Hi Mervyn,
Thanks for your kind response and explanation. I have some searching (not
smart Alec) questions and comments which follow your pertinent paragraphs below.
Regards, GL
------------- Mervyn Lobo
ML: We went ahead with our plans. Kevin went to every Goan social for the past
three months informing people about the conference. On some weekends, he went
to two or three functions, trying to sell our convention. The response we got
from Toronto area residents was not what we hoped for. The response we got from
Goanetters was similar.
GL: Can you provide some possible explanations for the above - Why?
Is there a disconnect as to what organizers of a Goan convention aim for and
what the majority of Diaspora Goans want?
Are the conventions geared by - and for - those who organize it?
Let's be real. How many topics presented were of practical / everyday use to
Goans - be new immigrants or long-time residents transitioning into retirement
and likely to face new challenges?
Do we have a sense of what diaspora Goans want from a Goan convention in
addition to a good time within reasonable costs?
ML: Let me give you a small example of the work involved. We invited a Mando
group from Goa. .... They arrived a day before, on Sunday. Suddenly we had to
find accommodation and venues for them to perform. This type of situation was
repeated a hundred times during the convention.
GL: Undoubtedly you-all put in a lot of work. We thank you for it. How come
Goans appreciate their own hard work and not the hard work of others? You and
others suggest, the difficulty for the community to reach its full, is not from
lack of smarts and hard work on the part of individuals; but rather from the
lack of community participation, support and appreciation ... which
comparatively is minimal. More often the comments are outright negative.. If
we-all did our own small part, the whole would be so much more productive,
gratifying and help us-all move to the next level. Yet, as I said in my first
post on this topic, we individually may not be practicing what we preach, in
supporting others, in practice.
In scientific meetings, the organizers request abstracts from want-to-be
presenters. Organizers of Goan conference may want to do the same. Then one
does not have issues of speakers being selected from "whom you know".
I am sorry to read that this year's Viva Goa was canceled. What a pity.
Regards, GL
---------- Gilbert Lawrence
I hope the moderators exercise their prerogatives, to provide a climate on the
internet, for more unity among Goans. From the spate of recent posts it looks
like more needs to be done in this regard. Perhaps Goans in Toronto and the
'greater Toronto regions' are sending a 'loud' message by their absence. And
some of us may still not be getting that message.
