unable to engage

were spent on the venue and on brochures distributed at the event.

Sydney resident Rajesh Kumar wrote on Indian Link’s Facebook page, “There was absolutely no marketing. If people (or organisations) want to sell something, they first have to spend money to spread the word. Generally our people have this habit in India of relying on the population, the quantity but not the quality; the Indian government has to realise that the quantity stuff with no quality can work delegates only in India and not outside India”.

The figure of registered delegates bandied about was 600; however even at the peak of the conference on Day Two, it was obvious that there were less than 350 people in attendance. When questioned about this, organisers responded that there had been 600 registrations, and perhaps people chose not to attend. Hard to believe, as there are not too many people who would forfeit the attendance fees of $425.

The cost of $425 per delegate was deemed extreme even by those who did attend. Not only was this amount prohibitive to most in Sydney, interstate and overseas visitors would have had to add travel and accommodation fares as well.

“I found it very pricey,” said one Sydney resident who chose not to attend. “There seems to be little idea of the income and lifestyle pressures of the local Indian community”.

He added laughingly that one organising committee member tried to entice him with the attraction of food: two grand lunches and two dinners, besides quality speakers at the sessions.

(Reporting on the event in Indian magazine Kerala Today, delegate Treassa Joseph commented that most of the attendees were members of the Indian community who were closely connected to the Indian High Commission or organisations that were already engaged in bilateral relations with India).

The decision to run the event over weekdays was another point of contention. This meant that