The 90th AANF Assyrian convention recently concluded in the city of Anaheim, CA.
I don't have the exact numbers, but it has been at least one decade or longer since the convention was held in an eastern city, be it Chicago, Detroit, Boston or others. And while I totally understand the lure of doing it in a hot city like Phoenix, Los Angeles and others, the convention needs to go back to its origin on a regular basis. In the past, the tradition was to go back to Chicago every two years. Seems like that tradition is no longer in place?
This brings me to my next point which I observed while watching videos and photos from the recent convention, including from my own family and relatives: increasingly, more and more youth are participating in these events, be it the Assyrian convention, or other cultural events, and this is really nice to see. Can't cultivate tomorrow's leaders without getting the youth interested and involved today. There is a coolness factor to Assyrian cultural events these days and youth are being pulled in without much forcing or pressure from the parents. Think having kids that just naturally love doing homework and you never have to check on them. That is how I feel our youth are today with the culture.
ASHOOR
I don't have the exact numbers, but it has been at least one decade or longer since the convention was held in an eastern city, be it Chicago, Detroit, Boston or others. And while I totally understand the lure of doing it in a hot city like Phoenix, Los Angeles and others, the convention needs to go back to its origin on a regular basis. In the past, the tradition was to go back to Chicago every two years. Seems like that tradition is no longer in place?
This brings me to my next point which I observed while watching videos and photos from the recent convention, including from my own family and relatives: increasingly, more and more youth are participating in these events, be it the Assyrian convention, or other cultural events, and this is really nice to see. Can't cultivate tomorrow's leaders without getting the youth interested and involved today. There is a coolness factor to Assyrian cultural events these days and youth are being pulled in without much forcing or pressure from the parents. Think having kids that just naturally love doing homework and you never have to check on them. That is how I feel our youth are today with the culture.
ASHOOR
