Education
The Education program continues to drive the content and approach of the Sikh Coalition to cultivate positive attitudes, behaviors and policies towards Sikhs in North America. Our Education program seeks to address the lack of accurate information about Sikhs that often leads to prejudice, bias and unfair treatment.

In 2003, the Education program area created substantial content (presentations, brochures, and training materials) and helped deliver these materials to schools, universities, government agencies, police forces, corporations, and others. A list of dozens of educational presentations conducted by the Coalition during 2003 is included within the appendix of this report (p. 17). Much of this content is designed so that community members can customize and present it locally without requiring any direct support from the Coalition.

The Coalition’s Education program coordinated training in elementary, secondary and collegiate schools; local, state and national government agencies; and private institutions such as airlines, corporations and non-profit organizations. Through training at schools, the Coalition addressed topics such as Sikhism, diversity, bullying in school, promoting activism, and civil rights awareness. Government training emphasized Sikhism’s beliefs and practices and the physical saroop. As a result of this training, police officers, prosecutors, immigration officers and other officials better understand the Sikh identity, articles of faith, and practices that may relate to bias incidents and civil and religious rights.

The Coalition’s Education program continued a strong spirit of partnership by working with numerous other organizations with common goals and objectives. Alliances with Hate Free Zone, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), Community Relations Service (CRS), Asian Counseling and Referral Service and many other organizations allowed broader delivery of important Coalition messages related to Sikhism, tolerance, and diversity. By partnering with these types of organizations, efforts related to educational outreach were multiplied several times over what the Coalition could have accomplished independently. Also, the Education program continued to present at numerous major universities including Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, William and Mary, University of Richmond, University of Washington and many others. Through such presentations, knowledge of Sikhs and Sikhism diffuses through major academic institutions that help shape future perspectives and policies across the country.

In addition, specifically for elementary schools, the coalition continued to develop curriculums regarding diversity, that included information on Sikhism. Also, the Coalition launched new means to expand creative channels for educational expression of diversity through art by engaging with museums such as the Wing Luke Asian Museum. As a part of this collaboration, the Coalition promoted museum programming that sought to bring exposure to art from Sikh youth, and packaged the Sikh Women’s Museum for exhibition in additional cities.

Looking Ahead to 2004-2005
In 2004 the Education program will focus on increasing the awareness of Sikhism in schools. Elementary school programs and materials for Sikh Student Associations at colleges will be an important part of generating this awarness. In addition to the basics of who Sikhs are, themes will include the 400th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib, diversity and the 1984 pogroms. The Education program will continue to drive content for other program areas, and will further expand its direct volunteers and partnerships to increase the reach of its programming.