North American Association of Indian Students (NAAIS) has announced a partnership with ZEE5, an Indian streaming platform from the Zee Entertainment stable.

 Through this partnership, NAAIS and ZEE5 aim to engage and mobilize over 850,000 students and professionals of Indian origin based in North America.

This partnership is aimed to facilitate dialogue, support, innovation, talent, and a unique cultural language that binds the Indian community in North America. It also aims to cultivate a greater sense of community, a statement from NAAIS said.

In order to do so, NAAIS and ZEE5 will be conducting a series of North-America wide workshops to reach out to the young Indian diaspora alongside a series of philanthropic events later in the year.

Over the next six months, NAAIS, in partnership with ZEE5, will be conducting North America wide workshops in over 40 states and over 150 universities through summer and fall 2021. Some major cities include but are not limited to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Phoenix and Washington DC.

The workshops will be aimed towards information and resource sharing on topics related to immigration and visa matters such as optional practical training (OPT) and curricular practical training (CPT), internships and jobs, personal healthcare management in the US, and vaccinations among several other topics relevant to Indian students and young professionals.

The workshops will provide a great platform for cultivating strong professional relationships and to provide varied perspectives through networking and panel discussions. Additionally, to cultivate talent and facilitate opportunities in areas of other professional interests, ZEE5 and NAAIS will be organizing student film festivals and a cultural telethon involving over 50 performers.

NAAIS believes that ZEE5 is a perfect partner to bring forth films and performing arts to the doorsteps of North America’s Indian community.

“We’re very excited with this strategic and philanthropic partnership with ZEE5. It gives NAAIS the resources to take the next steps in ensuring a support group and community for Indian origin students” said Sudhanshu Kaushik, Executive Director of NAAIS in a statement.

The partnership will also focus on philanthropic efforts such as COVID-19 relief for India, an endeavor that NAAIS has been successfully making significant impact in.

 “The Indian community and diaspora has shown incredible resilience and strength in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, and ZEE5’s partnership comes at a critical point in time when the community needs, more than ever, a shared sense of belonging. We are excited to expand our footprint and impact through the workshop tour,” said Jyotika Chandhoke, Board member at NAAIS.