The First Ever Online TV Channel Run by Khalsa School Students in the USA. Paving the Way for the Panth’s Future.
Westborough, MA, USA, June 21, 2019 (Newswire.com) – The New England Sikh Study Circle (NESSC) a non-profit organization was established in 1968 to serve as a Sikh center for spiritual growth, political understanding, community activism, and social gathering.
Along the journey,NESSC opened its first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Milford MA (USA) about 30 years ago. At present, it actively governs the Gurdwara at 168 Flanders Road in Westborough, Massachusetts (USA). The NESSC is active in participation for diversified community awareness and interfaith events throughout New England. Baljit Singh Nijjar, current President of NESSC, states, “Of the many goals that New England Sikh Study Circle has adapted, the biggest priority has been informing the broader community about the Sikh identity. A significant factor within this goal is educating our children about Sikh values and working alongside law enforcement officials to educate them about the Sikh articles of faith.” With all of NESSC service to the community, the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker declared Sikh Heritage Day on April 14th, 2018.
To educate children, NESSC Khalsa School was established with the humble mission to provide comprehensive education and skill building in the areas of Gurmat Sangeet (Spiritual Music), Gurmukhi/Punjabi (Language Arts) and understanding of Sikh history and culture. Harinder Singh Soin, Khalsa School Admin, said, “From the very inception, we strongly believed that this mission could not be achieved through a one-dimensional view of class instruction. We believe that this will be achieved by creating an ecosystem of class instruction, reinforcing learning through interactive dialog, and creating a solid support structure through comrade and mentor-ship. However, we were missing a critical component of having an audio-visual medium to continue towards the journey of learning and exploring the Sikh History, they were learning in the Khalsa School classes. The current media initiatives at NESSC is a big step forward in our continued journey to provide the students with an audio-visual platform to explore all aspects of Sikhi.”
To fill this gap, the Khalsa Film School incorporated a film program named Film Neev (Neev means Foundation – http://www.filmneev.com) three years ago to allow students to express their ideas through the creative outlets of visual storytelling that talked about principles of Sikhi as they apply in our lives today. This program teaches kids all aspects of film-making (Screenplay Writing,
Cinematography, Lighting, Acting, Editing, Sound Design, and Directing) by conducting a three-month workshop. An important aspect of this program is also to enhance student’s capacity for collaborative problem solving, teamwork, critical thinking, and self-confidence. The program is lead by Harbaldeep Singh, a media industry leader with extensive business, technology, and film/TV production background. Harbaldeep Singh said, “The primary aim of this program is to preserve the ethics of Sikh history using music videos and short films while inspiring the younger generations to the messages of the Sikh faith.” Singh further added, “Over the past three years, the students have written, acted, and directed nine short films (http://www.filmneev.com/movie-home-page-.html). The club started with fifteen students, and in this current year, the club has expanded to twenty-eight students”. This year they have written, acted, and directed five short stories based on the theme of hate crimes, bullying, gun control, and selfless service.
NESSC Khalsa school is furthering this mission by launching Nishkam TV (https://nishkam.tv). The first ever Online TV Channel run by Khalsa School Students in the USA, paving the way for the Panth’s Future. Harbaldeep Singh said,”the unique aspect of this TV channel is that it will be run exclusively by Khalsa school students. We have made a student body comprising of seven groups (Production and Operations, Content Writing, Talent, Website, Social Media Presence, Marketing, and Production Design) with a Team Lead, Vice Lead and supporting team members.”
Based on interest and their experience, the following student body executive team is selected for the first year: Raunaq Singh Mokha (Age 15, Production Lead), Amneet Singh Bagga (Age 17, Production Vice Lead), Gurleen Kaur (Age 15, Content Lead), Dilzafer Singh (Age 14, Content Vice Lead), Kiren Kaur Bagga (Age 14, Talent Lead), Danveer Singh Nijjar (Age 14, Talent Vice Lead), Mehrjot Kaur (Age 17, Website Lead), Meher Kaur Khanna (Age 16, Social Media Lead), Harneet Kaur (Age 17, Marketing Lead) and Agam Singh Kukreja (Age 13, Production Design Lead).
This student body will collaborate to create content based on the mission statement. All team members collectively expressed, “Our mission of Nishkam TV is centered around the concept and spirit of Nishkaamta or Selfless service. We aim to provide wholesome media content through Sikhi lens regarding building dialog, increasing understanding, and promoting interaction between different faiths and cultures to bring us closer as one humanity and enhance our lives.”
Harbaldeep Singh said, “This non-profit venture is only possible by tireless work of volunteers and by the generous support of donors. I would like to personally thank Amanpreet Khurana, Manpreet Singh, Manpreet Soin, Tanya Singh and the entire team of NESSC for bringing this dream to life”.
The launch event is sponsored by donations from Powerville Energy and Saffron Indian Grill. The CEO of Powerville Energy Suki Singh said, “We want to be part of this launch as we believe in the vision and talent of Nishkam TV team”. Nishkam TV will be officially launched on June 22nd and June 23rd at NESSC Gurdwara, 168 Flanders Road, Westborough, MA 01581. You are invited.
For more information contact: Kawaljeet Singh Mokha | NESSC Secretary | [email protected] Harbaldeep Singh I Media Relations | [email protected]
