Cultural Committee
Conversation with Jayana Shah A resident of Los Angeles, Jayana Shah is a Graphic Designer by profession. She is deeply involved with a number of volunteer activities at JCSC, JAINA and many other NGOs. For JAINA, she has volunteered in the Souvenir Committee in 2015, 2017, 2019 (Chair) and 2021, Creative director of the Cultural Program and Religious and Marketing committee in the 2019 Convention and Chair, Cultural Committee and member of Religious and Souvenir committee and board member of Convention for the 2021 Convention. She has been contributing her services to JAINA Calendar and Jain Digest for many years. Cultural Committee Members are: Jayana Shah (Chair), Sapan Doshi (Co-Chair), Ramila Shah, Meghna Shah, and Reepal Shah. JD: Thanks, Jayanaben, for taking the time to talk with me about JAINA’s Cultural Committee. What is the function of this committee and was your role in it? Jayana: The Cultural Committee is responsible for organizing a cultural show at the JAINA Convention. I am the Chair of the committee. With help from other committee members, we decide on the theme of the show, get the community members to participate in the program, review and approve their entries, work with the media and other committees to put the event together. JD: Since this year the convention was virtual, how was organizing the program different this year than previous conventions? Jayana: Let me begin by giving you a background of how a convention show normally works. Typically, when we have an in-person convention, the Jain Center in that location is hosting the convention, including the Cultural show. Naturally, most of the participants in the cultural items are from that particular Jain Center community and members who are attending the convention. For example, in 2019, 16 of 21 the items were from LA because the Convention was in LA area. Another difference is that in the in-person convention people perform on stage. However, this year because it was virtual, there was no specific Jain Center responsible to put the whole event together. It was really a JAINA function where talents from all across North America were brought together to manage the events. From the perspective of the cultural show this meant that we had an opportunity to get participants not only from Jain 34 34
Centers across North America, but also from other countries. Another big difference was that since the convention was not in person, instead of people performing on the stage, we needed get the prerecorded videos of their performances. JD: Wow! Really a Global event! Sounds like lot more work. What were some of the challenges for you in managing this task? Jayana: One of the main challenges was communication. People were used to the concept of performing on the stage under bright lights and a live, cheering audience. We had to explain to people that they need to consider this a YouTube video or a movie! Then they thought that their performance would be on a live Zoom meeting; and we had to clarify that this will be a recording of their performance that people will watch on Laaveo, the convention platform. Other challenges were related to getting their commitments and reminding them to send their videos on time! We had to put together 4 hours of cultural program in four months; hence the lack of adequate time was a challenge as well. JD: What were the opportunities and challenges for the participants? Jayana: A virtual convention meant that people did not have to travel in order to participate. This was a big plus for the participants. Another exciting thing we pointed out to them was that since this was not an onstage performance, they could choose any “backdrop” they wanted. They could record their performances in a natural setting such as any internal or external part of temple or well-known monument of
