Dear Gilbert, Thank you for your wishes and we hope that you will participate in this event which is practically in your backyard.
There was a certain hesitancy on my part to be so prominently involved with this convention, given, as you have so rightly pointed out, my outspoken views on this and other fora. However, regardless of my personal beliefs or lack therof, my heart lies with the fact that I am a Goan first and everything else after. Many on the executive committee were involved with the earlier conventions and it will be interesting to see how far we have come as a community. We are standing on the shoulders of giants and have comfort in the fact that they have endorsed this effort 100%. The earlier academic conferences had the benefit of an established organization but this is the first time that the agenda will be based on cyber-input from the worldwide Goan community. We hope to utilize the state-of-the-art technology at the UTM venue to webcast the proceedings back to you. So please don't hold back on what you intend to see achieved at this event and, putting your money where your mouth is, ATTEND and CONTRIBUTE to it! We are only providing the facilities for you to provide the content. As a newly formed independent group, we hope to be able to bring together the dozen or so existing local groups for a common cause. Historically, most of the larger organized diasporic groups in the Toronto area are made up of people who have arrived here via some other country or area, eg. G.O.A. (Africa) and their subset the Tanzanites, CanOrient (primarily from Pakistan which started out as the Pioneer Club), Ex-Emirates (Gulf), Bombay Connexion, Manglorean-Canadian Association etc. Their focus has primarily been social in the past but we are now seeing a maturing to include a local support structure for new immigrants etc. with spin offs like the Goan Charitable Organization and the International Goan Organization (both originally formed under the auspices of the GOA). However, being one or more generations removed from Goa, in general the land of their ancestors is not necessarily a priority even if the culture and cusine is familiar. There are, thankfully, many exceptions within their organizations which gives us hope that they will be enthusiastic participants in a convention which aims to focus on what the diaspora can do for the Goa we yearn to retain. Change is inevitable but disorganized and haphazard development, of the type we are seeing today in a land that is flush with foreign money, needs to be channeled in a way that is independent of the vagaries of the fickle administration. To do this effectively, we have to engage our younger generation, who have to buy into a sustainable future for their motherland. Many consider themselves Goan without the slightest idea of what that means. We hope to give them a sense of identity with the proposed workshops and engage them in a constructive way for the betterment of Goa. Reading this list gives me hope that we will have one great convention. Please send your suggestions and ideas to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you can contribute in any way, would like to present your views or have a plan that fits with our G.I.A.N.T. theme (Goan Identity And Networking Today) please feel free to contact any one of the executive committee from http://2008goanconvention.com/contact_us.html Sincerely, Kevin Saldanha Mississauga, ON. ============================ Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 10:37:03 -0800 From: Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Most faces and names on the web link are veteran goanetters. Yet it is interesting, they are not using goanet to start a dialogue on the "Strategic LONG-TERM and SHORT-TERM GOALS" of such national / international Goan conventions. And how these meetings can build on successes of past meetings and provide practical direction of future get-togethers. Kind Regards, GL -- Let go of the past and the moments old, Cast yourself in a brand new mould! Get set to rise on newer horizons Let's "develop new dimensions"!! - Pravin Sabnis