Biennial convention of Jain community to bring 5,000 attendees to Schaumburg this weekend

A biennial convention featuring the largest gathering of the Jain religious community outside of India will bring more than 5,000 attendees to Schaumburg over Independence Day weekend for the event’s first return to the Chicago area in 20 years.

The event will run from Thursday through Sunday at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, which hadn’t even been completed the last time the convention was held in the Chicago region.

This 23rd biennial convention of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) is being held in collaboration with the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago (JSMC).

As one of the local hosts, Hemant Shah of Carol Stream is both a board member of the convention and chair of its public relations and press media committee.

He said the attendees will arrive from across the U.S. and the world, making this convention a historic moment for the South Asian community in the Midwest.

“It serves not only as a spiritual and cultural convergence for the Jain community, but also as a platform for youth leadership, interfaith dialogue, wellness, nonviolence and sustainability — values that resonate universally,” Shah said. “While Jain voices may not often be featured in mainstream media, the story of this peaceful and service-oriented community is one worth telling — especially on a day that celebrates the diverse fabric of America.”

Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly will deliver a welcoming address at the convention Saturday morning.

A kickoff meeting for the event was held in late April at the Jain temple in Bartlett.

Jainism is a religion followed primarily in India for more than 5,000 years. Its followers value meditation, yoga, nonviolence, vegetarianism, environmentalism, gender equality and cultural respect.

Lord Mahavir, born in 599 BC, is revered by believers as the last perfect Jain soul to achieve Nirvana. Jainism’s core principles are Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. It advocates kindness, tolerance and the equality of all life forms.