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Yale University hosts largest South Asian collegiate conference
The event hosted more than 500 students from over 30 schools from around the country.
The 2024 conference was the second time SAYI hosted the event since the Covid-19 pandemic. / YaleDailyNews/KeyaKalra
The South Asian Youth Initiative (SAYI) at Yale University hosted the 21st iteration of their annual conference from February 9 to 11.
The event, which saw the participation of more than 500 students from over 30 schools from around the country, featured speakers, panels, and a gala, among other events.
Day 1 of the event featured a keynote speech by Hamid Rashid, the chief of the United Nations Global Economic Monitoring Branch. On Day 2, Avantika Vandanapu, a first-year Columbia University student and the actress who played Karen in the recent ‘Mean Girls’ movie, participated in a fireside chat.
The Indian American actress emphasized the importance of being “joyous” as a South Asian individual in her speech, SAYI co-director Daliya Habib told Yale Daily News.
Vandanapu’s speech was followed by panels, hosted by different speakers from various disciplines, but a shared South Asian identity. The five panels were called Broadening Belonging; Past, Present and Posterity; Founders who Spark Change; Collective Action; and Transborder Tapestry.
“The most meaningful part of the conference was the conversations and connections that happened because of it,” Head panel curator Nikita Paudel told the publication. “And our hard work paid off!” she added.
The organizers hosted a gala on the evening of Day 2 at the Omni Hotel, followed by an afterparty. The final day of the conference featured a culinary workshop where chefs from the diaspora and local restaurants prepared South Asian dishes.
The 2024 conference was the second time SAYI hosted the event since the Covid-19 pandemic. Organizers said they received support from other organizations at Yale, including the South Asian Studies Council and the South Asian Society in planning the conference.
“We already are very well known across the South Asian collegiate spaces, but our goal is to make this a much more established event, more accessible to South Asian students across the country and students coming into Yale,” said Keya Kalra Gupta, SAYI’s co-director.
“And so that future leaders running the conference know what they should, what mistakes to avoid so that it can become bigger and better each time,” she added.
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