A wise man once told me that the best part of an Assyrian convention is when you meet people who are milling about in the lobbies. It is in the lobbies that you meet people that you haven't seen for years, where you meet new people and network, and where you have the best conversation. I agree with this completely.
I personally believe that the cause of the problem with Assyrian conventions lies in the motives of the conventiongoers. I would guesstimate that 50% of the convention participants are there solely for the parties. Another 20% are there to see old friends, and another 20% are there because they feel like doing something for the community but don't know where to begin and want to meet others who feel the same way. The final 10% are at the convention on "official business", which includes meetings, minutes, agendas, and the like. How can we expect to accomplish anything at the conventions when dealing with these odds? Of course, I may be entirely wrong about these numbers, but this is my impression.
This year's convention was very good for young adults because there were a few events that brought us together without the interference of the older crowd. Young Assyrians from Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, and across the U.S. (and I'm sure many other countries which I neglected to mention) came together with a common goal: We want to do all we can to strengthen our community and culture. Without the interest of the younger crowd, our community would simply vanish (i.e. completely assimilate into) the Western countries in which we all reside.
I could spend hours telling you about what I learned this year... before the convention I had no idea that we had a sizable community in France, with a cultural center, a radio station, etc. I had no idea that in Europe the Assyrian children go to summer camps and learn about our culture...and I was so proud and surprised to meet Assyrian Europeans from several nations who had integrated themselves into European society without sacrificing their language, their culture, etc. Can we resist America's melting pot?
I personally believe that the most important work that the young people can do is at the local level. Whether it's with an Assyrian student group or an Assyrian cultural institution. Ideally, if someone wanted to improve a current student group or organization, they could come to the convention and learn from a similar group in another city or country. They could find out what worked and what didn't work for that group and learn from the mistakes of others.
While working at the local level is important, we must also keep in mind that nothing can spark an interest in one's culture more than a visit "to the homeland". I personally have had numerous friends of mine (all of different ethnicities) tell me that the most important events in their lives were their trips "back home". I have several Jewish friends that took trips to Israel, and some other friends who went to Poland, India, etc. and who all came back to America with a better understanding and appreciation of their culture. A program that takes our people back to the homeland for a few weeks at a time is needed, and soon. The idea behind such a trip has two main goals: Most importantly, when our people visit the homeland, they get a sense of what it is like to live in our ancestral homeland, speak in our mother tongue (or learn it if they do not know how to speak it), and in general learn about every aspect of our culture and have a sense of unity with our brothers and sisters who live in the homeland. They can also help share the knowledge and experience they have gained (by living in the wealthy and industrialized nations) with our people back home. This type of program can be modeled after any number of groups who do similar trips, such as the various Jewish groups that take trips to Israel every year.
I seem to be jumping from subject to subject so I better stop now.
