The conference will be held at Vivekananda International Convention Center, at Domaines des Pailles.

Comité National Pas Bliyé Nu Rasinn

Some of you might have heard of “Project 2006,” which is aimed at inviting our fellow Mauritians from around the world for a weeklong conference in Mauritius. The theme chosen for the symposium is: “Pa Bliye Nou Rasinn;” Lest We Forget Our Roots;” “Afin Que Nos Racines ne se Perdent”. Hosted under the hospices of “La Pastorale du Tourisme et des Migrants,” the symposium will run from July 16 through July 23, 2006 in Mauritius. Participants of the symposium will be Mauritians of the diaspora who migrated to Europe, Australia, Africa, North America, and Asia following the independence of Mauritius. Objectives of the conference include but are not limited to:

• serving as a catalyst for carrying out critical functions such as providing a sense of belonging and concern, transmitting a sense of identity and direction, and strengthening values to the Mauritian diaspora.
• serving as a vehicle for empowering and strengthening members of the Mauritian diaspora and helping them to renew their ties with their motherland and those who never left.
• celebrating, nurturing, and passing on the Mauritian experience of philanthropy (i.e., giving talents, time, and goods).
• providing a chance for Mauritians of the diaspora to come back to Mauritius and reconnect with their motherland.
• creating an opportunity for those who left Mauritius and never came back to revisit their roots.
• giving a chance for Mauritian immigrants of Australia, Europe, Africa, America and Asia to meet and exchange experiences that will enrich one another.
• giving an opportunity for interaction between those who left and those who stayed.

The planning team anticipates a minimum of 1'000 participants from the Mauritian diaspora scattered over five continents, and we foresee the vast majority of them arriving from Australia and Europe. A crowd of about 200'000 people is expected to converge on Marie Reine de la Paix for the “Big Gathering” that will conclude the conference on Sunday July 23, 2006. With the gracious collaboration of Air Mauritius and Agence Concorde, we are working at offering a very attractive package to every participant who will be traveling for the conference. More details about the package will follow by mid December.

Because we want to reach out to as many Mauritians as we can, we urge you to make this information available to everyone you know. Your address book is one of our best resources to communicate with our prospective participants, and we will be very grateful if you would forward this mail to everyone recorded in it. You can also help us by supplying us with the following:

• electronic addresses or websites of Mauritian clubs or organizations abroad
• radio stations, or programs run by or hosted for the Mauritian communities overseas
• any other medium that you can suggest in order to allow us to reach out to the maximum of Mauritian overseas.

Thank you so much for your help. A website about the conference will soon be up and running. We will supply you the link in a future mail which you will be able to share to your contact. May God bless you all.

Fr. Jocelyn Gregoire. Email

Entrevue de J. Gregoire