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Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on January 08, 2018, at Committee Room #2 City Hall.

Present:

Thomas S. Saras
Neel Nanda
Maria Saras-Voutsinas
Rosemary Sadler
Ricky Castellvi
Daniela Spirlac
Jacques Varberian
Jim Pappas
Jonathan Annobil
Surry Li
Kumayan Thambi
Mohammad Bagher-Samimi
Marek J.D. Goldyn
Leila Monteiro Lins
Mohammad Tajdolati
Norman Hart
Sandie De Freitas
Teshome Woldeamanuel
Ishkhan Ghazierian
Neel Nanda
Isa Mela
Yuri Natchetoi
Najibullah Popalzai
Raffi Der Boghossian
Robin Beckosian
Khalid Magnam
Inga Cernei
S. Vashnalingam
Hannan Mamun
NobodipNews
Aysegul Kalkan
Ersoy Kalkan
Nishanta Don
Ali Mahboub
Mulugeta Zergaba
Ranjit Wicks
SrimalAbeyewardene
Janusz Niemczyk
Denis Brito
Michael Shiavand
John Saraidaris
Kirubjk Ravi
Kathy Lin
Hai-Tien Lin
Longan Longendirlyan
Stensont A
Anna Nieuinos
Naearajh V. Bangaloris
Geetha Nangarajh
Mila Astorga Garcia
Hermie Garcia
Syed Irbal
PooyanTabatabaei
DimitrisVohaitis
Yuri Natchetoi
Mike Kolosowski
Khalid Magram
Euginea  Bakchinow
Boddy Wang
Anastasios Chatzitheofanous
Muhacumad Naeem Ul Islam

Total in attendance 55 members.

 

Agenda of the day:

  1. Welcome Remarks by the chair.
  2. Minutes of the previous meeting
  3. Report of the President/Discussions
  4. New Members/New Business
  5. Adjournment

 

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Dr. Tajdolati chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open. Isa Melo moved a motion to approve the agenda. Jonathan Annobil seconded it. The motion was carried. .

 

Minutes of the previous meeting:

Mareck Goodyn moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting Isa Melo seconded it.  The motion was carried.

   President’s Report/Discussions:

  • President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2018 and thanked everyone for the hard work over the number of years to make it a very strong organization.
  • President Thomas Saras reminded the members to renew their membership this year in order to enjoy the benefits and privileges of being a member of NEPMCC. He expressed disappointed that only a portion of members have renewed their membership.
  • President Thomas Saras thanked everyone for the successful celebration of Annual Get-together on December 15 at Cypriot Community Centre.
  • President Thomas Saras had special words of appreciation  for Maria Saras- Voutsinas, Ricky Castellvi, Daniela Spirilec and other committee members who worked hard towards a very successful event. The event was attended by the Premier of Ontario, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Mayor John Tory along with number of dignitaries from all levels of government as well as diplomats among members of the NEPMCC.
  • During the annual get-together and due to 150 anniversary celebrations of Canada, a few members from the community and from NEPMCC were recognized for their hard work and dedication to make Canada a better place.
  • Moment of Silence: President Thomas Saras informed that one of the former board member and chair of the meetings of NEPMCC Clyde McNeil, passed away on January 3 2018 in Trinidad and Tobago. The President remembered his valuable services during the initial years of NEPMCC and expressed deep condolences on his death. A minute of silence was observed by all members of NEPMCC to pay their respects towards the departed soul for his valuable contributions towards society.
  • Motion: Isa Melo moved a motion that the office of the President is authorized to spend for food and beverages for all the monthly meetings. The maximum amount will de up to $ 250.00 d0llars for Coffee and Pastries. The motion was unanimously carried.
  • President Thomas Saras informed the members that the first phase of the digital publishing platform which had begun from January 2017 will be completed by March 2018. He mentioned that the company responsible for the implementation of the Digital Publishing Platform were suppose to update 5 websites every month and as a result 60 websites were supposed to be migrated at the end of the year to the Digital Publishing Platform.  In order for the project to complete under the given timeline and to meet other requirements, this project will now be handled under Yuri Natchetoi. Imran Bashir and his company are no more involved with this project as he could not maintain the deliverables and timelines of this project
  • President Thomas Saras suggested that on May 3 NEPMCC celebrate UN designated day for PRESS FREEDOM DAY at the rotunda of City Hall. A Special celebrations will be organized for this day with invited guests from the political establishment and the media organization of the province and the country.
  • He suggested also that art works from the multi-cultural communities which the NEPMCC represents could be displayed during the week of October 21 to October 28, 2018 at the Rotunda of the Toronto City Hall. He called the members to bring  this event to the attention of their community and the people of the arts.

  • Motion: President Thomas Saras informed the council of the killings taking place in Iran. President Thomas Saras suggested that NEPMCC draft a letter in support of human rights in Iran to the Government of Canada. Mareck Goodyn moved a motion and John Saras seconded it.  4 members abstained. Motion was carried with the majority of members favouring the suggestion of the President.
  • President Thomas Saras suggested that if any member receives a complaint for publishing an article or if there are any disputes in the community due to publishing any news or article or comment – the matter should be referred to the dispute resolution committee of NNC, since they have a mechanism under place to address those grievances in timely manner. President Thomas Saras suggested that in future if any member brings forward any issue of dispute it would be referred to joint committee of NNC and NEPMCC to cover angles of the dispute. The committee will therefore be comprised of members of NEPMCC and NNC.
  • Motion: Mila Garcia moved a motion supporting this suggestion and Jonathan Annobil seconded it. The motion was unanimously carried.

  • Presentation by Yuri Natchetoi on the Digital Publishing Platform

    Yuri Natchetoi made a presentation on the update on the Digital Publishing Platform project undertaken by NEPMCC under grant from Heritage Canada. He made demo on the functionality and informed members to reach him if they had nay technical questions or needed technical help on this project.

    New Members/ New Business:

    M.H. Mamun   – Publisher, Weekly Nobodip News
    Ravi and Rubi – Kathiroli Radio
    Ersoy Kalkan – Host, Radio Perfect is the voice of Turkish and Kurdish speaking Canadians.

    Raffi Boghossian suggested that member publication should sponsor beverages of the monthly meeting instead of the office of the President of NEPMCC. He suggested that 12 publications can rotate the sponsorship of the beverages of the monthly meeting so as to not burden the office of the President. He said being members of NEPMCC it is the collective responsibility to provide beverages and refreshments during the monthly meetings. Many members liked his suggestion.

    Maria Saras- Voutsinas, Executive Director of NEPMCC informed the members that the Minister of Democratic Institutions has invited for suggestions on the process of electoral debate during elections to maintain the transparency and strengthening the democratic voice in Canada. Many members suggested on how NEPMCC could participate and send its recommendations to the ministry of democratic institutions.

    Adjournment: Pooyan Tabatei moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Ahmad Shah Hotaki seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, Dr.Tajdolati adjourned the meeting at 9 pm. The next monthly meeting would take place on Monday, February 12, 2018 at the City Hall.