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"Don’t come only for the four days of the Congress. Make it a longer family outing to Australia,” advised Firoz Pestonji (pictured) while in India this February to promote the 11th World Zoroastrian Congress (WZC) to be held in the luxurious Astral Rooms on the Crown complex in Perth from June 1 to 4, 2018. We know that he is the central liaison for the Congress but when we seek to ascertain his designation, he jests, "Call me the chief executive officer or the chief executed officer or the chief chaprasi (peon).”
Anticipating attendance from around 1,000 delegates, Pestonji mentioned that 280 had registered their interest in the Congress even before the program was firmed up. The registration costs and accommodation packages will be announced by June 2017 but delegates will have a choice of five star properties as also more economical, shared, bag packer options. Airfare from India to Perth in the months of February to June is around AUD 880 (Rs 45,000), he states.
While sponsorship support is "coming forth” he was hopeful the Congress would appeal to "a major sponsor who will find it unique.” As compared to earlier congresses he is keen to include at Perth a session on "Wives of Great Men” to focus on the challenges and insights they could offer. To interest the next generation he is planning another session where successful parents and their children can candidly express their expectations from each other. Discussions on correlated subjects will be grouped together instead of spreading them over four days.
The current Congress website announces World Zarathushti Community Awards to be conferred on June 3, 2018. Nominations that will close on October 31, 2017 have been invited for six categories: Z Iconic Award; community service; science/technology/engineering/medicine/applied science; social entrepreneurship; outstanding young Zarathushti; art/design/literature/culture. Pestonji would like to recognize the "unsung heroes” of the community too.
One area of the Congress would be devoted to a Hall of Fame and another section would promote sale of books and merchandize. Those booking stalls can advertise their products on the website and once bookings are done online, deliveries can be undertaken at the Congress. The organizers also plan to have a tie-up with their local mint such that specially designed gold coins can be displayed and booked on the website and sold during the Congress.
His experience at past Congresses has taught Pestonji that attendance is lean at post lunch sessions. He is mulling outings to local tourist attractions in the afternoons, surprise prizes for those who are lucky to be in their seats when a number is announced, 10-minute entertainment slots at the end of a panel discussion to sustain interest through the afternoon.
He would like the website to serve as a springboard for discussions on different topics that will be monitored by experts in their field. "Decisions have to come out of discussions,” believes Pestonji who is keen that community members feel free to express their views on topics without attacking or vilifying each other so that the Congress can result in definitive action.
When Parsiana visited the Congress website in February, the opening page showed the countdown to the Congress but there was no reference to the theme "Together Towards Tomorrow” that had been originally announced. Neither was there any indication of the organizing committee nor the cost of registration for the Congress although visitors to the site were asked to register their interest in the Congress. The site announced their sponsorship packages from AUD 100,000 to AUD 10,000. Concerned about these developments, Parsiana sought a clarification from Pestonji who informed us that the website had been temporarily changed for a week to glean feedback from members of the Global Working Group (GWG), the digitally savvy community members and the general public.

 

 

 

 

While most of the organizing committee members are based in Perth, representatives of other Zoroastrian associations of Australia have been included too: Mahiyaar Wellington, president, Australian Zoroastrian Association of New South Wales (AZA of NSW); Kazween Boiko, president, Zoroastrian Association of Victoria, Melbourne; and Aban Kekobad, local coordinator, Zoroastrian Gold Coast and Brisbane.
In the meanwhile the Federation of Australian Zoroastrian Associations has already been registered in Perth, declared Pestonji who will function as the chief coordinator currently. "It will serve as an umbrella body; not a controlling but a coordinating body,” he adds. "It will be in full swing before the Congress.” The Federation includes member associations in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, stated Pestonji bringing out a small map of Australia and affixing it on the corner of our computer monitor. Until Gold Coast and Brisbane register their independent associations they cannot become members of the Federation.
"At all Congresses, not more than 10-15% of the local Zarathushti populace attend,” states Pestonji, adding, "There is something wrong in our Zoroastrian DNA. It has to change.” Of the 180 Zoroastrian families in Perth, 50% are neither members of the Zoroastrian Association of Western Australia (ZAWA) that was formed two decades ago nor of the Business Association of West Australian Zoroastrians (BAWAZ) that was formed by Pestonji in 2012.
Congresses have not been a financial success, stated ZAWA secretary Homee Wadia who was concerned that the 11thWZC could result "in a fiasco as no background check or due diligence measures” have been undertaken. With some of the office bearers of ZAWA on the Congress organizing committee in their individual capacity, in a resolution passed by ZAWA members at their annual general meeting on September 6, 2015, ZAWA wished BAWAZ "all the success in this endeavor” to host the Congress. The resolution shared by ZAWA chairman Shahpoor Kalantary on Parsiana’s request, clarified however that ZAWA "accepts no financial liability or expects any financial benefit from this project.”
"I am not interested in retaliating,” asserted Pestonji who feels ZAWA was wary lest $ 70,000 from their kitty "get siphoned off.” According to Pestonji, earlier his team had approached ZAWA hoping collective effort would "help us reach the dar-e-meher goal quicker (he is keen to build a dar-e-meher in Perth) … We have never asked them for a single dollar for the Congress from day one… Up till now every dollar spent on the Congress is mine. Only ideas are coming from other Zoroastrians of Perth.”
"The associations in Australia seem to be unwilling to put their hands in their pockets,” observed Pheroza Daruwalla, former president of the AZA of NSW. She confirmed however that several families from Sydney were looking forward to attending the Congress. Realizing that it may be very expensive to stay at the five star venue, they are looking at alternative bed and board facilities. She guesstimated there must be nearly 500 Zoroastrian families in Sydney. "Whether the Iranians support the Congress, we don’t know,” she said. Forty youngsters from Australia went for the World Zoroastrian Youth Congress in New Zealand in 2015 and have since remained in regular touch. She appreciated the opportunities for bonding that such meets create. Referring to the recent diorama (a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures) successfully installed by Boika, Daruwalla felt the Congress could set up a little exhibition for which she was willing to lend some of her personal artefacts and had even spoken to gara legend Naju Daver’s daughter Farzeen Daver Boomla who resides in Australia to add a textile component to the exhibition.
While registrations for the 11th WZC are yet to open, the GWG is already inviting proposals for hosting the 12th WZC in 2022/23. Applications should be sent in to the GWG by October 31, 2017.