Dear Friends,

Wish you all a very happy Diwali and may prosperity, good health and happiness prevail as we usher in the New Year.

Earlier in October, I, accompanied by IIID Immediate Past President, Ashok Butala; President Elect, Nitin Saolapurkar and Honorary Secretary, Pratap Jadhav, landed in Beijing, China, to attend the Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA) General Assembly. We found the country techno-savvy, vibrant and quite amazing. Debating among ourselves we concluded that the reason was the people “love their country and work”.

This reminds me of a movie, The Party, in which Peter Sellers portrayed an Indian character, Hrundi V. Bakshi. In one scene, he was asked, “Who do you think you are?” He replied, “In India, we do not think who we are, we know who we are”.

If we want to march in rhythm to international beats, it is time we start brain-storming and figure out “who we are” instead of “where we are”.

The technology wave is overwhelming. It has left in its wake a plethora of new inventions, new tools and a whole lot of baffled people. Visionaries predict its absolute dominance in the years to come, and with the internet spearheading this technological revolution, the onslaught is likely to be rapid and acute.

One of our biggest challenges is the need to develop clear, respectful and open communications across all design institutes internationally, allowing us to transition towards becoming a cohesive global community. Our expertise – the design of interiors – is known to be a “people” profession. We are required to practice the art of dealing sensitively with people as we expand, in order to manage the diversity of cultural understanding and behaviour present within our design fraternity and in the international community. This requires cultivating new approaches to develop collaborative unity. In order to bring together so many unique voices and points of view from around the world, we must find appropriate terms of engagement through the establishment of a common Code of Conduct.

Therefore, we have coined a theme – “CONNECT” and “SPREAD”. But, to achieve this we need to unite, we need to join hands and we need to first collaborate among ourselves. The biggest opportunity to show our “oneness” is our National Convention – NATCON 2011 – to be held in February 2011 in Jaipur. I appeal to you all to take the first step by registering for NATCON 2011, and hope to see you there.

Warm Regards,

Ar. Bankim Dave