Welcome to the first ever Newsletter of Burmese Cultural Society of Alberta (BCSA).As we enter our sixth month of Burmese Cultural Society of Alberta being formally organized, we are overwhelmed by the strong support that we have received for our work. THANK YOU to all for your donations, your time and your encouragement.
We held our BCSA Opening Ceremony and the first ever Burmese Thingyan Festival on 11 April 2010 and 17 April 2010 respectively and what a great success it was! Mr.Jim Gurnett (former Executive Director of Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers) and Mr. Mahendra Wijayasinghe ( former President of the Alberta Buddhist Vihara Association ) were our keynote Speakers for BCSA Opening Ceremony. Dr.Steven Aung ( associate clinical professor in the Departments of Medicine , University of Alberta) was our keynote Speaker for Burmese Thingyan Festival. Dr.Steven Aung is a recipient of a Physician of the Century Award and the Order of Canada. Their support and advice for BCSA created excitement and interest.
Being a very new Society, we normally had limited resources and it was a difficult time, but eventually things turned out all right. To our surprise, our efforts finally met with big success due to strong support given by Burmese people and friends of Burma residing in Alberta.
You have undoubtedly heard the "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".The Board of Directors is made up of a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds. Together, the Board sets policies for BCSA to ensure that we are responding to the needs of our community, and to ensure that our able BCSA Executives and members have the resources they need to carry out BCSA's Mission.
We see Burmese Cultural Society of Alberta (BCSA) as an instrument for positive change in Alberta. If you would like to contribute to our success, as a Board Member, Regular Member, Associate Member, or as a volunteer, we encourage you to contact our Secretary/Treasurer Ma Kaythi Mon.
Sincerely yours,
U Than Aung
President
Burmese Cultural Society of Alberta (BCSA)