Other Reports – Trustee Liaison

The Assembly will be held on the 18th of May from 2 pm to 7 pm UK time

*The virtual groups total is included in Total Number of Groups.

Region Nine Composition, Language Diversity, and Service Bodies

Region 9 serves OA in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Western Asia, including all of Russia. It covers a multilingual and multicultural area of more than seventy million square kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans and the North Pole to South Africa, including more than 100 countries.

In Region 9 OA has a presence in more than forty countries with active service bodies, meetings, and/or OA members speaking more than forty languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Kazakh, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, North Macedonian, Norwegian, Maltese, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Scottish, Sepedi, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Welsh, and Zulu.

There are 13 National Service Boards and 1 Language Service Board, and 52 Intergroups present in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Wales.

A very discouraging piece of news is that the Intergroup with the largest number of affiliated groups has disbanded due to a lack of servants. We should think about the importance of service and how it is carried out. The risk is that similar situations will arise. But even though many service bodies are disbanding because there aren’t enough members to do the service, I have received news that many service bodies are ready to register. This is good news.

On the other hand, the number of the groups is increasing but, unfortunately, there are still many groups that are not affiliated even though there are already service bodies in their countries. The reason for this condition remains unknown; what is certain is that these groups remain isolated.

Registered and unaffiliated meetings are in Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Gibraltar, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Wales.

It seems incredible that members and groups still do not understand the importance and added value of affiliation.

Region 9 Contacts, Support, and Events.

The Region 9 Trustee Liaison assists any Region 9 groups and service bodies needing help understanding the OA service structure, filling out the Bylaws, and helping them understand some other service materials, logo approval, policies, service, traditions, concepts workshop, and Q&A. She’s also helping them with how translation works and should be done, how to follow some important guidelines, and how to fill out License 1 and 2.

Trustee Liaison Activities

I am grateful to be the trustee liaison for this region, where I am always loved. It is amazing how the Fellows of Region Nine welcome me each time we meet either in person or virtually: they know they can call, text, or email me any time they have a concern or just a simple question. I try to respond as quickly as possible, recognising that a happy member can be an effective trusted servant. They ask me for clarification about the practice of traditions, the meaning of abstinence, healthy body size, new virtual meeting organisation, service structure, translation process, literature orders, intergroup bylaws, outside issues, and many other topics. Each time it’s an opportunity to learn more about them and the principles of OA. I’m also asked to facilitate workshops on translation, service, traditions and concepts, traditions, how to be an effective trusted servant: there’s a lot of buzz, and that’s a good sign because it’s a symptom of growth.

I work closely with the Service, Traditions and Concepts Committee, with the Translation and Interpretation Committee, and with the Active Outreach Committee: they reach out to me when they need clarifications with policies and procedures. I showed the Service, Traditions and Concepts Committee how to run the Step Tradition and Concepts workshop. Then I’m asked to teach also the Translation and Interpretation Committee how to facilitate the Translation workshop. I’m passing all my knowledge so that the committees members are autonomous and knowledgeable.

Shortly after the Region 9 Assembly in Athens, I have been working constantly – on a daily basis – with the Region 9 Chair to monitor, and let’s say even pause, the Virtual Region’s wanted project to create a digital platform for the sale of translated OA literature and the creation of a translation committee with the goal of translating OA literature into a universal Spanish.

The implementation of all this could lead to a decrease in literature sales – and thus income – for each service body in Region 9 and other affected regions, as well as in Regions 2, 6, 8, and 10. The other regions have also been involved in this review and monitoring. We will keep you informed.

Board of Trustees Service

I am the Conference Planning Committee Chair: we did our best to organise and schedule an amazing event like the World Service Business Conference. I am a member of the International Publications/Translations Committee: many translation and printing funds have been granted to Region 9 service bodies and there will be an update on the Translation Guidelines and also the new Ad-hoc Living Abstinently Book Committee: the title of the book is not decided yet, but it’s about a more practical approach to abstinence.

I am grateful for all the opportunities I have on the board and the many things I have learned.

Sometimes it can be difficult because of time differences, but with a little open mind, resilience, and assertiveness, everything becomes easier, especially when we honestly share the challenges and concerns we are experiencing. Being on a Board that is open to dialogue is a great accomplishment, and I’m grateful to be part of it.

I would like to say thank you to, the Region Nine Chair, Loudovika. It is amazing giving service with her. 

Trustee Liaison to Region 9