News
Bringing Indian Startups on the Global Platform – Look out for ourXBE stall at TiEcon

Innovation Lead Entrepreneurship is the way to bring Indian Starups on the Global Platform. A Globally Networked Team Driving this initiatives is the key to the success. Cross Border Entrepreneurship (XBE) Initiative between The Bay Area the Silicon Valley and Bangalore the Silicon Valley of India with the following objectives, driving the Initiative; 1.Help innovative, commercial and global product ideas move beyond the concept phase 2.Create a global network of people, funds and resources and make it accessible to all entrepreneurs of Indian origin 3.Curate and mentor ideas and help them be funded by investment capital 4.Encourage execution through global teams – increasing cross border collaboration. We welcome like minded organization and Individuals to join hands.
India: shivaram.malavalli@gmail.com USA: sadachid@gmail.com
Asian Art Museum hosts Maharaja Gala

Modern-day maharajas and maharanis turned out in force, in their most colorful finery, last week at the Asian Art Museum's Maharaja Gala celebrating the "Splendor of India's Royal Courts" exhibition and the museum's rededicated vision of multifaceted Asian culture for all communities.

Co-chaired by Pamela Joyner, Kumar Malavalli and Tatiana Sorokko, this sparkly soiree, the museum's largest ever, was a bazaar of delights set in a Blueprint Studios-designed tent where guests were wowed by traditional and Bollywood-style performances by Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy and the Mona Khan Company and dined upon a Amber India dinner executed by Taste Catering.

Among the 650 guests: Mayor Ed Lee; fashion designer Naeem Khan; Asian Art Board Chairman Tony Sun and his wife, Rosina Sun, and her sister, trustee Goretti Lo Lui and husband, Lawrence Lui; trustees including Judy Wilbur, Dixon Doll, Akiko Yamazaki and Doris Lee; Charlotte and George Shultz; Adobe Software CEO Shantanu Narayen; Fine Arts Museum board President Dede Wilsey; Sherpalo Ventures CEO Ram Shriram; and Princess Asha Raje Gaekwad, whose great-grandfather was Maharajah of Nepal.

Read the full article....

San Francisco welcomes delegation from Karnataka led by the Honorable Minister for Industries, Mr. Murugesh Nirani

A high level delegation from Karnataka is visiting the Bay Area from September 24th to 26th to promote investment and further the implementation of the Sister City MOUs signed during Mayor Newsom's trip to Bangalore in November, 2009.

The Delegation includes Murugesh R. Nirani, Honorable Minister for Large and Medium Industries, Dr. K.V. Raju, Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister, K. Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary of Commerce & Industries, Dr. Raj Kumar Khatri, Secretary of Infrastructure Development, and M. Maheshwar Rao, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director of Industries & Commerce.

The San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative is greeting the Delegation and facilitating a variety of meetings and conferences for them at The Bay Area Council, the Bay Area Economic Institute, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and TiE Silicon Valley. Mayor Lee will welcome the Delegation at City Hall.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech on Independence Day

The following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort here Monday:

"My dear countrymen,

I heartily greet 120 crore Indians on the 64th anniversary of our independence.

I have been addressing you from the historic Red Fort for the last seven years. In these seven years, our country has achieved much. During this period, we have travelled rapidly on the path of development and have seen success in many areas. However, I am also well aware that a lot remains to be done. We have to banish poverty and illiteracy from our country. We have to provide the common man with access to improved health services.We have to provide employment opportunities to each one of our youth."

Read the full speech....
Dr. Shivaram Malavalli congratulates Karnataka's new Chief Minister on behalf of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister Cities Initiative.
Cross Border Entrepreneurship Initiative

The new NGO, Cross Border Entrepreneurship Initiative, based in Bangalore, India, has launched its online presence and newsletter.

Divecha Centre for Climate Change Established by San Francisco Bangalore Sister Cities Board Member, Arjun Divecha

The Divecha Centre for Climate Change was established at Indian Institute of Science in January 2009 with a generous financial contribution from Arjun (a San Francisco Bangalore Sister Cities Board Member) and Diana Divecha and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. The primary goal of this center will be to understand climate variability and climate change and its impact on the environment.

This will done through interdisciplinary work in collaboration with faculty at Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences(CAOS),Centre for Earth sciences(CEaS) and Centre for Ecological Sciences(CES). The centre will identify technologies that will help to mitigate climate change through interaction with Centre for Sustainable Technology(CST), and all the Engineering Departments at Indian Institute of Science.

The center will promote outreach activities to create awareness among young people about climate change and its consequences. There will be an annual conference/workshop for the academic community and opinion makers and an annual invited public lecture called the Jeremy Grantham lecture on Climate Change. The center will also undertake joint research work with Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College, London on all the issues related to climate change.

Visitors to SFAA from NIFT

On July 13, 2011 Academy of Art University, School of Fashion in San Francisco welcomed representatives from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) India. The day included classroom visits, demonstrations in the knitwear, textile, and Tambour beading labs, as well as further discussion regarding curriculum and educational objectives.

This coming fall semester, the institutes will begin a second year of their student exchange program which was established as part of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative and is expanding to include NIFT campuses across India. The selected exchange students will soon settle into their new cities and host institutes: Uma Anupindi (from NIFT Hyderbad to the School of Fashion), Naomi Tripathi (from NIFT Mumbai to the School of Fashion), An Vo (from the School of Fashion to NIFT Mumbai), and April Thompson (from the School of Fashion to NIFT Delhi).

Fashion Show at the SF Academy of Art

The MOU between the School of Fashion, Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Bangalore, which was signed under the auspices of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative, has produced vibrant student exchanges between the two institutions. We are pleased to announce that beginning in the Fall 2011 semester, the student exchange will expand to include NIFT campuses across India.

On May 5th, 2011 the School of Fashion, Academy of Art University in San Francisco will host its Annual Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony and announce the names of those student participants in the AAU-NIFT exchange for the 2010-2011 academic year.*

• * The Annual Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony on May 5th is by invitation only.
• The second run of the fashion show on Saturday, May 7th at 2:00pm is open to the public - free of charge.
• For more information and to RSVP to the Saturday, May 7th show, please visit:
  http://www.academyart.edu/forms/2011-05-07-sf-fashion-show.jsp

Global Green Cities Symposium

On February 23rd and 24th, 2011, San Francisco Bangalore Sister Cities will be participating in the Global Green Cities Symposium at The JW Marriott Hotel, located at 500 Post Street in San Francisco, CA (map). Influential participants and exhibitors will be attending from all over the world to participate in this timely and powerful conference. With well-known corporate sponsors in the tech and green spaces and key business, political and academic speakers, the symposium will directly link discussions of green cities with the green economy.

In contrast with conferences where experts make presentations to a general audience, it is designed to directly engage all participants, delivering value for experts and practitioners. Its focus on the themes of design, technology and behavior is designed to facilitate the cross- fertilization of ideas and perspectives.

If you're unable to make it to San Francisco, please watch the webcast at www.ustream.tv/ciscotv.

Check out the full story at GlobalGreenCities.com

January 26, 2011 Proclaimed India Day by San Francisco Mayor, Edwin Lee Mayor Edwin Lee, interim mayor for Gavin Newsom who was elected as California's lieutenant governor last November, has signed the proclomation proclaiming January 26th to be India Heritage Day in San Francisco, in honor and observance of India's national day. Read more about India's Republic Day (wikipedia)

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 Gavin Newsom Sworn In As Lieutenant Governor Of California

 Edwin Lee, San Francisco's First Asian-American Mayor, Sworn In Happy Republic Day!

Check out more photos... Shubh Diwali!

On Diwali and in the coming year may you be blessed with success, prosperity and happiness!

Happy Diwali!

The San Francisco-Bangalore Initiative second anniversary celebration

The San Francisco-Bangalore Initiative celebrated its second anniversary at the Asian Art Museum on November 1, 2010. The event feted the fruition of several MOUs signed during Mayor Gavin Newsom's visit to Bangalore, including student exchanges between the SF Academy of Art and NIFT (National Institute of fashion Technology) and the send-off of the delegation heading the first technical mission (addressing water and waste management) from the City of SF to Bangalore. In attendance were VIPs from the City, partner companies, the Asian Art Museum, TiE, the SFB Committee as well as former SF Mayor Frank Jordan. The lively celebrations within the museum were punctuated with excited cheers from the Civic Center Plaza, as the San Francisco Giants rallied forth in game-5 of the world Series. The reception culminated to the victory cheers from the plaza as the Giants clinched the World Series title. History was made that balmy November evening!!!

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom elected California lieutenant governor

Mayor Gavin Newsom, who initiated and inked the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative October 2008, is elected Lieutenant Governor of California! Mayor Newsom led a high-powered delegation to Bangalore in 2009 and the two cities signed over a dozen MOUs, several of which are now translating to concrete results. We wish Mayor and Lt. Gov. elect Gavin Newsom continued success in his leadership and look forward to his ongoing inspiration and support of the SFB initiatives on more ambitious scales!!

Check out the full story... Hundreds of thousands pack Giants parade route

It was a deliriously fun combination of Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve and world championship - with the crowd of the century on hand to celebrate.

Hundreds of thousands of people jammed downtown San Francisco on Wednesday for the Giants' World Series victory parade, one of the largest gatherings the city has seen in years.

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New Student Exchange Program for the School of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Bangalore

In response to the San Francisco - Bangalore Sister City Initiative, the School of Fashion at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Bangalore, India established an international student exchange program that is commencing this fall.

The educational institutions have agreed to the international student exchange program for a minimum period of three years, sending two students from each school every fall and spring semester. Academy of Art University and NIFT expect that the successes of the exchange, coupled with the sustained interest of the students, are factors likely to influence the continuation and expansion of the exchange well beyond 2013.

Silicon Valley Expats Spur Innovation in India

Throughout history, diasporas have reflected economic or political disruptions, ultimately enriching the receiving countries. Silicon Valley's dynamic churn is the latest example, as many Chinese and Indian migrants are returning home, ready to lay a new foundation for innovation and growth.

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