Meeting Minutes - Sep. 13, 2004

Minutes of the monthly meeting held at Queen's Park on September 13, 2004 Present: Thomas Saras Srmial Abeyawardene Maxwell Wynter Hassan Zerehi Anne Dawson Kendrick Bob B. Ubale Dominique Leval Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Shah Hotaki Marek J. Cooldyn Clyde McNeal Jai Maharaj Emmanuel Ayiku Indranil Nanda Emily Mills Nahed El Taher Cindy Gu Dirk Tissera Absent: Angela Kabouris Mona Feng Agenda 1 Minutes of the previous meeting 2. President's Report 3. Discussions 4.End of meeting   Maxwell Wynter chaired the meeting and called the meeting to an order. He asked the council to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on August 12, 2004.   Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Anne Dawson moved a motion seconded by Tanya Nutall to approve the minutes of the monthly meeting held on July 09, 2004. It was carried.   President's Report/Discussions: Thomas Saras told the council that the ethno media week was a great success and praised the efforts of Luba Cherny for organizing the cultural show at the CNE. He said that the event at the Lt. Governor was a grand success and praised the efforts of Anne Dawson for successfully coordinating the event. He said that 149 people reported for the event out of a total of 183. The President regretted the cancellation of the dinner scheduled for September 5 but explained to the council that it was due to circumstances beyond his control. He hoped that the council would organize a grand dinner for the seasonal holidays in December. The President told the council that an official from Heritage Canada would come from Ottawa to discuss with the council on topics related to advertising as well as on the upcoming conference in 2005. He said those members interested in attending the meeting with Heritage Canada should submit their names to the council. He also informed the council that a Federal committee on Government advertising would meet with the council sometime in October and that he would inform the council as soon as the date and venue for this meeting is fixed. The President was also informed that there is already a committee in place to deal with the Government on important issues facing the ethnic media industry and was asked to refer to the minutes of 2004. The President then focussed his report on the Word on the Street Festival and told the council that Ahmedshah Hotaki would play a crucial role in organizing the event. He asked the members to be in touch with AhmedShah Hotaki for displaying their publications at the festival. The President told the council that the map for the festival would be published in the Toronto Star The President asked the members to bring at least 50 copies of their publications at the festival. Members were also informed that the council would share the booth with another association at the word on the street festival. The President concluded his report with an update on the annual book. He said that the annual book would go in to publications very soon and the book had space for more advertisements He urged the members to bring in advertisements for the annual book before the book is printed as the council received negligible advertisement from the members this year. The annual book due for publishing will have pictures of various important events organized by the council, including the meeting with Prime Minister in June 2004. He said that the Annual Book would serve as a very important document and would be distributed to all the major national libraries in the country.   Discussions: The Chair thanked the President for his gigantic efforts in organizing the events of the ethno-media festival.  He said that it is time that the members step up to the occasion in organizing this event. He said these events provide a great opportunity to the members in networking with the Government and therefore the members should show more commitment and enthusiasm when such events take place. He stressed the point that this is a collective organization and it can live up to it’s potential only by the collective work of the members. He said that those wishing to seek office in the next election should lead by example and earn their place by showing true commitment and dedication to the council. The President then emphasized the point that when a committee is appointed, members of that committee should fulfill their responsibilities and not leave things to the very last moment on one individual. He said that a single individual can not run the organization and only collective work would help the council to move forward. Luba Cherny inquired whether the performers at the CNE would receive any monetary disbursements for their performance. On her inquiry, the President said that the CNE has abolished the practice of providing any monetary compensation for the cultural shows, but he would try to accommodate her request in January/February 2005 when the council comes up with a budget. There were various discussions on the Word on the Street Festival and many members shared their ideas on how the council would present itself at the festival.   End of meeting. The chair Maxwell Wynter inquired on the date of the next meeting, as October 11 the scheduled date for the next meeting was a thanksgiving holiday. The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for October 11, depending on the availability of the members to attend on that date. Following this discussion, the chair adjourned the monthly meeting of September 2004 at 8:30 p.m.