Conference
Third Non-Resident Nepali Global Conference
15-17 October 2007
Kathmandu, Nepal
Background
Nepalis worldwide never forget the land of their origin wherever they are. It was with the objective of networking expatriate Nepalis among themselves and with their compatriots in Nepal that the first NRN Global Conference was organized in Kathmandu on 11-14 October 2003. This event generated tremendous interest within the NRN community and also motivated the participants to contribute more for the development of Nepal in an organized manner. The overwhelming success of the conference was manifested by the historical decision to form a Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), and organize the NRN global conference every second year in Nepal and a regional conference outside Nepal in the intervening years. The global conference provides a platform for Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) to deliberate on topical issues of concern to contemporary Nepal as well as the Nepali diaspora, and to interact with the Government of Nepal and the wider Nepali Society in finding ways to maximize the NRN participation in socio-economic development of Nepal.
The last two global conferences have been very successful. Contemporary Nepali society is now aware of the issues and concerns of NRNs while the term "NRN" has become a well-known and readily accepted acronym to identify Nepalis living outside of Nepal. The Association has also been able to generate goodwill both inside and outside of Nepal. Since the first Global Conference the NRN community has continued to network among themselves thus making cooperative ventures involving Nepalis from around the globe possible. National Coordination Councils (NCCs), national Chapters of the NRNA, have been established so far in 36 countries in the world, and a few more are expected to be formed in near future.
Building on this foundation and aspiring to take the NRN movement to a higher level, the Third Global Conference will be held in Kathmandu from 15 to 17 October 2007. The first two days of the conference will be dedicated to general discussions on various topical issues while the third day (17th October) will be devoted to internal affairs of the Association. It includes the adoption of the first amendment of the NRNA constitution and the election of new office bearers and members of the International Coordination Council (ICC) that will lead the movement for the next two years.
All together 600 participants (of which at least 400 will be NRNs) are expected to take part in the conference. The language of the deliberations will be in both Nepali and English.
The Theme
The motto of the NRN movement is
"For Nepali by Nepali". As the conference is taking place after the recent historic changes in the governance of Nepal a primary focus of the conference will be to understand the contours of the new order and how the NRNs can help Nepal in a smooth transition to the new order. The conference also aims to define the place of the diaspora in the emerging new Nepal and contribute to priority sectors of the country's development portfolio. Thus, the specific theme of the third NRN conference is proposed to be:
"Global Nepalis - Role and Contribution in Nation Building".
Objectives
The conference is expected to achieve the following objectives:
- Identify the role and potential contributions of NRNs in the emerging 'New Nepal'.
- Acquaint further Nepali society and newly emerged leadership with the expectations of NRNs.
- Identify the challenges of the NRN movement and work out a road map to move ahead.
Participation
The participation in the conference is open to:
- All NRNs (Nepali passport holders, who have lived for more than 182 days outside of Nepal during the last Nepali fiscal year, and foreign citizens of Nepali origin), including spouses and children;
- "Friends of Nepal,*; and
- Nepalis* both of whom are interested in working with the NRN community for promoting NRNA's mission and objectives.
Note: * Friends of Nepal and Nepalis can only participate in the first two days (15-16 October) of the conference.
Registration
The participation is strictly based on registration. The registration will be done on a first come first serve basis. In order to participate in the General Assembly and to have voting rights, NRNs should acquire registered membership from their respective NCCs. Participants from those countries, where a NCC is not established, can acquire registration/membership from the NRNA Secretariat, Kathmandu.
The registration fee for NRNs, Friends of Nepal and Associate Members is fixed at US$100 and NRs. 6,500 for Nepalis residing in Nepal. A 10 percent discount will be offered to those who register and pay before 1 September 2007. On-line registration forms are available at the official website of the NRNA - (www.nrn.org.np) as well as through NCCs. The details of the persons, who have registered on-line and directly with the secretariat, will be forwarded to their respective NCCs for better coordination.
The Organizers
The conference, following the tradition of the past two conferences is being jointly organized by the Government of Nepal, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Non Resident Nepali Association (NRNA). The Government of Nepal has formed a High level Organizing Committee headed by Hon'ble Minister for Foreign Affairs. The 23 member organizing committee also includes Hon'ble Member of NPC, Secretaries of various Ministries, Chief of Government agencies, President and office bearers of FNCCI, NRNA and a number of other private sector organizations. Experts and office bearers of other related organization can also be accommodated as invitees. The Executive Director of NRNA is the Member Secretary of the Committee.
