Dear All, There are not many industries in Goa. which is why many leave for the Gulf & other countries for better prospects, residing, working & bringing up their children there too. There are generations of Goan youngsters not exposed to Goan culture & it's language. To assimilate in their adopted lands, the parents & children need to learn foreign languages. Only time these youngsters hear Konkani is maybe listening to their parents speak. For those that do remain in Goa, a substantial portion are dependent on the tourism industry. For this, one has to be able to communicate with foreigners or Indian tourists in English and Hindi. Both cases above are due to economic need. But what if we had another industry that required Konkani as a pre requisite for monetary gain? What if we had a Konkani television & film industry? We do have tiatrs & few news channels, but what if we had a full fledged industry. A Konkani TV channel showing children's programs, science & fiction programs, programs on Goa's nature & wildlife, including major foreign movies dubbed in Konkani, investment programs, programs on Goan food, debates / discussions, economics etc. These shows could be telecast & made available in Gulf & other countries. This would help Goans abroad & especially their children to learn their mother tongue. Even still it would provide employment opportunities to large number of those who remain in Goa. Of course, this is no easy task. The whole industry would have to be professionally managed & be made appealing to get viewership & maintain / grow that viewership. But that's where creativity, passion & desire to take up challenges come in. Considerable investment would be required. Sharing a brief extract of Roman Abramovich (Chelsea FC owner & one of the richest men in the world) from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Abramovich), "Abramovich was the governor of Chukotka from 2000 to 2008. It has been estimated that he spent over US$1.3 billion (€925 million) of his own money on the region, which now has one of the highest birth rates in Russia. Under Abramovich, living standards improved, schools and housing were restored and new investors were being drawn to the region." I don't know what Goa's richest do for Goa, but there's no point accusing or waiting for them to do something. Many of us expatriates are doing well & maybe coming together, forming a consortium, such initiatives could be implemented.
Best Regards, Inacio
