CHIEF MINISTER OF ASSAM, INDIA, TARUN GOGOI RECIEVES PRESTIGOUS OPERATION SMILE AWARD  

Chief Minister Honored for Vision and Leadership in Efforts

to Declare Assam as First Cleft- free State in India 

NORFOLK, VA , Sept 20 – Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity, awarded the Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, with its distinguished Universal Smile Award.  The award was presented in recognition of Mr. Gogoi’s dedication and leadership in establishing a landmark public private partnership to create the first cleft-free state in India. The event, which was held September 18, 2009, at The Pierre in New York City, follows the formal announcement of this partnership between Operation Smile, the Assam Government, and the Tata Group in May, 2009.

“We are deeply honored to partner with Mr. Gogoi in this critically important effort to eradicate facial deformities and build sustainable programs in the state of Assam,” said Dr. William P. Magee, Jr., Co-founder and CEO of Operation Smile. “With his leadership and vision, we can bring a renewed sense of hope and joy to all the children within Assam who have cleft lips and cleft palates.”

Mr. Gogoi’s commitment to this humanitarian initiative has already resulted in the building of the first state-of-the-art medical facility that will treat thousands of children year-round.  This is the first step in continued efforts to establish the foundation necessary to treat the more than 30,000 children with facial eformities in the state of Assam.

“This partnership embodies the true spirit of collaboration and will result in real change for the citizens of Assam,” said Mr. Gogoi. “We are steadfast in our commitment to make this initiative a reality, and I am honored to receive this award on behalf of all the children and adults who we will treat in the future.”

The Universal Smile Award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their energy to improving the lives of others and who have set an example of exceptional leadership. It honors men and women whose integrity, competence and courage have earned them respect and acclaim worldwide. The past recipients of the award include Senator John Glenn, Goldie Hawn, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Dr. Roger Wood, Molly Simms and Wesley Vultaggio.

Mr. Gogoi has held numerous distinguished positions in the Congress Party including Joint Secretary and General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.  He was elected as a Member of Parliament for six terms beginning in the 5 th Lok Sabha in 1991. Mr. Gogoi was elected Chief Minister of Assam in 2001 and was re-elected for a second term in May 2006. Lladró, the renowned Spanish House of Porcelain generously donated the award, with the reception hosted by Stryker and Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces.

About Operation Smile ( www.operationsmile.org )

Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 130,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities and the organization has a presence in 51 countries. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its 27 partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency. 

Speech of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam on the occasion of the exclusive screening of Mr. Richard Bangs’ film on Assam “Quest for the One-Horned Rhino”,

Thursday, 17 September, 2009 ( 6 PM to 9 PM)

Venue : Explorers Club, 46E. 70 th St.

New York , NY 10021

Ph. Nos. 212-628-8383 ext.21

The State of Assam is located in the north-eastern part of India. The entire north-eastern part of India is very rich in bio-diversity. Assam is at the junction of two bio-diversity hotspots - Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma. The hills, the rivers, the thick forest cover and the exotic as well as diverse wild life have made Assam an explorer’s delight. Its natural beauty is indeed unique. Unfortunately, the vast tourism potential of Assam has remained relatively unknown till now. The entire north-east of India is an area of pristine beauty, waiting to be explored.

India has six World Natural Heritage sites. Two of them, Kaziranga and Manas, are in Assam. Kaziranga has the distinction of having the largest population of the great India one-horned rhinoceros, wild water buffalo and swamp deer (eastern race) in the world. Other large games found in Assam are tigers and elephants.

The rivers of Assam are ideal for cruises. A few luxury cruises are already operating in the Brahmaputra. A few more are under construction. In terms of discharge the Brahmaputra is among the 10 biggest rivers in the world. The hill streams of Assam are excellent for angling. Golden Masheer is the main attraction.

Assam is also the home of many ethnic groups and rare tribes. Any tourist will be impressed by its ethnic and cultural diversity. Assam is also dotted with many ancient temples and religious sites. The Kamakhya temple at the State capital Guwahati and the more than seven hundred Sattras are prime attraction for the religious tourists. The Sattras are puritanical monastic institutions with an unbroken tradition from the 15 th century.

To present these rich tourism potentials of Assam before the international audience, the Government of Assam appointed late Avinash Kohli as its Tourism Adviser. He persuaded Mr. Richard Bangs to make a film on Assam. Mr. Richard Bangs and his team came to Assam in January 2009 for shooting the film. The team had Ms. Patricia Mary Conroy as the film Director. Mr. Douglas Newell and Mr. Ian Devier were the photographers. The film on Assam has been produced by Small World Production with support from the Tourism Department of Government of Assam. In a short film of 60 minutes’ duration it is not possible to capture and present the entire range of Assam’s tourist attractions. But I am glad that Mr. Richard Bangs and his team have done an outstanding job within a short period of time during their maiden visit to Assam. I am sure Mr. Richard Bangs and his team would like to come back to Assam to produce another film to capture locations which they could not cover in their first visit.

I am very happy that the film “ Assam – India : Quest for the one horned Rhino” is being released and screened before this August gathering at the Explorer’s Club in New York today. I am sure this film will put Assam prominently in the world tourism map.

Ladies and gentleman, to-day I am fondly remembering and missing my dear friend Late Avinash Kohli. From initiating the idea till its completion, he was intimately associated with making of the film.

It may be mentioned here that Assam has also been featured in ATDI’s (Adventure Tourism Development Index) 2008 Feature Adventure Destinations, which was launched at Sao Paulo, Brazil in September 2008. Mr. Jesse Uppchurch, Chairman of the Virtuoso Group and his team also visited Assam in April, 2008. Ladies and gentlemen, I invite all of you to visit my State in India and enjoy the virgin beauty and other tourist attractions of Assam. My Government will be also very happy to extend all required support and assistance to any one who is interested in developing tourist infrastructure and other facilities. Both the Government of India and State Government of Assam have put in place very liberal and attractive packages.

of incentives for facilitating investment in the tourism sector.

Before I conclude I would like to thank you all for being present in this exclusive screening of the film “Quest for the One Horned Rhino”.

JAI HIND