The Votes Are In! Let’s Recap World Service Business Conference 2026
“The OA Solution Is for Life” was the theme of this year’s World Service Business Conference, which convened from April 22–25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Altogether, 162 OA members gave service as delegates, including 54 first-timers, also known as Green Dots. Together they participated in a packed schedule that included morning recovery meetings and evening workshops centered on the Conference theme.
The business meetings, however, were the main event. These were led by board chair Bob L. and supported by OA’s registered parliamentarian and numerous volunteers who served as the center microphone monitor and pages who monitored the doors, counted votes, and helped maintain order by delivering handwritten messages to about 175 people seated in the large ballroom. During these business meetings, the delegates worked productively to present, debate, and vote on 22 proposals, including some that suggested significant changes to the OA program.
Approved Literature Manuscripts
Both literature manuscripts presented to World Service Business Conference were approved and will have the Conference Seal of Approval when published:
Healing the Mind, Body, and Spirit: Mental Health and Recovery in Overeaters Anonymous
Unity with Diversity Checklist (now posted to oa.org)
Approved Policy Changes
The following Conference policy changes were approved:
- Update policy 1979c to state that the Delegate Binder will include a budget overview and treasurer’s report and delete the similar policy 1986b.
- Update policy 1980d with gender-neutral language, changing “chairmanship” to “chair.”
- Update policies 1979e and 2010e to conform with current privacy practices regarding delegates’ personal contact information.
- Update policy 1984a to change one word in the OA Preamble: the OA Preamble now says “compulsive eating” and not “compulsive overeating.”
- Update policy 1993a to suggest OA meetings and events “use” any of the suggested prayers or the OA Promise. The policy no longer suggests meetings and events “be closed with” one of the prayers or the Promise. The change is intended to encourage use of suggested prayers at any time during our gatherings rather than only at the end.
- Updated policy 1993a to include a new Serenity Statement written and approved by World Service Business Conference 2026. The Serenity Statement reads, “I seek the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
- Updated policy 2010a to add the Plain Language Big Book to the list of OA-approved literature.
These approved changes will be applied to the Business Conference Policy Manual, OA literature, the OA website, and other places where these texts appear as World Service Office staff time and costs allow.
The delegates did not approve motions that would have expanded the OA-approved literature list to include additional new titles published by Alcoholics Anonymous, changed the name of the telephone Tool to “outreach,” or created an “Ethnically Jewish” specific focus.
One proposal was referred to the board’s Convention Planning Committee. If approved, it would have changed policy 1984b to mandate that OA world service host a virtual retreat every two years in addition to World Service Convention. After debate, the delegates voted to refer this proposal so the Convention Planning Committee could determine whether the idea is feasible under the current world service budget.
Approved Bylaw Amendments
The following Bylaw Amendments were approved:
- Update OA Bylaws, Subpart B, Article VI — Service Bodies and other text in our bylaws to change the word “boards” to “bodies.” National, language, and specific focus service boards are now called service bodies. This change was made to simplify and improve the general understanding of our service structure in our growing international Fellowship.
- Update OA Bylaws, Subpart B, Article IX — Conference Committees and other text in our Bylaws to replace the Conference’s Bylaws Committee with a Reference Committee to improve the efficiency and purpose of this committee. The delegates did not approve proposals to: change our Steps and Traditions to replace the words “compulsive overeater” and “compulsive overeaters” with the words “compulsive eater” and “compulsive eaters,” remove a minor phrase from bylaws text concerning the Region Chairs Committee, change the process to amend the Steps and Traditions by counting the votes of participating service bodies instead of participating groups, nor add language that would allow registered OA groups to modify the gender-specific words in Step Twelve when reading that step aloud so long as the group also announced a scripted disclaimer.
Trustee Elections
Six qualified nominees ran for election to fill seven trustee vacancies. Congratulations to all six nominees who were either newly elected or re-elected for three-year terms:
- Alexandra D.
- Alice W.
- Beverly M.
- Gary D.
- Karen C.
- Michelle D.
Following Conference, all newly elected trustees chose an experience trustee to serve as their respective mentors. In addition, the board declared a vacancy of one trustee seat, which will be filled by the board’s appointment for a one-year term.
Trustee Assignments
Following Conference, trustees were assigned or elected to serve as board officers and liaisons to the OA regions:
| Office or Liaison to Region | Trustee |
|---|---|
| Chair | Bob L. |
| First Vice Chair | Cyndy L. |
| Second Vice Chair | Cindy C. |
| Treasurer | Beverly M. |
| Region One | Beverly M. |
| Region Two | Michelle D. |
| Region Three | Karen C. |
| Region Five | Juliette R. |
| Region Six | Blair P. |
| Region Seven | Preston F. |
| Region Eight | Gary D. |
| Region Nine | Emilia I. |
| Region Ten | Susan M. |
| Virtual Region | Laurie O. |
The officers, plus Gary D. and Susan M., will serve on the board’s Executive Committee. In addition, all trustees serve on one or more of the board’s fourteen other committees.
Conference Committee Co-chairs
The seven working committees of World Service Business Conference are being served by the following delegate and trustee co-chairs:
| Committee | Delegate Co-chair | Trustee Co-chair |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | Lisa T. | Susan M. |
| Conference Literature | Anne W. | Cindy C. |
| Public Information and Professional Outreach (PIPO) | Hennie V. and Kathy S. | Laurie O. |
| Region Chairs | Loudovika P. | Gary D. |
| Twelfth Step Within | Debby L. | Juliette R. |
| Unity with Diversity | Sharlotte G. | Preston F. |
| Young Adults | Robbie T. | Blair P. |
These committees have set goals and will work on numerous projects in the coming year to strengthen our Fellowship. Thank you, co-chairs and delegate committee members, for your service!
Suspended Translation Licenses Debated
Toward the end of Conference, an Emergency New Business Proposal was introduced that forced an important discussion about translation licenses. Licenses allowing service bodies to publish and distribute translated literature been indefinitely suspended for about a year by the board’s Executive Committee. The purpose of the suspension was to allow the board to develop new processes for publishing and distributing that would provide better distribution and safeguard our Seventh Tradition. During the debate, delegates expressed concern that a solution was not coming fast enough. Groups and service bodies whose primary language is not English have become increasingly hampered as the suspension has continued. After honest debate, the delegates voted to grant the Executive Committee until September 1, 2026, to deploy a new process or else allow translation licensing to resume.
The OA board wants everyone in our Fellowship to know that trustees have been working very hard for about a year to develop a new solution. The details, such as technology and taxes, are complex, and the outcome will directly affect the literature sales that support our Seventh Tradition. In an era where digital publishing, translation, and piracy of copyrighted material seems easier than ever, it is important for OA to preserve the value of its intellectual property while carrying the message as far and as wide as possible.
Our Worldwide Group Conscience
At the conclusion of Conference, everyone in the room celebrated the breadth and diversity of our delegates who worked diligently and in concert with a higher power to express the group conscience of OA. Altogether, our 162 delegates represented 20 countries and 12 languages, including:
- The countries of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Holland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Spain, United States, and Wales
- The languages American Sign Language, Danish, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Welsh.
We can express gratitude to our delegates for their commitment to working our Twelve Step program to maintain their abstinence and for giving this service. Thank you delegates!
