Global Outreach: Mukti’s Successful NABC 2024 Visit and Beyond

This year’s Mukti visit to the North America Bengali Conference (NABC) proved to be exceptionally fruitful. From July 3rd to July 16th, 2024, during their visit to the US, Sankar Halder, Founder and President of Mukti, Satyajit Roy, Secretary of Mukti, and Bani Maity, Founder of Mighty Foundation, represented Mukti and its projects at the NABC 2024 event held in Chicago. In addition, they participated in numerous meetings throughout their stay in the USA.

Objectives of the Visit:

1. Strengthen Relationships with Existing Donors: Reaffirm our commitment to current donors, updating them on our progress, impact, and future needs.
2. Engage Prospective Donors: Introduce our mission and projects to potential donors to secure future funding.
3. Extend the Outreach: Engage with other organizations abroad and potential thought leaders.
4. University Students Outreach: Present our initiatives to university students to encourage their involvement and support.
5. Establish Relations with UN Channels: Extend our causes to an international level and establish channels with the UN.

The NABC event, held from July 3-6 at the Chicago Schaumburg Convention Center, provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and establish new ones. Mukti set up a stall with detailed presentations on current projects and their outcomes, held discussions on donor feedback and future collaboration, secured verbal commitments for continued support, and received gratitude and support from over 50 people representing more than 15 organizations.

Mr. Prabir Roy, a founding member of CAB/NABC and a staunch Mukti supporter, facilitated conversations with leaders of the Chicago Bengali community for long-term project support. The Mukti team also engaged with the Shibpur and Jadavpur Alumni Associations, explored future collaborations with Street Children International, and met with representatives from the Bengali Association of Greater Chicago (BAGC).

The team also met eminent cardiologist Dr. Kunal Sarkar to seek guidance on Safe Food and Telemedicine initiatives. On July 7, they visited the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago and The Parliament of the World’s Religions, where they met Swami Ishatmananda Ji Maharaj and discussed Mukti’s work.

The second phase of the trip continued on the East Coast. On July 10, the team met with students and Asha volunteers at Cornell University, who were excited to learn about Mukti. On July 13, they met with Asha Danbury chapter leads to discuss future collaboration. On July 14, they had meetings with renowned Bengalis in Queens, discussing potential work in Education, Environment, and Animal Ecosystem support.

On July 15, the team visited the UN headquarters in New York, where Mukti holds prestigious consultative status, and collected permanent UN passes, distributed to two senior patrons. There are plans to increase Mukti’s participation in the UN. In the afternoon, the team met with Medha (social wing of Kollol, New Jersey) to discuss future collaborations and with IIT alumni and their organization Wheels in Edison.

The visit was highly productive, achieving its primary objectives of donor and thought leader engagement and university outreach. The positive responses and commitments from existing and prospective donors, along with enthusiastic participation from university students, demonstrate the effectiveness of this trip.

Mukti extends heartfelt gratitude to all the esteemed Bengali associations in the USA that have supported Mukti’s cause almost since its inception. We are especially grateful to the Asha volunteers for their dedicated support and time. Mukti is proud to collaborate with you and looks forward to working on many more projects together in the future.

Gallery link: https://muktiweb.org/gallery/album/mukti-in-north-american-bengali-conference-nabc-2024-summit-chicago