For Immediate Release                                                                                                                   Media Contact:  Dr. Sat Bhattacharya
September 18th 2008                                                                                             C: 646-643-8543; T: 646-643-8563/ 646-633-4645/4655
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New York, NY –September 17, 2008 The 5thh Global Harlem Science Street Fairs & Festivals organized by Harlem Children Society (HCS) will be held Saturday, September 27th from 11am – 4pm at 129th St. and 7th Avenue (Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.). The fairs celebrate education in under-served and under-represented communities across the globe by bringing the sciences directly to urban streets and far-flung villages. In partnership with Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, Salem United Methodist Church, and other local and international organizations, the fair showcases the hands-on research of high school and undergraduate students from impoverished and imperiled communities. Representatives from prestigious colleges and universities, hospitals, city and government agencies and participating corporations will also be on hand.  Major political candidates are scheduled to attend the event, as well as ambassadorial representatives from various countries.  The New York City Board of Education declared the ‘Harlem Science Street Fair’ as a major scientific event in the city and as part of “Weekend of Science”.

The jewel in the crown of HCS’ progressive programs, this unique global event connects countries in real time via web casting, as students share their research directly in a public forum, local village or community. It features research exhibits by over 275 HCS students in the New York tri-state area, across the US (50), and several countries in Latin and South America, Africa, and Asia (over 400).  HCS students come from dire and abject poverty, including communities afflicted with severe socio-economic, and health crises, such as HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, obesity, and depression.  The students will showcase their research in unique science posters on the streets sharing with the communities GLOCALLY.

An all-star international entertainment line-up in New York will include acclaimed French guitarist STEPHANE WREMBEL, whose music is featured in the WOODY ALLEN’S newest film, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Performing “jazz manouche,” French gypsy jazz inspired by the legendary, Django Reinhardt, Wrembel’s unique acoustic musical style is imbued with contemporary jazz, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern influences. CIRCULOCK, NYC’s Original Street Circus featuring an eclectic troupe of dancers, mimes and contortionists, will perform in an exciting display of sight and sound. In a Cuban tribute to jazz legend Charlie Parker, HOT HOUSE, will juxtapose traditional Latin dance forms with the jazz idiom in a fresh mix that can only be LATIN JAZZ. HCS will premier a HARLEM SCIENCE FASHION SHOW, featuring original designs created by HCS aimed at creating scientific awareness in the public through a novel stylish approach. HCS sister fairs running concurrently in Arizona’s Hopi Reservation, Mexico, Kenya, Ethiopia, India, and New Zealand will broadcast live presentations reflecting science and the rich culture and scientific showcases of these communities.

Harlem Children Society was founded by Dr. Sat Bhattacharya, Molecular Geneticist and Cancer Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as a local grass-root, yet global non-profit organization in 2000 in order to give under-resourced and under-served, yet highly motivated high school and university students the chance to develop, hone and harness their skills to ultimately better serve their individual communities. Serving students ridden by abject poverty in the NY region, across the country and increasingly applying its unique model globally, HCS’s innovative program engages students in one-on-one hands-on science research in a myriad of fields in science, technology, math & engineering with accomplished mentors in leading universities, research centers, and renowned institutions.

Further enhancing students’ intensive training program, HCS conducts weekly workshops & a lecture series. Students are exposed to a variety of experts (educators from UNESCO & UNICEF, Nobel laureates, leading scientists, engineers and doctors from variety of fields and disciplines) invited to speak, illuminating and providing insight into important current issues. Students are also required to present their individual projects during the weekly series, employing sophisticated power point presentations to demonstrate their progress in their laboratories. HCS also organizes satellite meetings with other HCS remotely, webcasting live throughout the US and beyond.

HCS’s redressing of educational and career access in the sciences thus far in America show that 100% of HCS students attend college, 80% majoring in science and math, and over 20% of whom have been inducted into Ivy League schools. Students have received numerous awards and scholarships from the Posse Foundation, the Gates Millennium Scholarship, the New York Times Scholarship Fund and other prestigious institutions. Further, HCS’s innovative program increases recruitment; retention, advancement and nurturing of budding scientists and engineers from otherwise neglected populations. In a time when people are losing interest in science, engineering, and technology careers, HCS hopes to revitalize these fields with some of our most gifted youth from such communities in our inner cities, town and villages glocally.

“Harlem Children Society Searches for the Madame Curies
& Einsteins of the Bronx and Beyond”