Philip Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
One day's worth of "early warning" is a good start.
Maybe Goanet can evolve into a forum -- a think
tank --where far sighted views can be routinely
found. The Governor recently suggested that laid
back Goa should establish a think tank to look
ahead. Perhaps goanet can be a prototype of such an
establshment.
Mervyn 3.0 wrote:
When I joined Goanet, ten years ago, I also joined
another group called Tanzanet.
The Tanzanet has spun off a full NGO. It also has a
Tanzanet Journal that publishes papers twice a year.
Tanzanet only has between two to four hundred members.
It all depends what you, its members, want to make of it. Goanet is an
umbrella, and there's a lot of space under that umbrella (regardless what
some of our critics keep complaining about).
Some interesting initiatives have come about from Goanet (Internet node in
Goa, computers project, annual reunions, inspiring of many other
Goa-related mailing list, building up a whole new set of voices from Goa
and the diaspora, getting people together etc). Now, it's up to everyone
to take the idea forward.
In many cases, we may not even be aware of the role of Goanet,
because a lot of communication goes on off-list, following-up
on posts that originated on networks like these.
As far as the think-tank plan goes, it is an interesting one. My personal
view -- not Goanet Admin's -- is that a network like this could help
crystalise the plan for a think-tank (many think tanks, in fact, why just
one?) I'm not very sure a cyber entity can play the role of actually
forming one. Or is best placed to attempt this.
The acute lack of forward-thinking in Goa is a very strong reality. Local
newspapers, it is my perennial regret (including when I was directly
associated with them) fail to devote space and resources to build up
suitable ideas for the future. They either think they are Goa editions of
national papers (with the focus on the rest of India), or are sometimes
caught up in their own rivalries and sensational approaches, that they
aren't doing a job they should be.
A few people whom one has exchanged notes with do agree that Goa could
benefit from having its own think tanks. We also need research
organisations, that will put issues affecting the state and her people
squarely on the agenda. (Again, the press is hardly playing its role
here.)
Resources seem to be available. So is the talent. What's missing is the
magic to bring everything together. Maybe someone reading this will have
the vision and determination more than the rest of us, to make something
happen! FN
PS: Thanks for raising the topic, Philip Thomas.
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Frederick (FN) Noronha | Freelance Journalist | Mobile +91 9822 122436
Tel +91.832.2409490 | http://fn.swiki.net | http://www.bytesforall.net
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