Durban to host Tamil conference

THE South African Tamil Federation will host the 2016 International Conference on the Tamil Diaspora in Durban — a platform which will propagate the Tamil language on a global level.

Federation president Karthy Moothsamy said this had been announced last week at the first such Tamil diaspora conference in Mauritius.

“This is an opportunity for the South African Tamil community to share our story of how we have preserved, promoted and propagated our rich heritage with the rest of the international diaspora.”

Moothsamy was given a golden shawl in recognition of the role the federation has played in the upliftment of the Tamil people of South Africa and in recognition of its collaboration with the Mauritian Tamil Temple Trust.

Moothsamy said that in Tamil tradition, giving someone a shawl was an expression of respect.

The International Conference on the Tamil Diaspora is held in collaboration with the Institute of Asian Studies in Chennai and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius.

“The conference brings together members of the Tamil diaspora countries and the scholars involved in the study of the Tamil diaspora to promote academic research on an international level,” Moothsamy said.

“This conclave will bring together people from the Tamil diaspora living in various parts of the world and foster interaction and solidarity among widespread groups.”

Moothsamy said preparations for the conference would start in February and it would probably take place in July 2016, with an estimated 200 delegates expected.