Cons Gen of India Toronto presents Profiles of Padma Awardees

11/10/2021

#Toronto; #ConsGenOfIndiaToronto; #RecentPadmaAwardees

Toronto/Canadian-Media: Cons Gen of India Toronto presents brief profiles of some of the recent Padma awardees, who coming from very modest backgrounds and challenging circumstances contributed towards nation building to bring a difference to the society.

The stories of each of these awardees are very much interesting and so inspiring.

Sundarram Verma

Kushal Konwar Sharma:

S. Ramakrishna

Shyam Sunder Paliwal

Nanda Prusty

Dilip Kumar Singh

K. C. Sivasankar

Marachi Suburaman

Pappammal

Tulasi Gowda

Sharif Mohammad

Javed Ahmad Tak

Canada-India Conclave to celebrate India at 75- Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav

11/10/2021

#Canada, #India, #IndiaAt75, #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

Toronto/IBNS: Canada-India Conclave will be celebrating India at 75 - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, which is an initiative of the Indian government, here.

The initiative aims to commemorate 75 glorious years of progressive India and its rich history of people, culture and achievements.

The conclave will be organized by Bharat Centre of Canada in collaboration with Consul General of India in Toronto.

A panel discussion over Canada-India Partnership : Collaboration through Human Centric Approach will be taking place.

India at 75 - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commenced in India in Mar 2021 and will end with the country's 75th Independence Day on Aug 15, 2022.

Cons Gen of India Toronto presents India's NDC and India's Climate Action

11/1/2021

#India, #Toronto #ConsGenOfIndiaToronto; #NDCofIndia; #ClimateActionByIndia

Toronto/Canadian-Media: Consul General of India Toronto presents India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Climate Action by India as given below:

India reaching milestone of administering 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses

10/23/2021

#ConsGenIndiaToronto; #India #OnebillionCOVID19vaccinations, #Milestone

Toronto/Canadian-Media: This week, India reached the incredible milestone of having administered 1 billion COVID-19 vaccinations, Consulate General of India, Toronto office reported.

Image credit: Cons Gen of India Toronto Office

In what is the largest vaccination program in the world, India has established more than 313,000 vaccination centers located around the country. On September 17, 2021 India administered a record 25 million vaccinations, the most vaccinations ever administered in one day. To date, over 300 million people have received both doses.

A short note on India’s vaccination saga is given below:

The Incredible saga of India’s one billion vaccinations

India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has achieved a historic milestone of administering 1 billion vaccine doses. Around 75% of the eligible population (18+) has been given the first dose, while around 30% has been given both doses.
- India has achieved this mark of 1 billion vaccine doses in less than 40 weeks. This milestone exemplifies India’s prowess in various elements in the vaccination journey – development of new vaccines, production of vaccines, deployment, and technology.
- India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive was launched on 16 January 2021, but preparations had begun way back in April 2020 with the establishment of the National Task Force for Focused Research on Corona Vaccine. Indeed, a hallmark of India’s vaccination drive has been the high-level oversight and coordination, particularly by the Prime Minister himself.
- Today, India is the only country that has developed multiple vaccines across multiple platforms (Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN uses an inactivated virus platform, Zycov-D is a DNA vaccine, Covishield a viral vector vaccine, Gennova is in the running for being India’s first mRNA vaccine).
- The National Covid Vaccination Programme initially targeted the healthcare and frontline workers as well as senior citizens, due to their higher risk perception. Subsequently, the Programme was rolled out to include people above 45 years of age and with co-morbidities and later, all citizens above 45 years were included. In the ongoing phase, all adults above 18 years have been included and vaccination is being provided for free at public vaccination facilities. This implies about 940 million people have to be vaccinated with two doses each.
- On the approval of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), three vaccines have been utilized in the Programme (COVISHIELD developed by Serum Institute of India in collaboration with Astra Zeneca of the United Kingdom, COVAXIN of Bharat Biotech International Limited and SPUTNIK V of Russia). Nearly all of the 1 billion doses administered have been Made-in-India, except for a miniscule proportion of Sputnik V (approximately 0.4 million doses).
- More than 95% of vaccine doses have been delivered by India’s public health system, a testimony to its reach and robustness. The sheer expanse of the vaccination drive can be gauged from the fact that there are 313,000 Covid Vaccination Centres across the country, of which 74% are at rural locations and account for 65% of the total coverage till now. Vaccination teams of 740,000 persons, including more than 264,000 vaccinators, were trained for the task. Private healthcare outlets have also been included in the implementation of the vaccination drive.
- A critical contribution to India’s successful vaccination journey has been our experience with the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). The cold chain system of UIP was leveraged and upscaled. Vaccines were stored at about 29,000 cold storage points and delivered across the country in more than 700 temperature-controlled vehicles.
- The cold chain supply lines are being managed using Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN). eVIN is an indigenously developed technology that digitizes vaccine stocks and monitors the temperature of the cold chain through a smartphone application.
- India also developed a unique digital platform of CoWIN. The digital platform has made it possible to register beneficiaries, schedule their vaccination, generate QR Code based vaccine certificates and capture their vaccination history. In addition, it has also kept track of the entire implementation process including daily coverage and vaccine requirement across various Indian States.
- The 1 billion landmark celebrates the indomitable spirit of India’s frontline health workers –the nurses, the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and the thousands of vaccinators, who overcame challenges of terrain and weather to reach the remotest areas ensuring that no one is left behind. Vaccine delivery by Drones has also been recently piloted in the North-East region of the country. Special focus has been given on outreach to pregnant and lactating women, the destitute, vagabonds and other vulnerable groups. In addition, the programme now includes Workplace COVID Vaccination Centers, Near to Home Vaccination and Mobile Vaccination Units for easier accessibility. Prioritized vaccination of school teachers was also undertaken to ensure safe education for children.
- By the end of 2021, India is looking at an increased monthly production of Covid-19 vaccines, a larger basket of vaccine options and a larger proportion of our population fully vaccinated. This would translate to a larger potential to share vaccines with the world, contributing toward realization of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “One Earth, One Health”.

India and Canada will continue to work together to promote global vaccination and support efforts of vaccine equity. Part of these efforts include their mutual commitment to the World Health Organization’s COVAX program and the recently announced partnership between Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics and India’s Biological E to develop 30 million doses of the mRNA vaccine.

‘Walk in YOUR Park!’ online event in NS to support people with Parkinson's disease

10/19/2021

#NovaScotia; #WalkinYOURPark; #ParkinsonSocietyNovaScotia; #ParkinsonDisease; #ParkinsonSyndrome

Nova Scotia/Canadian-Media: The first free ever online event ‘Walk in YOUR Park!’ is being organized by Parkinson Society Nova Scotia on October 30, 2021 from 5:00 AM – 10:30 PM EDT to support people with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson Society Nova Scotia. Image credit: Parkinson Society Nova Scotia

Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. Although the symptoms usually emerge slowly, with the worsening of the disease, non-motor symptoms become more common. The most obvious early symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Behavioral problems may also occur with depression, anxiety, and dementia becoming common in the advanced stages of the disease.

An estimated 100,000 Canadians are living with Parkinson’s, 8,500 of which live in Nova Scotia, with approximately 6,000 new cases are diagnosed annually across Canada. Given this, you, or someone you know are or will be affected by Parkinson’s in some way.

Join us in October and walk, run, or roll YOUR way for them, whether it’s to support a neighbor, parent, sibling, colleague, friend, or friend-of-a-friend, and everyone involved in the treatment, care, and those searching for a cure for Parkinson’s.

To keep up with updated information regarding Walk in YOUR Park! be sure to follow us on social media and our website:

Facebook: @ParkinsonSocietyNovaScotia
Instagram: @parkinsonsocietyns
Website: parkinsonsocietynovascotia.com

You may also share and post pictures of you in YOUR park and these will be shared on our social media channels! Remember to tag @ParkinsonSocietyNovaScotia, or by using the hashtags #ParkinsonSocietyNovaScotia and #WalkInYourPark so we can see them!

Cons Gen India Toronto to organize camps to address queries to solve consular matters

10/14/2021

#Toronto; #ConsulateGeneralofIndiaToronto; #consularcamps; #Consularmatters

Toronto/Canadian-Media: Consul General of India Toronto will be organizing consular camps in its jurisdiction to address and resolve queries related to Consular matters viz. Passport, OCI, and Attestation etc to address queries to solve Consular matters.

Image credit: Website

The details are given below:

Consul General of India Toronto to Organize Life Certificates camps

10/14/2021

#Toronto; #ConsulateGeneralofIndiaToronto; #LifeCertificates; #PensionPurposes

Toronto/Canadian-Media: Consulate General of India Toronto office will be organizing camps to issue Life Certificates for pension purposes.

Image credit: Website

The details are given below:

Maria Ressa from Philippines, Dmitry Muratov from Russia get 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

10/8/2021

#Oslo; #Norway; #2021NobelPeacePrize; #NorwegianNobelCommittee; #AlfredNobel

Oslo (Norway)/Canadian-Media: An announcement was made Oct 8 Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to Maria Ressa, from Philippines and Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, from Russia would presented by Berit Reiss-Andersen, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, on 8 October 2021.

Maria Ressa, a fearless defender of freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines.

Maria Ressa. Image credit: www.nobelprize.org

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov, from Russia has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions. In 1993, he was one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta, with its fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society.

Image: Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov. Image credit: www.nobelprize.org

Firmly anchored in the provisions of Alfred Nobel’s will, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time.

An update on what we're doing to fight harassment of Canadian journalists: Brent Jolly

10/5/2021

#CAJ; #OnlineHateAndHarassment; #DiversitySurvey; #MentorshipProgram; #RCMP

Ottawa/Canadian-Media: This past Sunday, the CAJ’s board of directors met virtually for our quarterly board meeting. As always, there was much to discuss: planning for our 2022 national conference in Montreal, readying next year’s awards program, preparing for the rollout of our soon-to-be-released diversity survey, and plans for launching the next round of our mentorship program that opens Oct. 25.

Image credit: Twitter handle

One of the major items on our agenda, however, was to develop an action-plan to address our concerns about the increase in online hate and harassment being sent to journalists across the country. After a rigorous discussion, we have identified concrete actions the association can take in the short, medium, and long terms.

In the coming days, we are working on consulting with lawyers to better understand the legal landscape with regards to hateful messages shared via private communications. We are working to establish communication with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other law enforcement agencies to understand how they plan to address the dissemination of threatening messages. We are also reaching out to international press freedom groups to identify resources that can be easily deployed to assist Canadian journalists during these fraught times. These will be shared in a special newsletter that will go out to members next week.

In the coming weeks, the CAJ will be working with Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, and others, to organize a virtual, industry-wide, summit on how to combat hate against journalists. We are in the early stages of planning but will share more details with members as soon as they are available.

We recognize that this issue will not be solved easily or overnight. Nevertheless, we will continue to work steadfastly to ensure that law and policymakers understand how these ongoing threats impede a free press.

The mental health and wellbeing of our members is of paramount concern. As always, if you feel unsafe, we are always here to support you in any way we can. If you have thoughts you’d like to share on how to contribute to our action plan, please reach out via email or Slack.

Please take care,

—The CAJ Board of Directors

This article was first published by Canadian Association of Journalists on Oct 5.

TIFF Executive Director and CO-Head Joana Vicente steps down

10/5/2021

#TIFF; #JoanaVicente; #SteppingDown; #SundanceInstitute; #IndependentFilm

Toronto/Canadian-Media: Joana Vicente's departure from Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) effective October 31, 2021 was announced on Oct 29 by TIFF Chair, Jennifer Tory on behalf of the Board of Directors of TIFF.

TIFF 2021. Image credit: Website

After three years as Executive Director & Co-Head of TIFF Joana Vicente decided to step down to return to her home country of the United States and roots in independent film, where she will assume the role of CEO of the Sundance Institute.

Joana Vicente. Image credit: Courtesy of TIFF

While at TIFF, Vicente collaborated with Co-Head Cameron Bailey to navigate the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to spearhead a new strategic plan for the organization to ensure a more sustainable path to long-term stability by developing a comprehensive digital strategy and innovation plan for the company, with a hybrid model for the Festival.

Besides increasing industry partnerships by creating a new property, the TIFF Tribute Awards gala, now a broadcast TV show recognizing top Festival talent.

After concluding a successful Festival earlier in September, she says goodbye to her TIFF colleagues and the organization in a strong position to continue flourishing.

“I would like to thank Jennifer and the Board of Directors, Cameron and the TIFF team, its partners and supporters, and the city of Toronto for welcoming me with open arms three years ago,” said Joana Vicente...The last 18-months have been challenging for so many reasons, not least of which was living in a different country than my family. The opportunity to lead the team at Sundance and return to New York, feels like the right decision personally and professionally. As an international platform for world cinema making an impact locally and globally, TIFF has never been stronger, and I look forward to cheering the organization’s continued success."

“Working so closely with Joana has been a pleasure,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director & Co-Head. “I look forward to working alongside the TIFF Board of Directors as we continue to shape our future.”

TIFF and Sundance Institute are collaborating to support a seamless leadership transition for both organizations. Together with Cameron Bailey, the TIFF Board of Directors will review the organization’s structure to assess next steps and leadership needs to ensure TIFF’s continued success.

A not-for-profit cultural organization, and generating an annual economic impact of $200 million CAD, TIFF is an international leader in film culture with a mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, featuring five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit.

TIFF and TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC.

For more information, visit tiff.net.

TIFF is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC, L’Oréal Paris, and Visa, and Major Supporters the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Toronto.