Ottawa Tamil Association Hosts the Seventh Tamil Heritage Month Gala on January 29, 2023

The Tamil Heritage Month Gala takes place on the last Sunday in January in Ottawa for celebrating the Tamil heritage, arts, and thanksgiving to nature.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, December 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA) released a statement: “The seventh annual Tamil Heritage Month Gala is planned to be held at St. Elias Center on January 29, 2023, in Ottawa. The evening will focus on sharing the Tamil Canadian community's achievements, celebrating Tamil heritage, arts, and an appreciation for the Tamil Genocide recognition by the parliament in 2022. OTA is a Canadian Not-For-Profit organization that was founded in 2014 to primarily serve the Tamil Canadian community in Ottawa. OTA activities involve advocating justice and human rights, encouraging volunteerism and philanthropy, skill development, celebrating Tamil heritage, and fostering Canadian values. OTA is also a member of the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FetNA) and the Federation of Global Tamil Organizations (FGTO).”

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Since 2011, a Group of Ottawa Tamils has been actively supporting human rights and justice for Eelam Tamils and advocating for Tamil genocide recognition. Collaborative efforts such as No Fire Zone documentary projects, sponsoring human rights conferences, and coordinating events and meetings with other human rights groups, politicians, and Tamil organizations are part of OTA’s activities since 2014. In addition, Ottawa Tamil Association was also involved in providing factual details and requested parliamentarians to support the motions for Tamil heritage Month and Tamil Genocide recognition. During its first Tamil Heritage Month Gala in 2017, OTA invited the parliamentarians and others for a formal dinner at Canada’s capital. The dinner keynote speech and other speeches focus on human rights and justice and programs focus on Tamil heritage. The Tamil literature such as banners, books, and displays also reflects both Tamil heritage and genocide.

The annual Tamil Heritage Month Gala provides a venue once a year for activists and community leaders to meet representatives from Toronto, Montreal, Cornwall, and the USA. The dinner also shows the resilience of the Tamil Canadian community and encouragement for the community’s next generation to be proud of their heritage, do more for Canada and be loyal to Canada. Many Tamil Canadians escaped from Sri Lanka’s genocide and several suffered a lot in their homeland. Canada gave them not only refuge but also plenty of opportunities to succeed. In return, Tamil Canadians are also grateful and contribute to Canada’s economy in several different ways.

OTA annually rides Big Bike in spring for the heart and stroke foundation and donates to the local Food Bank in September in memory of Thiyagi Thileepan. While highlighting justice Sri Lanka’s genocide against Eelam Tamils and Tamil’s sovereignty in their homeland Tamil Eelam, OTA also supports humanitarian efforts for Eelam Tamils who suffered not only genocide in the past but also continuous oppression in their homeland as well. Entrepreneurship and education is the other area of work OTA has expanded over the years and every year several workshops and sessions are held ranging from young students to adults. As part of encouraging skill development, OTA also annually hires summer students with Canadian Government partnerships. This allows the students to learn new skills while contributing to important community work.

OTA collaborated with many partners to organize conferences and collaborative projects. In 2017, when the Northern provincial council Chief minister visited Canada, OTA was one of the six organizations that arranged several of his programs. In 2018, with seven organizations, it played a key role in organizing the 2nd International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka. Around 30 scholars presented their research papers and work at this conference. This conference was significant because it was the 2nd conference in Ottawa following the 1999 conference. OTA publishes annual financial statements every year and holds at least one community town hall meeting. Annually, OTA organizes the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day event in Ottawa to remember and highlight justice for the crimes of genocide committed by the Sri Lankan government.

The Tamil Heritage Month Gala takes place on the last Sunday in January, not only celebrating the Tamil heritage, arts, and thanksgiving to nature, but also the collective resilience of the community. The formal dinner reminds us that the Sri Lankan government’s systematic genocide can’t eliminate the Eelam Tamil community’s identity and history. As a thriving multicultural fabric in the world and appreciates diversity, Canada continues to be a strong leader in the world and Tamil Canadians are a contributing community.

Ottawa Tamil Association
https://ottawatamilassociation.ca/

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