Global governance
An update on the 11th World Zoroastrian Congress (WZC) to be held in Perth, Australia in 2018, the need to expand the zoroastrians.net portal and a proposal to enable overseas anjumans to donate one year’s supply of kathi to agiaries in India were some of the decisions taken by the Global Working Group (GWG) at the meeting held in Hong Kong on December 15 and 16, 2016, according to a report prepared by Dorab Mistry representing the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe.
The GWG which is the closest entity to a Zoroastrian world body saw senior representatives from seven of the 10 regions where Zoroastrians reside participate in the annual meet under the chairmanship of Neville Shroff, president of the host anjuman, Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao.
The GWG meeting preceded the annual general meeting of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) on December 17 which was also hosted by Shroff and his team who were lauded for conducting "these twin events with great warmth and professionalism.”
Clockwise (from left): Rohinton Rivetna, Neville Shroff, Roshan Rivetna,
Homi Gandhi, Bomi Patel, Sam Balsara, Arzan Wadia, Firoz Pestonji, Jimmy Medhora,
Katayun Kapadia, Dinshaw Tamboly, Yazdi Tantra, Meher Bhesania
On behalf of the organizing committee of the 11th WZC, Firoz Pestonji from Perth and Jimmy Medhora from Sydney gave an update on the preparations which will be publicized on the WZC website. The GWG has appointed a committee under Meher Bhesania from the Middle East to handle the 11th WZC Awards program and another committee under Homi Gandhi, president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) to select the venue for the 12th WZC.
To create a single window of information, the GWG decided that Yazdi Tantra from India will expand his portal zoroastrians.net to disseminate information on demographics, opportunities, activities and related developments worldwide and the regional federations will publicize this portal to their memberships.
"Recognizing that there was a need for an individual to coordinate, supervise and make certain that the work of the GWG is processed... the representatives sought to appoint an administrator who can hold the reins of the organization and guide it to accomplish the tasks at hand. Looking around the table...one person alone stood out... Neville fits the bill in every way as a young, energetic individual and the one who has constantly berated the group for not pushing forward and actualizing the immense potential that the group holds for the betterment of our community worldwide,” declared Rohinton Rivetna, founder president of FEZANA.
Initially Shroff will shoulder this responsibility on a trial basis for three months. The administrator "will speak on behalf of the GWG, if called for...(and) facilitate and steer the chairpersons of the subcommittees and monitor and follow up with them on any relevant issues,” clarified Shroff.
The GWG has initiated the following sub-committees with individuals charged with reporting their work: women, Behroze Daruwalla (from India) and Katayun Kapadia (from the US); youth, Arzan Wadia; education, Farrokh Rustomji, honorary secretary of the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India; resettlement and information, each region to appoint one coordinator within the next 30 days. As regards entrepreneurship, it was felt the WZCC was the right forum to take forward initiatives to change the mindset of Zoroastrian youth, and more importantly their parents, towards risk taking.
Having last met in December 2015 in Udvada prior to the landmark Iranshah Udvada Utsav (IUU), the GWG looked forward to the next IUU scheduled for December 23 and 24, 2017. Dinshaw Tamboly of the World Zoroastrian OrganisationTrust Funds briefed the GWG on the efforts made to regenerate Udvada with help from the dynamic central minister Smriti Irani. The GWG welcomed the proposal to establish a museum in Udvada based on suggestions received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Irani. Bhesania who is in charge of the art and culture subcommittee of the GWG was delegated with progressing this idea. The Museum Project would be developed in conjunction with Dastur Khurshed Dastoor and Tamboly while calling upon the technical expertise of Dr Shernaz Cama, Dr Pheroza Godrej and Firoza Mistree.
In response to the disappointment conveyed on email by Dr Dolly Dastoor, editor of FEZANA Journal, that "the needs of our elderly population worldwide were not covered,” Mistry clarified, "Care for the elderly was discussed but no decisions were made... It was felt such infrastructure projects were best left to local bodies to take up.”
The GWG has evolved from the erstwhile Coming Together Roundtable that was conceived by Rivetna as a consensual body to engage the regional representatives in secular matters pertaining to the worldwide Zarathushti community.
"The regional representatives are very much cognizant that our survival as a community worldwide rests on our cooperative efforts to support and sustain each other so that our community stays together, knowing that fragmentation will only seal our rapid decline. It is to the credit of the representatives that they work together in harmony and goodwill,” noted a communication from Rivetna. The GWG deliberations commenced with a jashan performed by Ervad Homiar Nasirabadwala, resident mobed of the Hong Kong anjuman. Others present at the meet were: Bomi Patel, Rustom Engineer and Roshan Rivetna (USA); Rustom Ghadiali (Singapore); Sam Balsara (India); Kersi Bhesania (Dubai). The GWG regretted the absence of any representative from the Bombay Parsi Punchayet although Rustomji represented the Indian Federation.