cup of tea will also be provided. There will also be a chance to find out about volunteering opportunities in ‘The Box’ for anyone who fancies it. 

The tour has been specially organised during the weekends so that SAaS members can enjoy with family and friends. If you are interested to visit ‘The Box’, please send the preferred dates and time slots, (mentioned at the top), the number of people visiting to Professor Awadhesh Jha (email: drjha2004@tiscali.co.uk) by Saturday, 20^th November. As the numbers are limited (only 36), allocation will be on a ‘first-come-first-served basis. 

On behalf of the SaaS, I had a meeting with the Associate Dean of Internationalisation (Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth) this Friday. We discussed a number of initiatives for creating a sense of the value of international students among the local community. To facilitate this, a ‘Meetup’ group titled ‘Global Plymouth (https://www.meetup.com/Global-Plymouth/) has been set up, expressly devoted to creating opportunities for our international students and staff to meet receptive members of the local community, in safe, friendly environments. Please do feel free to join the group if you are interested in such events.

They are also planning a ‘major do’ on the evening of Saturday 16th October 2021 (6:30 pm onwards) at ‘The Plot’: https://shop4plymouth.co.uk/inside-union-streets-the-plot-clipper/ (You can find The Plot at 80-84 Union St, Stonehouse, Plymouth PL1 3EZ). The Lord Mayor of Plymouth will be present along with other guests. There will be plenty of free nibbles with a choice of non-vegetarian, vegetarian and vegan nibbles. Given the nature of the event, they are unable to cater specifically for those with food allergies. You may of course bring your own food to partake, or even better to share with the guests. Guests will be allowed to bring their own drinks free of corkage.

Live entertainment will be headlined by Plymouth’s own Jon and Friends. If anyone of you is interested in performing there (Dance, Music etc.) then please let us know and we will put you in touch with the organisers. We encourage members to attend as It will be a good opportunity to raise awareness of our Society as well as connect to the South Asian students coming into Plymouth.

Best wishes
Mahrukh
(On Behalf of SAaS Trustees)