It’s one of the Ottawa Diplomatic Association’s most elegant events of the year and also one of its best networking opportunities.
The annual black-tie diplomatic ball has become such a popular event that it sold out three weeks beforehand. The ball began in 2011 as the brainchild of former Zambian high commissioner Nevers Mumba, as a way to connect the diplomatic, business and political communities of Ottawa and allow diplomats to talk business and politics in a relaxed setting. Mr. Mumba also felt it was a chance for diplomats to take a break from their busy schedules and have some fun with their colleagues.
A newer mission of the ball is to find a way for the diplomatic community as a whole to make a contribution to its host country, Canada, by giving some of its proceeds to a Canadian charity. This year’s recipient is the national capital region’s Children’s Wish Foundation and the organizing committee has worked in collaboration with the charity’s board chairman, Ian Smith, who collected enticing items for a silent auction. Half of the proceeds from the silent auction will go to the charity.
“We are honoured to be part of the ball for two reasons,” said Mr. Smith, who is also a protocol adviser at Ottawa City Hall. First, he said, it helps to be involved for purposes of awareness.
“We want to be able to reach out to the multicultural communities of Ottawa to let them know about our services and the diplomatic community is a good way to do that,” Mr. Smith said.
Second, he said, the foundation sometimes needs to enlist the help of an embassy to make a child’s wish come true, whether it’s for travel visas or for something more material that the embassy may be able to facilitate.
“That helps to make the diplomats feel that they’re really part of the community,” he said.
Ball chairwoman and ODA vice-president Habiba Chakir said that, between Mr. Smith and the ODA, they collected $30,000 worth of items for the silent auction. In total, the ball raised $13,000, $6,500 of which went to the wish foundation.
