The Consulate General of Belgium for Southern India is one of the three missions of Belgium in India focusing on Belgian interests in the region. It is located in Chennai and its jurisdiction includes the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and the union territory of Puducherry. The other two are the Embassy of Belgium at New Delhi and the Belgian Consulate General at Mumbai, in addition to an honorary office in Kolkata. The current consul general of the Chennai Consulate is Bart De Groof, who is also the first consul general of the Chennai Consulate and the first head of mission since the establishment of the Mission in 2013.
History
The need to set up a Consulate General for Southern India in Chennai arose because, as of 2012, more than a third of Indian visitors to Belgium were from the four South Indian states. There was an honorary consulate of Belgium functioning at Guindy and a trade office before the establishment of the Consulate General. The Consulate General of Belgium for Southern India in Chennai was established on 28 November 2013 by Princess Astrid of Belgium in the presence of the then ambassador of Belgium Pierre Vaesen. The city’s port and its geo-strategic location on the east coast of the country were among the primary reasons behind the opening of the mission which Belgium considered could enhance its presence in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The visa application centre was opened earlier on 15 April 2013 to cater to travellers from south India.
Location
The Consulate General is located at 18 Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Nungambakkam. It is located at the premises of the former trade office of Canada.<ref name="IE_BelgiumGetsChennaiAddress"/>
List of consul generals
# Bart De Groof (2013-Present)
Functions
About 10,000 visas are expected to be given from the consulate in Chennai, most of them business visas.<ref name="TOI_BelgianMissionLookToExpandTrade"/>
History
The need to set up a Consulate General for Southern India in Chennai arose because, as of 2012, more than a third of Indian visitors to Belgium were from the four South Indian states. There was an honorary consulate of Belgium functioning at Guindy and a trade office before the establishment of the Consulate General. The Consulate General of Belgium for Southern India in Chennai was established on 28 November 2013 by Princess Astrid of Belgium in the presence of the then ambassador of Belgium Pierre Vaesen. The city’s port and its geo-strategic location on the east coast of the country were among the primary reasons behind the opening of the mission which Belgium considered could enhance its presence in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The visa application centre was opened earlier on 15 April 2013 to cater to travellers from south India.
Location
The Consulate General is located at 18 Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Nungambakkam. It is located at the premises of the former trade office of Canada.<ref name="IE_BelgiumGetsChennaiAddress"/>
List of consul generals
# Bart De Groof (2013-Present)
Functions
About 10,000 visas are expected to be given from the consulate in Chennai, most of them business visas.<ref name="TOI_BelgianMissionLookToExpandTrade"/>
UNETSHA is a plug-in program that is designed to work with Microsoft Network Access Protection which was developed by UNETsystem and introduced to US market by SJ Namo, Inc. Main function of UNETSHA is to extend Windows Server 2008's Network Access Protection's security health check capabilities and interoperability with third-party endpoint security solutions. UNETSHA will enable more granular network access control in an enterprise-wide NAP implementation that may include heterogeneous network terminals such as Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
Features
UNETSHA is designed to work with Microsoft’s network access protection. It provide Windows, Linux and Mac NAP Agents.
The software included Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Support. UNETSHA allow its administrator to take a control over 7,000 managed software or hardware as a part of its compliance check
Other features of UNETSHA include:
*802.1X Supplicant and DHCP Client for Linux and Mac.
*Supported EAP: PEAP version 0/1/2, EAP-MSCHAP v2, EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, EAP-GTC and LEAP
*Policy Management based on User ID and Hierarchical Group
*UNETSHA supports login ID based policy enforcement for exceptional cases.
*Flexible Policy Enforcement
*UNETSHA let administrators to set the policy enforcement cycle.
*Hierarchical Group Management
*UNETSHA supports a hierarchical group management to allow its administrator to manage NAP polices based on the actual organizational structure of the enterprise.
*Simple and Flexible Rule Editing
*UNETSHA use scripts written in an IF (Condition) THEN (Action) ELSE (Action) format which users can create, import, and export.
*RQS Migration
*UNETSHA allow RQS policy to be migrated to the NAP environment, both manually or automatically.
*Plug-ins for Diverse Client Health Check Programs
*UNETSHA allows plug-ins for diverse health check programs independent of their type (VBS, EXE, BAT, etc.).
Supported Client OS
*Microsoft Windows Vista
*Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3
*Microsoft Windows 7
*Linux Fedora 6 or later / Ubuntu 7.0 or later
*Apple Mac OS X
Features
UNETSHA is designed to work with Microsoft’s network access protection. It provide Windows, Linux and Mac NAP Agents.
The software included Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Support. UNETSHA allow its administrator to take a control over 7,000 managed software or hardware as a part of its compliance check
Other features of UNETSHA include:
*802.1X Supplicant and DHCP Client for Linux and Mac.
*Supported EAP: PEAP version 0/1/2, EAP-MSCHAP v2, EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, EAP-GTC and LEAP
*Policy Management based on User ID and Hierarchical Group
*UNETSHA supports login ID based policy enforcement for exceptional cases.
*Flexible Policy Enforcement
*UNETSHA let administrators to set the policy enforcement cycle.
*Hierarchical Group Management
*UNETSHA supports a hierarchical group management to allow its administrator to manage NAP polices based on the actual organizational structure of the enterprise.
*Simple and Flexible Rule Editing
*UNETSHA use scripts written in an IF (Condition) THEN (Action) ELSE (Action) format which users can create, import, and export.
*RQS Migration
*UNETSHA allow RQS policy to be migrated to the NAP environment, both manually or automatically.
*Plug-ins for Diverse Client Health Check Programs
*UNETSHA allows plug-ins for diverse health check programs independent of their type (VBS, EXE, BAT, etc.).
Supported Client OS
*Microsoft Windows Vista
*Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 3
*Microsoft Windows 7
*Linux Fedora 6 or later / Ubuntu 7.0 or later
*Apple Mac OS X
Randy Caparoso (born August 5, 1956) is a Hawaiian career wine professional known for his work as a sommelier/restaurateur, wine journalist (newspaper, magazine and online), wine producer, and wine judge.
Career
After studying Western Philosophy at the University of Hawai`i between 1974 and 1978, Caparoso took his first sommelier position in a traditional French style restaurant in Honolulu called the Cavalier (shuttered in 1988).
In 1988 Caparoso met Chef Roy Yamaguchi, who had previously forged a high profile career in Los Angeles, fusing Asian ingredients and seasonings of his childhood up with the classical, sauce oriented, French cuisine with which he was trained (at that time Yamaguchi described this approach to cooking as Euro-Asian, which he later changed to Hawaiian Fusion). Yamaguchi established his first Roy's restaurant in Honolulu in 1988, bringing on Caparoso as a partner, manager, and wine director. Yamaguchi, Caparoso and other partners went on to open more than thirty other Roy's restaurants from Tokyo to New York, garnering such distinctions as a James Beard Foundation Award, a Gault Millau "Top 50 In the U.S." ranking, and enshrinement in Nation's Restaurant News "Fine Dining Hall of Fame."
From a wine perspective, the significance of Caparoso's collaboration with Yamaguchi was his broader based sourcing of wines from around the world to match a style of cuisine tempered by French techniques, but marked by strongly sweet, spicy/hot, sour, bitter and umami sensations typical in Asian foods, and that are not usually compatible with European style wines.
Caparoso was twice awarded the title of "Wine Marketer of the Year" by Restaurant Wine magazine: in 1994 for successful business practices with the Roy's restaurants, and in 1999 for the full range of wines (up to twelve different bottlings a year, from four different countries) Caparoso crafted and bottled under "Roy's" labels to match Roy's fusion style cuisine.
In 1998 Caparoso was the first "Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year" selected by Sante magazine for their yearly "Grand Awards."
After departing from Roy's as an active partner in 2001, Caparoso produced and sold three vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir under the Caparoso Wines label. At that time, Caparoso also expanded his profile as a wine journalist; from biweekly wine columnist for The Honolulu Advertiser (from 1981 to 2003) and featured writer for the online Wine Lovers Page (1998-present), to contributing writer for Sante and Practical Winery & Vineyard. Since 2007 Caparoso has also served as Bottom Line Columnist and Contributing Editor for Sommelier Journal.
In 1997 Caparoso was recognized with a "Certificate of Commendation" for "Excellence in Wine Writing and Encouragement of Higher Industry Standards" by the Academy of Wine Communications. In 1988 Caparoso sat for "Advanced Certificate" examinations administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers; and in 1992 he successfully passed examinations qualifying as a "Finalist" in the Institute of Masters of Wine.
As a professional wine judge, Caparoso has sat for L.A. County Fair, New World Wine Competition, Sonoma Harvest Fair, and Oregon State Fair. He has spoken frequently or led panel discussions for the Sante Restaurant Symposium, Society of Wine Educators, Hospice du Rhone, Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, and Sommelier Summit. He has also served as a national wine list judge for Sante's annual "Grand Awards"; and since 2008, as an Electoral College Member for the Vintners Hall of Fame administered by The Culinary Institute of America.
Career
After studying Western Philosophy at the University of Hawai`i between 1974 and 1978, Caparoso took his first sommelier position in a traditional French style restaurant in Honolulu called the Cavalier (shuttered in 1988).
In 1988 Caparoso met Chef Roy Yamaguchi, who had previously forged a high profile career in Los Angeles, fusing Asian ingredients and seasonings of his childhood up with the classical, sauce oriented, French cuisine with which he was trained (at that time Yamaguchi described this approach to cooking as Euro-Asian, which he later changed to Hawaiian Fusion). Yamaguchi established his first Roy's restaurant in Honolulu in 1988, bringing on Caparoso as a partner, manager, and wine director. Yamaguchi, Caparoso and other partners went on to open more than thirty other Roy's restaurants from Tokyo to New York, garnering such distinctions as a James Beard Foundation Award, a Gault Millau "Top 50 In the U.S." ranking, and enshrinement in Nation's Restaurant News "Fine Dining Hall of Fame."
From a wine perspective, the significance of Caparoso's collaboration with Yamaguchi was his broader based sourcing of wines from around the world to match a style of cuisine tempered by French techniques, but marked by strongly sweet, spicy/hot, sour, bitter and umami sensations typical in Asian foods, and that are not usually compatible with European style wines.
Caparoso was twice awarded the title of "Wine Marketer of the Year" by Restaurant Wine magazine: in 1994 for successful business practices with the Roy's restaurants, and in 1999 for the full range of wines (up to twelve different bottlings a year, from four different countries) Caparoso crafted and bottled under "Roy's" labels to match Roy's fusion style cuisine.
In 1998 Caparoso was the first "Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year" selected by Sante magazine for their yearly "Grand Awards."
After departing from Roy's as an active partner in 2001, Caparoso produced and sold three vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir under the Caparoso Wines label. At that time, Caparoso also expanded his profile as a wine journalist; from biweekly wine columnist for The Honolulu Advertiser (from 1981 to 2003) and featured writer for the online Wine Lovers Page (1998-present), to contributing writer for Sante and Practical Winery & Vineyard. Since 2007 Caparoso has also served as Bottom Line Columnist and Contributing Editor for Sommelier Journal.
In 1997 Caparoso was recognized with a "Certificate of Commendation" for "Excellence in Wine Writing and Encouragement of Higher Industry Standards" by the Academy of Wine Communications. In 1988 Caparoso sat for "Advanced Certificate" examinations administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers; and in 1992 he successfully passed examinations qualifying as a "Finalist" in the Institute of Masters of Wine.
As a professional wine judge, Caparoso has sat for L.A. County Fair, New World Wine Competition, Sonoma Harvest Fair, and Oregon State Fair. He has spoken frequently or led panel discussions for the Sante Restaurant Symposium, Society of Wine Educators, Hospice du Rhone, Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, and Sommelier Summit. He has also served as a national wine list judge for Sante's annual "Grand Awards"; and since 2008, as an Electoral College Member for the Vintners Hall of Fame administered by The Culinary Institute of America.
Estonian Science Fiction Association inEestonia "Eesti ulmeühing". Established in 1995 as non-profit organization. There is a little membership fee, but to participate in fandom’s life there is absolutely no need to be a member. In Estonia are word "ulme" that covers science fiction, fantasy and horror, so it really means Estonian science fiction, fantasy and horror association. ESFA organizes mainly two things, the annual Estcon and annual Stalker awards.
Estcon is the annual Estonian national con and it takes place every July (approximately 80-100 attendees). In addition to that ESFA organize the regular meetings of local fandom in Tallinn and Tartu. People from Tallinn meet every last friday of the month in a pub called Lost kontinent, Fans from Tartu meet every second friday of the month in a pub Õlleministeerium.
Stalker is annual annual Estonia award (named after Andrei Tarkovsky movie) - for the best original and translated novel, short story, collection and so on. In 1998 it was Nebula-like - voted by experts - and after that Hugo-like, so everyone can give his/her vote. From those voting lists it can be seen that lately there have been 40-60 novels translated into Estonian every year. Mostly from English, but also from Russian, German, Finnish etc. Among the writers having won Stalker at least twice are Dan Simmons, Norman Spinrad, Charles Stross, Roger Zelazny. From the locals, Grand Master Indrek Hargla has made an (almost) clean sweep.
Its current president is Veiko Belials, members of the Board are Jüri Kallas and Joel Jans.
Estcon is the annual Estonian national con and it takes place every July (approximately 80-100 attendees). In addition to that ESFA organize the regular meetings of local fandom in Tallinn and Tartu. People from Tallinn meet every last friday of the month in a pub called Lost kontinent, Fans from Tartu meet every second friday of the month in a pub Õlleministeerium.
Stalker is annual annual Estonia award (named after Andrei Tarkovsky movie) - for the best original and translated novel, short story, collection and so on. In 1998 it was Nebula-like - voted by experts - and after that Hugo-like, so everyone can give his/her vote. From those voting lists it can be seen that lately there have been 40-60 novels translated into Estonian every year. Mostly from English, but also from Russian, German, Finnish etc. Among the writers having won Stalker at least twice are Dan Simmons, Norman Spinrad, Charles Stross, Roger Zelazny. From the locals, Grand Master Indrek Hargla has made an (almost) clean sweep.
Its current president is Veiko Belials, members of the Board are Jüri Kallas and Joel Jans.