Venkat Raman
Auckland, November 7, 2021
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster displays the Ten-Year Plan of Wellington Mutamizh Sangam
Promoting the three main branches of Tamil namely Iyal, Isai, Nadagam (Literature, Music and Drama), engaging with other community groups with greater intensity, preserving and promoting Tamil traditions and values, strengthening the sustainability of the organisation and the community and working towards the betterment of Tamils all over the world are among the policy settings of the Wellington Mutamizh Sangam (WMS).
Good Governance
In what could be the first for a community organisation, the Sangam has just published its Ten-year Plan which will incorporate these settings and more. At the core of the Plan are Integrity, Honesty, Accountability and Transparency.
The Plan was unveiled at a Special Diwali Dinner held on November 5, 2021 at Johnsonville Community Centre in Wellington.
Among the special guests at the event were Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, Labour MP Greg O’Connor, Malaysian High Commissioner Micu Wong, Philippines Ambassador Jesus S Domingo, Multicultural New Zealand President Pancha Narayanan and Mutamizh Sangam former President Dr Siva Kumar.
The new team at WMS: Seated (from left) Vinutha Hari, Raveen Annamalai, Tamilarasi Elango; Standing: Siva Prasanth, Vinoth Sathiyamoorthy, Sunil Dhanasekeran, Ganesh Dhanasekar, Sundaresan Thandavan
New team at the Sangam
Members of the Sangam have recently elected a new team of office-bearers for the Sangam Year 2021-2022 with Raveen Annamalai as the President.
Among the others in the team are Dhamo Tharan (Vice-President), Tamilarasi Elango (Secretary), Vinutha Hari (Treasurer); Vinoth Sathiyamoorthy, Siva Prasanth, Sunil Dhanasekeran, Sundaresan Thandavan, Padmashree Sonia and Ganesh Dhanasekar (Members of the Executive Committee).
Mr Annamalai, who was also recently elected to the post of President of the newly formed Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sangam (ANTS), a registered organisation aiming to integrate Tamil organisations in New Zealand, said that WMS has been working on several projects to ensure that the Association becomes robust and responsive to the changing needs of the community and the country.
Multicultural New Zealand President Pancha Narayanan with his wife Poshwan Narayanan at the WMS Annual Event
Robust and Responsive
“As well as managing the challenges posed by Covid-19 restrictions, we have been working to streamline the processes, have in place strategic plans, improve our website, create a new accounting system and keep our members informed. I am grateful to the outgoing Executive Committee (2020-2021) for their excellent work,” he said.
Explaining the proposed projects to cover ‘Iyal,’ he said that WMS will establish a Tamil School (called, ‘Sangha Thamizh Palli’) to learn and teach Tamil, create a Library of Tamil books on Literature and other subjects and provide opportunities for people to promote their passion for Tamil through debates and discussions.
Younger members of the Tamil community at the event
“Music Concerts, The Harvest Festival of Pongal, Deepavali, Tamil Music, Dance and Drama will come under the ‘Isai’ and ‘Nadagam’ aspects. Special activities for women will include Occupational Training, Health, Parenting and Counselling and Charity Services. We propose to strengthen our Sports activities with Summer and Winter Games, Cycling, Mountain Trekking, Mini Marathon and games that are popular among the Tamil-speaking people. We are also working on Migrant Emergency Support and Education,” Mr Annamalai said.
The Sangam’s activities also cover areas such as Care of Senior Citizens and the Elderly, Youth Development and support and help for the needy people in the Tamil community.
Enhanced Accountability
“The new Executive Team has approved the Xero accounting system to ensure that accounts are well managed and are transparent. This system will enable us to manage all the funds and accounting processes in an orderly manner. Future membership payments and receipts will be automated. We will continue to build our membership base as our primary focus to ensure the Tamil people are well connected in Wellington,” Mr Annamalai said.
The Wellington Mutamizh Sangam has announced its public programmes from December 2021 and July 2022. They are as follows:
For further information about the Wellington Mutamizh Sangam, please email:
President Raveen Annamalai: president@wmsangam.org.nz
Secretary: Tamilarasi Elango: secretary@wmsangam.org.nz
Sangam Website: www.wellingtonmutamizhsangam.org.nz
Pictures by Sasi Harsha Photography
