On June 13, 2024, SAJA held a virtual workshop on advanced LinkedIn tips and tricks, taught by SAJA president Sree Sreenivasan, who has taught LinkedIn workshops since 2006.

See the video here:

ABOUT US: SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, was founded in March 1994 with 18 members. Today, it represents 1,000+ journalists of South Asian origin working in the US and Canada. It serves as a network for education, inspiration and training for journalists covering South Asia and the South Asian diaspora. SAJA also aims to improve the coverage of the Subcontinent and its diaspora. Over the years, SAJA has given out more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships. Our 30th anniversary conference and gala awards dinner is Oct 11-12, 2024, in NYC. Support us by becoming a member (you don’t have to be South Asian or a journalist) or making a donation. More info at SAJA.org · X: @sajaHQ · IG: @theofficialsaja · LinkedIn: South Asian Journalists Association · YT: SAJA_TV 

SAJA is pleased to award $3,000 to 10 students who are pursuing journalism across the United States. They are talented individuals who show a lot of promise and we are excited to support their growth! 

To mark our 30th anniversary, we increased our scholarship awards from $20,000 to $30,000! You can support us by making a donation.

Read about our recipients:

Gagan Deep Singh, is a journalist with the BBC News in Punjab, India. He has reported extensively on the criminal justice system, drugs, human rights violations, corruption in the public sector, and the issues concerning the Sikh community. In 2022, Gagan was awarded the prestigious Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellowship at Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia. He was hosted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper during his fellowship program. Prior to the BBC, Gagan worked with the Hindustan Times, a leading English newspaper in India, for five years in Punjab. He will be pursuing M. A. (Politics Concentration) at the Columbia Journalism School, New York.

Sanvi Bangalore is a senior at American University in Washington D.C. and is studying business administration and journalism in the honors program. She is part of the summer 2024 newsroom intern class at The Wall Street Journal, serving as an editorial intern with the Careers and Workplace team. She has previously interned for CNN, where she assisted in the production of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. Through a past internship with CBS MoneyWatch, Sanvi covered artificial intelligence, corporate wrongdoing, housing and other business topics. She has also reported local news with WJLA.com, where she covered D.C. crime and politics.

Ananya Chetia is a recent graduate from the University of Richmond, where she served as an Executive Co-Editor of the student newspaper, The Collegian. She is extremely excited to be attending Columbia University this fall and pursue her Master's in Data Journalism! She has written for publications such as Inside Climate News and the Washington Business Journal's offshoot publication, Richmond Inno. Thanks to the Pulitzer grant, Ananya will travel to Assam, India this summer and report on how climate change impacts students of flood affected regions from accessing their education. Outside of reporting, Ananya loves traveling and eating her mother’s pulao.

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Hussain Khan is a writer, journalist, and audio producer with roots in Pakistan and Canada. He fell in love with stories from his naani during Karachi blackouts and his experiences wandering Canadian libraries, cinemas, and comic book shops. Hussain shifted from urban planning to journalism after discovering This American Life during a failed academic year. Since then he has produced grant-winning podcasts for Telus StoryHive and HotDocs. Currently, he studies audio and narrative journalism at the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and is a summer fellow at KALW Public Media. Outside of work, Hussain enjoys rock climbing and exploring Oakland, California.

Fatima Khan is an investigative journalist from India. She covers national politics, social justice, and hate crimes. She specializes in both documentaries as well as feature writing. She has won the prestigious International Press Institute award (2022) for her Covid coverage. She has also won the United Nations Laadli award and the Human Rights and Religious Freedom award, among others. Besides her daily reporting, she has been working on a reportage book on the political churn among Muslim women in India. Fatima will be pursuing MA Political Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

Khadeejah Khan is an incoming freshman at University of California, Davis majoring in Asian American Studies. Being from the Bay Area, her community has inspired her to use journalism as a way to represent the vibrant communities and movements for justice. Khadeejah's work has been featured in KQED, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Daily Californian. Her passion for journalism developed with a strong desire to represent underrepresented communities as a Muslim, South Asian writer. Through storytelling, Khadeejah aspires to tell stories that creates empathy and challenges power dynamics.

Eiman Mir is an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She plans on studying Statistics and Biology. Eiman is the Online Editor-in-Chief of her school’s newspaper. Eiman was named the 2024 Wisconsin Student Journalist of The Year by the JEA.

Pragathi Ravi is an independent journalist covering climate justice, energy transitions and natural resource governance in India. She is a recent grantee of the Pulitzer Centre, and her reportage has also been supported by the Earth Journalism Network and Thomson Reuters Foundation. She is an incoming student at New York University, where she will be pursuing the Science Health and Environment reporting Program this Fall, in the hopes of grounding her practice in climate science. Her work can be found here. When not writing, she enjoys long walks and 80s rock.

Nur Hossain was born and raised in Chattogram, Bangladesh. He is currently pursuing a master's in journalism at University of Nevada, Reno. He earned his bachelor's in Sociology from University of Dhaka. He studied for two semesters in journalism at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania in 2019-2020 session under Community College Initiative (CCI) Program, a 10-month exchange program funded by US Department of State. He also worked for the leading daily "Prothom Alo" in Bangladesh, as a sub-editor between 2021 and 2023. Prior to that, he served as university correspondent at "Daily Sun", an English daily of Bangladesh. He is highly passionate about writing and sees himself using journalism to bring about changes in society. His hobbies include reading books and long-form news stories.

Fahima Degia, Columbia University

SAJA hosted a virtual all-star panel on foreign reporting on Friday, May 17, 2024. Hosted by SAJA board member Jennifer Chowdhury, the speakers were Azmat Khan, Director of Columbia's Li Center for Global Journalism; Anup Kaphle, EIC of RestOfWorld.org; Morgan Till, Foreign Editor of the PBS Newshour.

Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/3FSXCyvg6lk?si=f-hxY_qWzkKwInVY

ABOUT US: SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, was founded in March 1994 with 18 members. Today, it represents 1,000+ journalists of South Asian origin working in the US and Canada. It serves as a network for education, inspiration and training for journalists covering South Asia and the South Asian diaspora. SAJA also aims to improve the coverage of the Subcontinent and its diaspora. Over the years, SAJA has given out more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships. Our 30th anniversary conference and gala awards dinner is Oct 11-12, 2024, in NYC. Support us by becoming a member (you don’t have to be South Asian or a journalist) or making a donation. More info at SAJA.org · X: @sajaHQ · IG: @theofficialsaja · LinkedIn: South Asian Journalists Association · YT: SAJA_TV 

Shahzia Sikander, one of the most celebrated artists in the world, has a new exhibition at Pace Prints gallery in NYC. The Lahore-born artist's "Liquid Light" is on display through June 21, 2024.

On Thursday, May 16, she gave SAJA members a special walkthrough before the show opened, telling us about the work, her techniques and more. 

Here's a Dropbox of press materials. And here is an album from the gathering.

ABOUT US: SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, was founded in March 1994 with 18 members. Today, it represents 1,000+ journalists of South Asian origin working in the US and Canada. It serves as a network for education, inspiration and training for journalists covering South Asia and the South Asian diaspora. SAJA also aims to improve the coverage of the Subcontinent and its diaspora. Over the years, SAJA has given out more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships. Our 30th anniversary conference and gala awards dinner is Oct 11-12, 2024, in NYC. Support us by becoming a member (you don’t have to be South Asian or a journalist) or making a donation. More info at SAJA.org · X: @sajaHQ · IG: @theofficialsaja · LinkedIn: South Asian Journalists Association · YT: SAJA_TV 

SAJA members and other journalists were out in full to support for the NYC launch of Ali Velshi's new book, "Small Acts of Courage." Pix and videos below from Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on Friday, May 10, 2024. He was interviewed on stage by writer Molly Jong-Fast.

Video: Ali's advice for young journos: 
https://youtu.be/Upj4CI_ho5Y 

Photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XNhh7vGgo1pnYLNq8

The 2024 SAJA Board held its first IRL meeting on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at the home of Sree Sreenivasan, our president; his wife Roopa Unnikrishnan and their dog, Tara.  Later, they hosted a mixer for SAJA members and friends. 

Here's an official board portrait: 

From left: Tania Rahman (Comms Director; Fast Company), Mythili Sampathkumar (President Emeritus; freelance), Jennifer Chowdhury (freelance), Pia Sarkar (Associated Press Philly), John Laxmi (Treasurer), Divya Kathikeyan (Louisville Public Radio), [Karen Mahabir on the phone], Sree Sreenivasan (President; Digimentors), Priyanka Vohra (VP; Axios), Sabrina Malhi (former President; Washington Post), Mihir Zaveri (former President; NY Times), Allana Akhtar (Secretary; freelance).


See an album of photos from the mixer here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/k1miEDSd9GVyy9PJ7

On Saturday, April 20, 2024, SAJA hosted a virtual screening of "The Last Ecstatic Days," a powerful documentary about a young man's last days and the doctor and community who helped bring grace and love at his end of his journey.  After the movie, shown on the Kinema platform, Prerana Thakurdesai, former SAJA president and one of the film's producers, joined  Dr. Aditi Sethi, one of the film's protagonists in a conversation with current SAJA president Sree Sreenivasan. They discussed how the film was made and responded to questions and comments from a worldwide audience (from Mumbai and Kochi in India to UK and Sweden and across the US).

They also noted the passing of one of the film's champions and executive producers David Sweidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "The King's Speech," who died just a month earlier. His testimonial about the film: "After 10 minutes, I was ready to walk over glass to help this film."

You don't have walk over broken glass to help the film. Learn more about it here: thelastecstaticdaysmovie.com and lern about its impact campaign: https://givebutter.com/thelastecstaticdays

And to support Dr. Sethi's efforts to change the way we think about the end of (our) days, please check out and support her Center for Conscious Living & Dying: https://www.ccld.community.

Here are some of the real-time comments we received!

Zainab Sultan in NJ:  ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Congrats everyone for bringing this beautiful film to us!

Norman Chaleff in Kristianstad, Sweden: May Ethan's bravery in facing death inspire millions to face life!

Alystyre Julian: Life and conscious death changing impact. Utterly transcendent. Thank you for making this film. I was so happy to learn about the center in Asheville, after experiencing the film. Thank you Prerana for sharing this with me. Aditi, all hearts!

Zach Moore in NYC: A beautiful film with so much grace. The rabbi's comment about "if we knew the words we'd all know them by now" really stuck with me, and just seeing everyone there for Ethan really showed it's so much more than words. Thank you for sharing this!

HOW YOU CAN HELP SAJA:

• Support us through events around the US and Canada. Have a venue we can use pro bono or subsidized? Have ideas for events? Want to join our 30th anniversary planning committee for the October conference and gala in NYC? Let us know. president@saja.org

• If you're not yet a member: http://saja.org/membership (you don't have to be a journalist or South Asian to become a member)

• Support us by making a tax-deductible donation: http://saja.org/donate

• • We have donated more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships — all thanks to folks like you!

Legendary writer Pico Iyer, who lives in a fishing village in Japan, came to Asia Society in New York April 16, 2024, for a wonderful conversation with Helen Tworkov, founding editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, about  her wise and moving memoir, "Lotus Girl: My Life at the Crossroads of Buddhism and America."

"Lotus Girl" provides a space to learn more about the history of Buddhism in America; to hear Helen's reflections on her practice of Buddhism, informed by her interactions with thinkers and artists including the Dalai Lama and Richard Serra; and to consider the ways each of us can better understand and transform ourselves. 

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/pb7LWDZrYtk?si=P7IcYBx0Z3ba5iEn

HOW YOU CAN HELP SAJA:

• Support us through events around the US and Canada. Have a venue we can use pro bono or subsidized? Have ideas for events? Want to join our 30th anniversary planning committee for the October conference and gala in NYC? Let us know. president@saja.org

• If you're not yet a member: http://saja.org/membership (you don't have to be a journalist or South Asian to become a member)

• Support us by making a tax-deductible donation: http://saja.org/donate

• • We have donated more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships — all thanks to folks like you!

More than 40 members and guests attended a SAJA mixer at Carroll Place in Greenwhich Village on April 4, 2024. 



Many thanks to Jasmine Sheena for organizing the event!

• Along with Jasmine, Beena Sarwar, Mihir Zaveri, Mythili Sampathkumar, Sree Sreenivasan served as co-hosts.

See more photos from the event here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DPQ5bk8GzjNJmoiX6

HOW YOU CAN HELP SAJA:

SAJA-NY hosted members and newcomers for an intimate iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan 2024. Our guests hailed from London, Chicago, New Jersey, and more, having braved the rainy weather to chat about current events and which New York City borough is superior over Persian kebabs and tea. SAJA Director of Communications Tania Rahman orchestrated the event with the help of VP Priyanka Vora, Secretary Allana Akhtar, and Board Member Jennifer Chowdhury. We're proud to have donated a total of $700 to provide relief for Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese refugees. Special thanks to Miraj Healthy Grill in Manhattan for being such gracious hosts. Ramadan Mubarak and we hope to see you all at the next event!

FOLLOW SAJA ON LINKEDIN, TWITTER, AND INSTAGRAM

UPCOMING SAJA EVENTS:

• April 4: SAJA-NY Mixer: Join us for informal drinks and food at Carroll Place in Greenwich Village between 6-8:30 pm
• April 10: SAJA-DC Mixer: Details to follow on saja.org
• April 20: SAJA VIRTUAL: Doc Screening Of "The Ecstatic Last Days": Join us for a free screening and Q&A with producer Prerana Thakurdesai and protagonist Dr. Aditi Shah

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP SAJA:

• Please share your feedback about the event to secretary@saja.org.
• Become a member — you don't have to be a journalist or South Asian to be a member. http://bit.ly/saja.org/membership
• Encourage your friends to become members.
• Support us through events: Have a venue we can use pro bono or subsidized?
• Have ideas for events?
• Want to join our 30th anniversary planning committee?
• Let us know. president@saja.org
• Support us by making a tax-deductible donation: http://saja.org/donate
• We have donated more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships — all thanks to folks like you!