In order to understand what OA Region 9 really is, it is helpful to understand how decisions are made in Overeaters Anonymous. The World Service Business Conference is made up of delegates from all over the world who have been voted by their fellows to represent their local groups and intergroups. Just as decisions are made at a local level by “group conscience” so the World Service Business Conference is the effective conscience of the fellowship as a whole.
When a group affiliates to its local intergroup or to a National Service Board the affiliation process creates a pathway of representation from the individual compulsive overeater all the way to the World Service Business Conference. The 11 Regions (10 geographical and 1 virtual) are in service of clusters of intergroups, national and language service boards that share common traits and are also made up of Representatives who speak on behalf of their local groups interests. In the case of OA Region 9 we cover Europe, Africa, Middle East and Western Asia and the main thing our groups, intergroups and service bodies have in common is that their mother tongue is often not English and culturally we are unlike the USA, which is where OA was founded and the American culture remains a strong influence.
OA Region 9 provides a point of connection and fellowship for members of OA in the 4 continents we cover. We have an annual Assembly where business that is directly relevant to our membership is discussed and voted on, we have committees that serve the needs of the Region between Assemblies, the Region 9 Board is delegated with the responsibility to carry out the wishes of the Region Assembly. Our “Primary Purpose” ensures that we always consider the needs of the still suffering compulsive eater in everything we do.
In large areas of OA Region 9 there are lone members and small meetings who do not yet have an intergroup or National Service Board to act in their best interests. We also have many groups that are not yet formally affiliated to the OA democratic structure for a variety of reasons. So much of our work is to connect with and support the lone members and groups, to support the formation of Intergroups and National Service Boards were possible, to provide translation support and workshops to strengthen local recovery to increase the rate of sponsorship and service beyond group level.
The OA Region 9 is very large and complex. From a legal perspective we keep it very simple. We have recently formed a Charitable Incorporated Organisation or CIO based in the United Kingdom to govern the bank account in accordance with UK laws and tax reporting requirements. The CIO and OA Region 9 are not the same thing; the Region is made up of everyone in it, many groups and service bodies all doing amazing service. The CIO is simply a small structure with 3 trustees who enact the wishes of the OA Region 9 Assembly in the distribution of funds, basically the Budget as agreed at Assembly each year guides the CIO in its fiscal duties.
OA Region 9 has its own set of governing Bylaws and Policy and Procedures which set out the way that we work together.