- News Release One:
Sister City Celebration
The SUNY College at Oneonta, the Oneonta City Schools, the City of Oneonta and the Ninash Foundation will be celebrating the 8th anniversary of the Sister City Project from April 15-30, 2008.
The Ninash Foundation of Oneonta, whose mission is “to promote literacy among children and adults throughout the world” along with the SUNY Oneonta Learn and Serve Program lead by Dr. Ashok Malhotra and Dr. Suzanne Miller, established the first Indo-International Elementary School for 50 underprivileged children of Dundlod, Rajasthan, India. The school was built with the financial help of the student/faculty volunteer participants of the SUNY Program and the members of the local community.
The Ninash Foundation’s project has grown from one to three elementary schools and a high school educating more than 750 poorest of poor children of India. Sixty participants from SUNY Learn and Serve Program in India have contributed their volunteer services to help build these four Indo-International Schools.
The Indo-International Schools transform villages in India, building hope, self-confidence and courage among the impoverished children and adults. Beyond their direct impact, the schools have promoted an understanding and exchange among different cultures. Students, faculty and staff of the SUNY College at Oneonta have united in support of the project through the Learn and Serve in India program and the Center for Social Responsibility and Community with the leadership of Ms. Linda Drake and Dr. Ashok Malhotra.
The City of Oneonta Common Council, at their regular meeting of December 5, 2000, headed by then Mayor Kim Muller, made the Proclamation by endorsing the Sister City Project between Oneonta, NY, USA and Dundlod, Rajasthan, India. The Proclamation encourages “…the continued exchange of information and financial assistance through the Ninash Foundation in order to share the values of educational justice, fairness and opportunity through the establishment of additional schools throughout India similar to Dundlod.”
In January 2001, Dr. Alan Donovan, President of SUNY College at Oneonta accompanied the SUNY group to Dundlod, India where he opened a new library and a computer center by sending the first e-mail to Mayor Kim Muller. During the ceremony that was attended by the local dignitaries of Dundlod, Dr. Donovan read the proclamation by declaring Oneonta and Dundlod as sister cities.
The day to day running of the Indo-International Schools in India is done by the three dedicated principals who have positively affected the lives of each of these children and more than 15,000 people that live in these remote villages where the four schools are located. In recognition of their contribution to promoting literacy in their isolated villages, the SUNY College at Oneonta and the Ninash Foundation have joined hands in inviting these principals from India to bond with the Oneonta community by celebrating the 8th anniversary of the Sister City Project from April 15-30, 2008.
Don’t miss our Sister City Celebration on April 25 from 6:00 pm – Midnight to be held at the Hunt Union Ball Room. Celebrations will include: Third grade children from the Oneonta Schools giving a presentation and principals from India will be welcomed and recognized. Among the various clubs and organizations that have been fundraising, the group raising the most will be acknowledged, followed by classical Indian dancers along with a Bollywood dance party until midnight. Something for everyone to enjoy!
For more information regarding the Sister City Celebration, contact Linda Drake at
(607) 436-2633 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 
(607) 436-2633 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting or e-mail at www.ninashfoundation@yahoo.com.
- News Release Two:
Join the Sister City Celebration (April 15 to 30, 2008)
The SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta City Schools, the City of Oneonta and the Ninash Foundation will be celebrating the 8th Anniversary of the Sister City Project by inviting the principals of the Indo-International Schools from India. The principals will be visiting Oneonta from April 15 to 30, 2008. During their stay they will participate in the Sister City Celebration as well as in the Global Educational Program by visiting the Elementary Schools in the Oneonta and Cooperstown areas. They will also attend education and art classes at SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College. The principals will speak to the students and community at 7:30 PM on April 21, 2008, at the Craven Lounge.
On April 25, the community is invited to attend the Gala Sister City Celebration Community Event starting at 6:00 pm at the Hunt Union Ball Room. During this celebration, the Oneonta third graders will perform and display their artwork. Various clubs and other groups from SUNY Oneonta campus that have been raising funds for the Ninash Foundation’s literacy project will be recognized, followed by classical Indian dances and a Bollywood dance party till midnight.
Members of the community will have another opportunity to meet with the principals at the various local restaurants that will be hosting dinners in their honor.
The principals will be the guests of the SUNY College at Oneonta and the Ninash Foundation. Members of the community are cordially invited to meet and welcome the principals from India during this Sister City Celebration!
Calendar of Events:
April 16: Lecture at the Art Department at Hartwick College
April 17: Lectures at the Education and Art Departments at SUNY College at Oneonta
April 21: Meet the Principals of the Indo-International Schools at 7:30 PM at Craven Lounge
April 23: Dinner with the community at the Autumn Café 6-8 PM (Reservations requested)
April 24: Dinner with the community at the Alfresco’s Restaurant 6-8 PM. (Reservations requested)
April 25: Sister City Celebration—6:00 pm - Presentation by Third Graders, 7:00 pm -Welcome the principals from India, Indian Dances and 8:30-midnight- a Bollywood Dance: all at the Hunt Union Ball Room
April 14-30: History of Indo-International Schools through Photographs, Fine Arts Building, SUNY at Oneonta
For more information, please contact CSRC at 436-2098.
News Release Three:
The Ninash Foundation
Join us for our Gala Sister City Celebration with Principals of the
Indo-International Schools from India!!
April 21st: Presentation for college and local community,
7:30 pm, Craven Lounge, Morris Hall, SUNY Oneonta
April 23rd: Dinner from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Autumn Café:
Part of proceeds goes to the Ninash Foundation
April 24th: Dinner from 6:00-8:00 pm at Alfresco’s:
Part of proceeds goes to the Ninash Foundation
April 25th: SISTER CITY COMMUNITY CELEBRATION! 6:00 pm – Midnight, Hunt Union Ball Room, SUNY Oneonta
RSVP at ninashfoundation@yahoo.com or 607-432-0496 
607-432-0496 FREE
- News Release Four:
- Sister City Project :
College at Oneonta News
April 3, 2008
SUNY-ONEONTA, CITY, AND NINASH FOUNDATION TO CELEBRATE SISTER CITY PROJECT
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY College at Oneonta, the City of Oneonta, the Oneonta City Schools, and the Ninash Foundation will celebrate the eighth anniversary of the Sister City Project between Oneonta and Dundlod, India, with events scheduled April 15-30. Three principals from the Indo-International Schools, the project which engendered the sister-city relationship, will be on hand for the celebrations.
Admission to the events at SUNY-Oneonta is complimentary, and members of the community are invited to attend. The events at the College include a presentation for the College and community on Monday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the Craven Lounge of the Morris Conference Center, and a "Sister City Community Celebration" on Friday, April 25, from 6 p.m. until midnight in the Hunt Union Ballroom.
At the April 25 event, third-grade children from the Oneonta schools will give a presentation, and the principals from India will be welcomed and recognized. Organizations that raised funds for the Indo-International Schools will be acknowledged. There will be a performance by classical Indian dancers, followed by a Bollywood dance party until midnight.
Dinners to benefit the Ninash Foundation will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 6 p.m.- 8 p.m., at the Autumn Café, and Thursday, April 24, 6 p.m.- 8 p.m., at Alfresco's.
The relationship between the sister cities has emerged largely from the efforts of SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Ashok K. Malhotra, who teaches philosophy at the College and is the founder of the Ninash Foundation. Through the College's Learn and Serve in India program and the Foundation, whose mission is "to promote literacy among children and adults throughout the world," four Indo-International Schools have been established in underprivileged regions of India, the first of which is in Dundlod.
In 2000, the City of Oneonta Common Council, headed by then-Mayor Kim Muller, endorsed a Sister City Project between Oneonta and Dundlod. The Council's proclamation encouraged "the continued exchange of information and financial assistance through the Ninash Foundation in order to share the values of educational justice, fairness and opportunity through th establishment of additional schools throughout India similar to Dundlod."
