The Indian American Forum for Political Education ( IAFPE ) of Massachusetts will be holding a Town Hall Meeting 2004 on Saturday, October 16, 2004 at the Meeting Room in the Weston Public Library in Weston MA from 2 pm to 4:30 pm. Please plan to attend this very exciting event, where you will have the unique opportunity to listen to candidates running in this election talk about issues that are important for Indian Americans.

Invited guests include: Congressman Ed Markey, Congressman Marty Meehan and Congressman Michael Capuano.
Confirmed speakers include:
Cory Atkins, Democrat, (Incumbent) State Representative and her Republican challenger, Douglas Stevenson.
Michael Festa, Democrat, (Incumbent) State Representative. Susan Fargo, Democrat, (Incumbent) State Senator and her Republican challenger, John Thibault.
And Scott Brown, Republican, (Incumbent) State Senator

The theme of the town meeting is "Indian American Issues and Objectives and How to achieve them through the Political Process".

The following issues are suggested for discussion.
1. Hate Crime and Racial Profiling: More and more Indian Americans are becoming a target of such acts and we have several cases now in Massachusetts to feel that a more structured response is needed. What is being done and what more can be done to eliminate this injustice from our society?

2. Educating for a Global Economy: Given the trends in the economy there seems to be a real need to educate our children about other cultures, especially those cultures, whose numbers are increasing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We would like to have a more global curriculum that is rich and balanced to represent the civilization, cultures, and history of countries like India and China, as we are the new immigrants to this country.

3. We would likewise urge the need for Cultural Sensitivity training for all state employees and law enforcement, and would like to propose drafting legislation to do so if there isn’t any such law already in place.

4. Our Economy, jobs and Outsourcing: A very real issues for Massachusetts,

5. More Indian American Community representation on State commissions

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