Events Schedule

Download the Events Schedule for the 5th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress. Please note that there might be slight changes to this schedule.

 

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Speakers

 

Fred Sarkari

Opening Ceremony Keynote Speaker

Who or even what would be considered to be the Top 5%? Is it a financial, a physical, or spiritual goal? Top 5% in any aspect of life, whether it be business, personal, or spiritual, each has a similar manner of thought. Each has a consistent way of thinking. We will examine what principles all of the above have in common. “How The Top 5% Think!" will equip you with the means to excel, both in your professional and personal life. Our community relies on the relationships we create within it. This session will focus on what our core represents: Good Thoughts - Good Words - Good Deeds.

Fred is considered an expert in human behavior. He coaches, teaches and provides management consulting services to a broad range of organizations from start ups to some of the world's largest organizations.In addition to his popular course facilitation, Fred has written two Best Seller Books on the topic of Leadership. Titled “How the Top 5% Think! – Principles of Great Leaders” and "Courage To Be Naked - The Ultimate Guide To Presenting And Communicating Your Message" has been a tremendous success and has received rave reviews. Fred has facilitated workshops for employees of various companies including: Microsoft, Wells Fargo, BMW, Scotia Bank, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, CIBC, Royal Bank, North West Mutual Funds, Ceridian, Promotional Products Association, BMO Bank of Montreal, Genworth Financial, Hilton Hotels, Midas, Four Seasons Hotels and many more.

 

 

Shirin Abadi

Dr. Shirin Abadi is a Pharmacotherapeutic Specialist in the field of oncology. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from the University of British Columbia, her accredited Hospital Pharmacy Residency certificate from Lions Gate Hospital, and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto in Canada. Shirin works as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist and Education Coordinator at the BC Cancer Agency, and holds a Clinical Assistant Professor designation at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she teaches for the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Shirin has given a number of talks on cancer treatment and prevention strategies, as well as other health-related topics, and is very passionate about humanity and the provision of exemplary patient care.

Topic:

"Can YOU 'Can' CANCER?"

Have you ever thought about what life would be like, if you were diagnosed with cancer? What if you were told that your chances of developing cancer may be as high as 50%, if you did absolutely nothing about it? What if you found out that you could dramatically reduce your chances of getting cancer with a few simple steps? This presentation will provide you with the important strategies of how best to minimize your risk of contracting cancer, while maximizing the opportunity for living a healthy life! Come and learn about the fascinating journey of human genetics and the incredible miracles that help sustain life each and every day! May this presentation contribute to your overall well being, and encourage you to make the most of your life!
 

 

Ava Afshari

In 2008, Ava Afshari received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She has had 4 years experience working as an assistant in a Cardiologist’s medical office while earning her degree. Ava currently works as an educator at a high school in Los Angeles. She has also been involved with the California Zoroastrian Center’s youth group for many years helping organize social and cultural events for the youth. Zoroastrian history has appealed to her since the first time she visited Iran.

At this years youth congress in Canada, Ava would like to share her experience of her trip to Yazd, Iran. She will also share the significance and importance of the Zoroastrian holy sites (Piroons) located in Yazd.
 

 

Simone Balsara

Simone Balsara is a qualified public relations consultant and an admitted lawyer of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Simone has a Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Sydney. Simone is now working towards a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney.

Simone has been the Australian Zoroastrian Association (AZA) Sunday school coordinator for the past 3 years and prior to being the coordinator was a Sunday school Zoroastrian studies teacher. Simone was once a student of the AZA and loves the idea of one day passing the torch of coordinator or teacher to one of the children that she taught. Simone believes that Sunday school is a great way of getting children within our community to get together and share their thoughts about our religion and the challenges that they face in today’s society.

Simone will take part in the inter-generational panel discussion which will highlight key areas affecting the youth and the next generation of Zarthushtis. Simone will discuss the importance of having fun and collaborative religious education programs, which Zarthushti youth want to take part in and contribute to their own way.
 

 

Armeen Bhesania

Armeen Bhesania is a Due Diligence Analyst for a private firm, working in Toronto, Ontario. She received her Chartered Accountancy (Ontario) in 2005 and since specialized in corporate finance and evaluation of investment managers internationally. Armeen is a strong proponent of financial education and local economic development; she was elected by the City of Toronto (city council) to serve on a Board of Management and also conducts financial literacy seminars and tax clinics to lower-income residents.

 Topic:

Armeen and Zeeba will be moderators and session leads for Youth Career Connect: Succeeding Together. In this interactive session targeted at youth under 40, you will meet others who share the same passions, questions, and concerns about their career as you do. The WZCC session will play host where round table / smaller group discussion(s) will take place to benefit every individual, our community, career professionals and most importantly our most precious commodity, OUR YOUTH!!

 

 

Monaz Dalal

Born and brought up in Mumbai , Monaz Dalal relocated to UK in January 2009 after marriage. She has done her Masters in Commerce from Mumbai University and holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management from Wellingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai.
 
 Have we ever thought of the relevance of Zoroastrian faith to today’s facebook generation?

The main objective in this presentation is to explain a universal fact that in life there will be differences in ideologies and beliefs but at the end of the day we need to understand that we are all human beings who share common traits like desire to network, pass on our ideas and do what we feel is right, that is following our Vohumana.

If one thinks about it, people from all walks of life directly or indirectly follow the message of Zoroastrianism. The strength of Zoroastrianism lies in its simplicity and empowerment of individuals.

The beauty of Zoroastrianism, like facebook, lies in its ability to let its followers use their Vohumana by deciding whom to become a friend with, whom to network and pass on their ideas. Zarathushtra preached that one should listen and consider all viewpoints and then decide your own path of righteousness.

The presentation focuses on the young Zoroastrians from around the world and particularly from Iran who are becoming increasingly interested in their glorious past and are attempting to practice and lead the Zoroastrian way of life.

The future of Zoroastrianism in the facebook generation is bright. The exchange of views from Zoroastrians from different cultures will strengthen the interest in this great religion and will help ‘build bridges across the oceans’.

   

Nahid Dashtaki

Nahid Dashtaki received her Masters degrees in Dispute Resolution and Public Policy. She has enjoyed working internationally to promote access to basic health and technological needs in developing communities. Nahid currently serves as Assistant Ombudsman at Los Angeles World Airports. Following her personal passions, her topic for this upcoming youth congress in Vancouver is to promote the effective use of the principles of Zoroastrianism and Conflict Resolution which can help us heal our communities and even our own personal conflicts.

 

Benafsha Engineer 

Barely in her 20’s, Benafsha Engineer has recently graduated with a degree in BA Hons in Business Management from Kingston University, UK and is currently working for one of the UK’s Airport Operators at the very busy London Heathrow Airport.

After attending various WZO seminars and social functions, she started helping out at some of their activities. She took this opportunity to interface with some of their Managing Committee members and felt her own thinking was more in line with the organisation’s aims and objectives for the future and decided to get involved. With her immense charm, personality and hard work she has made her presence felt participating in all the various WZO activities. She is currently one of the Social Secretaries for WZO.

Her presence on the Managing Committee adds a more youthful perspective to WZO’s activities and is an incentive for more young men and women to come forward and play their part. Today she is the youngest committee member of WZO.
 

Armaity Homavazir

Armaity Homavazir has been involved with the Zarthoshti Community on a local and international level for many years. Since her early teens, she has contributed to congresses as a participant, speaker, and organizer. In 1996 and 1998, she created and directed Camp Pardis in Toronto; a six week children's day camp that comprised of many facets of the community working together. While living in the UK from 2000-2004, she represented Zarthoshtis at multi-faith events and volunteered as a religion class teacher.

As an elementary teacher Toronto, she makes use of opportunities within the school system to inform her students and fellow teachers on relevant issues. In the last few years, she has served on the program committee for the North American Zoroastrian Congress in Toronto (2007), and been involved with Next Generation Now conferences held in 2007 and 2008. She is currently part of the NGN leadership team.

Armaity enjoys traveling and discovering new places. Recently, she has begun to combine this pastime more seriously with her passion for photography.

Armaity will be moderating the Intergenerational Panel for NGN (NextGenNow) and co-facilitating the final session, Putting it All Together.   She is excited about the possibilities presented at this event and hopes that we will leave with a stronger and more appreciative view of who we are, and where we would like to go as a community.

Anosh Irani

Anosh Irani was born and brought up in Bombay, India and moved to Vancouver in 1998. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Cripple and His Talismans and The Song of Kahunsha, which was a finalist for CBC Radio's Canada Reads and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, was published in thirteen countries, and was a bestseller in Canada and Italy. His play Bombay Black was a Dora Award winner for Outstanding New Play. Irani was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Drama for his anthology The Bombay Plays: The Matka King & Bombay Black. His novel Dahanu Road was longlisted for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize. 

www.anoshirani.com

 

Babak Kalantari, M.D.

Dr. Babak Kalantari is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and the Chief of Breast MRI & Ultrasound at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School, and completed his residency as well as fellowship training at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Kalantari has authored numerous scholarly publications and received multiple honors and awards, including recognition by the American Roentgen Ray Society and the Radiological Society of North America. Dr. Kalantari’s clinical and research focus is on the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

Topic:
At this year’s congress he will discuss ways to detect breast cancer at its earliest stage, which results in improved cure rates and survival.
 

 

Zeeba Shaheen Kayani

Zeeba Shaheen Kayani is the Contracts & Grants Dir. in the Children’s Learning Institute for The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas (UT-HSCH). Being a tough negotiator Zeeba is in charge of all the Federal, International, Foundation, and Private funding that is awarded for/to the Developmental Pediatrics Division. While managing the active funding, Zeeba is also responsible for the Division’s future funding opportunities where she oversees, creates budgets, coordinates studies, and assists in writing and administering grants for 23 departmental Professor(s). Zeeba is most proud of the work she does with The Autism Center with-in The Children’s Institute. She loves & adores her kid(s) which has led her to develop strong bonds with her patients and their families that come into the center.

Topic:

Armeen and Zeeba will be moderators and session leads for Youth Career Connect: Succeeding Together. In this interactive session targeted at youth under 40, you will meet others who share the same passions, questions, and concerns about their career as you do. The WZCC session will play host where round table / smaller group discussion(s) will take place to benefit every individual, our community, career professionals and most importantly our most precious commodity, OUR YOUTH!!

 

 

Nergis Mavalvala

Quantum Astrophysicist – winner of the 2010 MacArthur award

Biographical Sketch

Professor Nergis Mavalvala joined the Physics faculty at MIT in January 2002. Before that, she was a postdoctoral associate and then a research scientist at Caltech, working on the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). She has been involved with LIGO since her early years in graduate school at MIT and her primary research has been in instrument development for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Professor Mavalvala received a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT in 1997, and a B.A. in Physics and Astronomy from Wellesley College in 1990. 

 

Triti Namiranian

Born in Tehran, Iran, Triti has lived in Canada since the age of 4 and loves it! She received her Bachelor of Honors in Psychology from York University, in Toronto. She then spent a couple of years working in two hospitals and aiding in different research projects. She later decided to follow her passion for teaching and went on to get her Bachelor of Education from The University of Western Ontario. She has been teaching French in a public school in Toronto since 2008. Recently she has taken up running and has participated in a few different 10k runs. In May 2011, she successfully ran her first half marathon. Continual education and goal setting are aspects of life that Triti believes to be vital. Finally, she feels that writing in the 3rd person is equivalent to having an outer body experience!

Triti will be co-facilitating the final session titled Putting it All Together.
 

 

NextGenNow

The concept of developing a next generation initiative originated at the Third Coming Together Roundtable meeting in January 2007. Born from this call-to-action was an organization known today as NextGenNow. Four years later, NextGenNow is a thriving, independent organization of young Zarathushti leaders from across the globe and largely concentrated in North America.

Our mission: to strengthen and unify Zarathushti communities worldwide through leadership development, inter-generational dialogue and action-oriented initiatives. We are an incubator for idea generation, collaboration with other Zarathushti organizations and initiatives, meaningful advocacy that gives voice to those in need, and a catalyst in addressing the most critical issues of our time.

Our leadership team is reflective of our membership: conscience-driven, forward thinking and passionate about making a difference. We are college students, young professionals and new parents.

Since our inception, NextGenNow has:

• Served on Zarathushti association boards, chaired FEZANA committees and led WZCC chapters.
• Hosted and organized leadership conferences and focus group events.
• Produced the 2010 Survey of Next Generation Zarathushtis.
• Supported and led programming at North American congress events
• Collaborated with the FEZANA Journal to produce a next generation edition
• Worked to resolve local and regional issues in North America.

The questions we ask and issues we continue to tackle include: How will the next generation impact the future? How will the founding and next generation transition smoothly? How will leadership styles, culture and new thinking shape the direction we take? How do we prevent customs and ties to our homeland from dissolving over time? Will the next generation create a renewed promise of continuity and growth through tolerance and inclusion, or work to preserve age-old edicts that have reduced an already-shrinking Zarathushti population worldwide?

We view the 5th World Zarathushti Congress as tremendous opportunity to come together as a generation. Let’s unite to identify areas of commonality and build bridges with ideas and bonding that sustains the test of time. As we stated in our 2009 FEZANA Journal editorial: no single person, organization or representative body can lay claim to the causes and issues confronting the next generation.

While we may not agree on everything – a healthy sign – we must come together on the fundamental issues most critical to our future. We are too few in numbers to pursue any other option.

 

Narges Nirumvala

A Dale Carnegie Sales Talk Champion, Narges Nirumvala is much sought after keynote speaker, executive speech coach, corporate trainer and an accomplished business writer. She has been profiled on radio and television. Her writing has been published and circulated to 106 countries worldwide. She is a columnist for Entrepreneurial Woman Magazine and book reviewer for FEZANA Journal. Narges is also an experienced public speaker, skilled in developing and conducting persuasive presentations. She is able to instil a shared sense of purpose, win enthusiastic support and bridge gaps by making immediate human connections. Narges has traveled extensively from Singapore to Australia and Dubai to Cyprus, giving her a unique sensitivity to diverse cultural and socioeconomic groups.

Born in Mumbai, India, she was educated in the United Kingdom, where Narges earned a Bachelor's Degree with Honours in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Political Economy. She has over 15 years of progressive management experience in all areas of organizational leadership including operations, human resources, sales and marketing. She is also a Microsoft Certified PowerPoint Expert.

Narges is passionate about being an agent for change through community involvement. She volunteers her time extensively and has served on numerous not-for-profit boards including St. Michael's Centre Hospice Foundation, Rotary International, Toastmasters International and the Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce, where she served as Vice President. Narges has been nominated for the Influential Women in Business Awards and served as Chair and Emcee for the Westside Awards of Distinction.
For more about Narges visit: http://www.NargesNirumvala.com

Narges will be participating in the “Formula for Success” panel discussion at the congress.
 

 

Dinyar Patel

Dinyar Patel is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Harvard University. His Ph.D. dissertation is on the life and political legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the "Grand Old Man" of India. Along with Professor S.R. Mehrotra, he is co-editor of a forthcoming volume of selected Naoroji correspondence to be published by Oxford University Press. Dinyar was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in central California.

Topic:

Within the Zoroastrian community, there is little consensus on population figures and demographic trends. This session attempts to provide a realistic estimate of the worldwide Zoroastrian population—including Parsis, Iranian Zoroastrians, and Iranis—based on the best scholarly and community estimates available. It questions, due to lack of evidence, the idea that thousands of people are converting to Zoroastrianism worldwide. Having established the actual small size of the community, this paper furthermore highlights the staggering demographic crisis that it faces. Amongst the Parsis of India, at least, population figures are dropping rapidly and the prime reasons are not out-migration to the West or even, for the moment, intermarriage. Rather, a large corpus of scholarly studies indicate that the Parsi population crisis is due to stunningly low fertility rates; that is, an incredibly limited number of children born to the community. Low fertility rates are not due to biological problems but rather due to cultural and attitudinal factors that prompt late marriage and non-marriage amongst Parsis. Quite simply, Parsis’ decisions to marry late, or not marry at all, have translated into a drastically shrinking population. There is reason to believe that a similar phenomenon is happening here in the diaspora amongst both Parsis and Iranian Zoroastrians.

 

Farah M. Shroff, PhD

Farah M Shroff, PhD, is an educator, activist and researcher in the field of public health. Besides her research in public health she is conducting a study of elder Zarthusti women and is seeking other researchers who would like to be involved in this work (email: fmcshroff@gmail.com).

Her other areas of interest include holistic health, women's health, child/family health, HIV/AIDS, policy directions, health promotion, global health, social justice issues and others. She is editor of and contributor to the book "The New Midwifery: Reflections on Renaissance and Regulations" (Women's Press, 1997) as well as several other publications. She has worked in many parts of the world, including Nigeria, Georgia (Republic of), Southeast Asia and in Latin America, the high Arctic, India and other nations, for research and/or other work in public health.

Farah lives in Vancouver with her husband and their children, where she teaches at the UBC Medical School. She is also an independent researcher. She teaches yoga, dance and other wellness activities.

Topic:

Insider Participatory Action Research: Zarthusti Elder Women's Oral Herstories

I will discuss a long term project in which I have been engaged with elder women in our community, interviewing them about their lives. It has been a wonderful exploration of many social issues in our diasporic community. I hope to share my enthusiasm with Zarthusti youth about this project and about the notion that we can be our own experts, carrying out research on ourselves, learning more about who we are and what we have to offer ourselves and the world.

 

Dr. Jenny Rose

Jenny Rose is a historian of religion, with a doctorate in Ancient Iranian Studies from Columbia University. She currently teaches classes on the Zoroastrian tradition in the Religious Studies department at Claremont Graduate University, and lectures extensively at other academic institutions and Zoroastrian Association meetings throughout North America and Europe, as well as at local museums and civic centers in southern California.

Jenny’s doctoral dissertation was published in book form as The Image of Zoroaster: The Persian Mage Through European Eyes (Bibliotheca Persica Press, 2000). She writes educational materials about the Zoroastrian religion for both British and American school curricula, and in 2011 will publish two textbooks (Zoroastrianism: An Introduction, I.B. Tauris; Zoroastrianism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Continuum) for use by a new generation of undergraduates and interested others.

In recent years, Jenny has led study-tours of some of the most important archaeological, cultural and devotional sites in Iran. In 2009, her research took her to Central Asia, and she is currently working on a study of the interaction between the Parsi merchants of Bombay and Gujarat and their counterparts in Boston and Salem, MA.

 

ZYNG

When the Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation (ZYNG), was launched in December 2009, little did we know that a year from now we would have more than 2500 active members from across India and the world, uniting together under the banner of Parsi Irani, Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation!

As the official youth group of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), ZYNG’s main objective has simply been to bring together the youth of our community from across the globe, by creating a common platform to unite the youth and help foster a Parsi Irani Zoroastrian identity for the future. To achieve this goal, ZYNG has established a social networking website which includes an events calendar and dating and career portals. In the last one year, ZYNG has provided opportunities for youth to meet through high energy activities like paintball and white water rafting, the social atmosphere of Speed Dating and the NavroZYNG Dance, the more traditional Jashans and Fire Temple visits and mega-volunteer social service programs. With almost half our community living outside of the traditional colony and baug settings, ZYNG also provides a united platform for interaction between Parsi / Irani youth from colonies and outside colony areas, in Mumbai and across India. ZYNG has also reached out to community members and youth living in Navsari, Surat, Udwada, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune etc, uniting everyone under the ZYNG name.

In a short while ZYNG has spread through Mumbai, India and is slowly going global. This is the first Indian based youth organization of its kind, networking far and wide to bring about a revival in our community. We’d like to elaborate a little more on how exactly ZYNG functions and show you how this can be a global platform to help the youth around the world.

 
 

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Venues

	Gage Towers, UBC Gage Towers, University of British Columbia – your home away from home during the congress. Included in your stay at UBC: Gage Towers have twin XL bed, desk, dresser, chair, bookshelves, lamp all provided. Wired (ethernet) internet access. Outlet for phone. Cable TV hookup with basic cablevision service included (TV supplied in Apartments.) Furnished living room and dining area. Fridge and stove. Card-operated laundry. Activity and meeting rooms. Wireless internet access in Commonsblock. Fitness room. Convenience store. 24 hour front desk service.
	Aquatic Center, UBC The UBC Aquatic Centre offers both an outdoor and indoor public facility located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, next to the War Memorial Gym and Student Union Building. We serve the UBC Community (students, faculty, staff, residents) as well as the entire Lower Mainland and visitors from other regions and countries.
	Chan Center, UBC Chan Center UBC – Location of the opening ceremonies
	Student Recreation Centre We have arranged a sports afternoon where you can play Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis or soccer at this amazing facility.
	Canada Day Celebrations Canada Day celebrations (July 1st) will take place on a harbor cruise ship where you will enjoy beautiful views of the city, a scrumptious meal, dancing, and fireworks to celebrate our country’s birthday.
	Sightseeing Tour  During the sightseeing tour you will travel this gondola up to Grouse Mountain where you will witness breathtaking views of the city below. In eight minutes you’re 3,700 feet (1,100 m) above sea level, and near the top of Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain is a year-round mountaintop playground that offers hiking, helicopter tours, paragliding, picnics, logging shows …and magical views of the city and its surroundings.
	Closing Ceremony Our closing ceremony will be held at the Grand Ballroom Hall. Dinner, dance and a live band will follow. The theme of the closing ceremonies will be: Stars of the Future: "A Red Carpet Gala Event" (Dress to Impress)