RD REPORT JUNE 2016 WORLD SERVICE CONFERENCE 2016

Transcription

1 RD REPORT JUNE 2016 Greetings OK Region! Hope everyone is ready for a 2 hr. report, a powerpoint presentation, videos and a full minute by minute accounting of the WSC? I m not! This month we will report with a summary of the WSC and we can schedule a longer presentation with videos, etc. We will also need time scheduled to discuss many issues discussed during the week. We may want to schedule some Open Forum discussion times into our normally scheduled business. This could help facilitate some discussions that can bring in the fellowship and also provide more opportunities to FULLY inform them instead of relying completely on the RCM s to pass all this information up to the groups and members. But before we get sidetracked PLAINS STATE ZONAL FORUM Our regularly scheduled meeting time did not occur at the conference due to scheduling challenges. We met briefly during our lunch break and planned the next Forum and assigned workshop responsibilities. The next PZSF will be in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 26 th - 28 th. A flyer for the event is attached. WORLD SERVICE CONFERENCE 2016 There were several items this conference that were historical or could have a long lasting results and changes directly affecting the conference. For the first time in the history of the World Service Conference, we had a woman co-facilitator and used electronic voting devices. We reaffirmed full support of the FIPT and we passed Motion 11 allowing zonal representatives to be a non-voting participants at WSC I have attached a draft of the Summary of Decisions. This is a 40 pg. report of the conference with all the motions, straw polls, literature survey results, election results, etc. All in all, there were 20 Old Business motions (the CAR) with 16 additional amendments, 7 formal New Business motions with 1 amendment, and 49 New Business proposals (7 of these were straw polled with no discussion). There were also many straw polls taken throughout the week that while not being binding decisions like motions or proposals are considered a conscience of the conference that gives us and the world board direction in moving forward over the next cycle. My report will give a summary of the summary and to give a few highlights of most of the topics. To try to summarize a 10 day conference into a short report is a difficult task. To try to present and discuss all the information in a few minutes is impossible. This was my 3 rd conference to attend, once as an AD and twice as your Delegate. In preparation of having the AD be ready for the full responsibilities of reporting to the region, prior to the WSC we divided the sessions between the two of us. The thought process was to have the Delegate be reporting on current or past items and the Alternate to be reporting on items pertaining to the future and any current ongoing discussions for decisions. Most of the sessions were attended by both of us but the reporting responsibilities were divided as follows: Cindi World Board Open Forum, Process for Business Sessions, Delegate Sharing Session, Old Business Sessions, Public Relations, FIPT and Literature Discussions, Fellowship Development, NAWS Report (one and two) Kyle Unity Day Workshops, Planning Our Future Sessions (4 sessions), HRP report and elections, Literature Survey & Strategic Plan and Budget, New Business and Moving Forward session.

2 WORLD BOARD OPEN FORUM This is a time for conference participants and any member from the fellowship to ask questions directly to the World Board. Lunch at the ranch, the world pool, the PR pamphlet for medical professionals, translation issues, rotation of service and the Business workgroup were many of the items addressed. The items that gathered the most questions and discussions concerned questions regarding the FIPT and illicit literature. This was the beginning of many discussions for the next 8 days on these topics. Many questions were pertaining to legal action that may or may not be happening. The board was not able to answer any specific questions pertaining to ongoing or future lawsuits. When asked Why doesn't the board handle these FIPT disputes in the way spelled out in the trust? What is the motive for keeping on telling us to handle it ourselves? Why don't you just handle it? One board member responded as follows: We have lived through a lawsuit on these matters before. It was long, it was painful, and it still in the end came down to a member-tomember resolution. As to the current conflict, we do not believe that those who are posing the current challenge really have a basis, but if we are going to go down a lawsuit road again, we better be willing to spend a lot of money and effort on it. We believe that the supply/demand dynamic offered by fellowship action is a better approach, and we believe you as the fellowship share with us the obligation to address these issues. This isn't a member-against-member thing, it's a reminder that we all have a responsibility to handle this matter with integrity, and we're asking the fellowship to stand up and do that. PROCESS FOR BUSINESS We reviewed the basics of the processes used in sessions as well as the proposed rules and tools included in the CAT material. We also had another chance to practice using our new electronic voting system. We discussed in detail Motions 15, 16 and 17 that would be presented BEFORE we started the Old Business in order to define how our discussions and decision making processes would be over the next week. One of the challenges in transitioning toward consensus-based decision making is that we have lacked a set of guidelines or protocols for how to have discussions and make decisions when not using parliamentary procedure. Each Conference we evolve a bit more and add a few more tools to the WSC processes toolbox. We found out later in the week the exact need and urgency to further improve these processes. One item to highlight here is some new language reflecting the support (or not) in taking straw polls to move us through discussions. This language is not to be confused when the 80/20 rule described in Motion 15 for measuring consensus. This description below is used for gathering the votes during straw polls. The straw poll language is as follows: Unanimous support = 100 percent of those present and responding to the poll push yes Strong support = at least 2/3 of those present and responding to the poll push yes Support = at least 50% + 1 of those present and responding to the poll push yes Lack of support = 49% or fewer of those present and responding to the poll push yes Strong lack of support = fewer than 1/3 of those present and responding to the poll push yes No support = no one present and responding to the poll pushes yes Proposals and motions get passed based on the number of participants present and voting in support of the proposal or motion. An

3 abstention is part of the vote count. Present not voting is not part of the vote count. So, for instance, if a proposal requires 2/3 to pass, and there are 100 participants on the floor of the Conference: would pass the proposal would fail the proposal would pass the proposal The results provided above reflect that with 100 voting participants, it requires 67 to reach 2/3rds. In the second example, there are still 100 participants voting, but only 66 are in favor of the proposal. In the final example only 99 are voting so it only requires 66 to adopt. DELEGATE SHARING This session was late Sunday night and was the result of a proposal approved at WSC 2014, which requested that time be provided for a sharing session at the WSC 2016 for RDs to talk to each other in order to foster unity. The Delegate Sharing Workgroup also helped facilitate the Saturday Unity Day workshops which resulted in two complementary sessions. Both sessions were developed entirely based on input from delegates who participated in the survey conducted by the workgroup. These sessions focused on serving with honesty, trust, goodwill, and unity. A variety of topics included: Effectively organizing and reporting information Balancing service demands with other aspects of our lives Approaching service with an open mind, humility, and tolerance Being prepared and reliable, and asking for help and delegating Inspiring others to serve and maintaining an atmosphere of recovery in service Sharing new challenges and successes The first workshop in which I participated we discussed humility and how to apply this principle in service at home and at the WSC. The second workshop was about commitment in relation to effectively communicating and organizing all the information required for reporting to my region over a two-year cycle. OLD BUSINESS The discussion session on old business motions and amending proposals started at 9 am on Monday, and concluded at 6 pm on Tuesday. At 5:00 pm Monday night, we were starting discussion on Motion 2. (Yes, that is correct. It is not a typo!) All in all, there were 20 Old Business motions, 16 amendment proposals to those 20 motions. We first approved the minutes from last conference and then reached consensus on the new motions for decision making in order to clarify the processes we would be using to conduct business. Finally, we started discussion on the motions listed in the CAR. The Draft Summary of Decisions has items listed in order of how they were presented at the conference. Listed below is a brief summary of the final decision. This does not including all amendments and straw polls taken during the process. Vote counts are listed as For/Against/Abstain/Present not voting. The OK Regions vote is listed on the right in green along with the group tally figures.

4 A few comments on the OK Region s Motion 8. During the discussion session, the initial straw polls showed a lack of support. The first straw poll was The second straw poll was Then Tuesday we moved to the Formal Old Business session where we operate by Robert s Rules. It was obvious from our lack of discussion for the motion and from the many delegates asking questions during and inbetween sessions, that the OK region would not be voting in support of the motion. A motion is designed to be a request for an action to be taken. While a motion is presented in the CAR for discussion by the fellowship and then the conference, it still has to be made and seconded during formal business session in order for a vote to be taken. Normally, if a region does not support a motion, then the motion would not be presented into the voting session. The process is the region reads the motion to the body and then speaks to the motion to further explain the intent and rationale. This is not used as one of the 3 pros during formal business. This was an unusual situation and after speaking to the parliamentarian and other experienced delegates, found that this was indeed a rare situation that a region would make a motion in the CAR and then not be in support of same motion. I still felt that our region would want the motion to be presented and have the opportunity for all regions to participate in this decision. So I made the following comment when asked to present and speak to the motion. In April 2015 this motion was sent to the Areas of the OK Region to be presented in the CAR. As of today, the OK Region is not in support of this motion. We have not withdrawn this motion due to the amount of discussion this motion has generated. We believe the conscience of the NA fellowship will be revealed in this process and later this week during further sessions. We then voted No for the motion. I feel my actions were reflective of the conscience of this region to have the topic discussed and voted on by the fellowship. PUBLIC RELATIONS There have been some great strides made in Public Relations around the globe over the past cycle, with a lot of local efforts made, including radio and TV Public Service Announcements, bus signs, and many other types of reaching out. Members have become increasingly energetic in their efforts to make the public potential members, professionals, and others who may guide addicts to NA aware that our program offer addicts an opportunity to experience freedom from active addiction. Member efforts are helping NA thrive in communities around the world Professional events are perhaps one of the most efficient means of reaching professionals who come in contact with addicts. During this

5 Conference cycle we were able to attend a dozen events, and based on the interactions that we had with attendees we find that NA, while known to some, still remains widely unknown to many professionals. Other 12 step fellowships and a host of other recovery related organizations, as well as pharmaceutical companies all regularly attend many professional events. Our participation at these conferences is essential to making our Fellowship known as a viable means of recovery. Without it we miss the opportunity to interact with professionals and to inform them that NA is an abstinence-based, free community resource for addicts. In our experience, many of the professionals we meet at these events are open-minded and genuinely interested in helping addicts find our meetings and helping them maintain their recovery. Professional events attended included the NADC: National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the ASAM: American Society of Addiction Medicine where we were asked to present a workshop, and IFNGO: International Federation of Non- Government Organizations This conference isn t focused on treatment of addicts but is discussing ways of collaborating with others and getting treatment centers and other options (like NA) to get established. The Membership Survey results were revealed. A total of 22,803 responses were received, which is 6,053 more responses than the 2013 survey, and the most responses that we have ever received. One statistic was interesting. Although in NA we believe we can only keep what we have by giving it away, 85% of respondents have a sponsor while only 58% said they sponsor others. Forty-six percent cited treatment or counseling agency as the greatest influence to attend their first NA meeting. This reinforces the importance of PR committees work informing agencies and professionals who can refer addicts to NA. Opiates continue to be the main drug used and illustrated a 3% increase from 2013, which seems to mirror the trend of increasing opiate use in the US. For some, a disturbing trend may be a decrease in the percentage of women members, at least those who participated in the survey. The 2015 survey indicated 41% were female while 59% were male, which represents a 6% decrease from 2011, when 47% of respondents were women. This is just a snapshot of the Membership Survey; the entire survey data will be shown in an upcoming presentation. And one final PR piece The OK Region and more specifically the Eastern Area Regional PR committee was given a kudos for their ability to obtain Continuing Education Units for the medical professionals attending the recent PR presentation at the regional convention. This seems to have been a difficult task for most regions and PR committees and is a new idea being used to help facilitate PR presentations with those professionals and their staff who have contacts with possible future members. Just another way to further help get our message to suffering addicts. Way to go OK!!

6 FELLOWSHIP DEVELOPMENT Current FD relationships with developing NA communities include Africa, Russia, India, and the Middle East. FD also happens in developed communities, including events such as zonal forums and CAR workshops. Kudos again to the OK Region and their work with the Multi- Zonal Service Symposium and the Plains State Zonal Forum (both were recognized!) NA now speaks 80 different languages, and our literature is published in 42 languages. The needs are more than double now than they were years ago. Every 10 seconds someone is saying the Serenity Prayer somewhere. Some of the highlights of the Fellowship Development presentation included information for the Asia Pacific Forum that 22 countries were seated at the their meeting in Bangkok earlier. Also while their, the Thai fellowship was their translated Basic Text. Also in attendance was a Chinese woman who was interviewed in She had been given a LWB in jail and was the first ever Chinese delegate to attend the APF meeting. In the Middle East getting women into meetings has been prioritized. Major strides are being made in Egypt, where they are now allowing women in the meetings. 99% of all women in meetings are in either Iran or Egypt. Russia celebrated 25 years this year and social media and Skype recovery and service meetings are the rage! They seem to be able to make connections regardless of geographical distances. The first European Learning Days was held this year. The AfriCan Zone is ever evolving and meetings across this this continent are always starting and stopping. The white areas show where there is NO Narcotics Anonymous. Ironically the continent seems to be covered in white and South Africa is the only stable community. Translations have occurred in Swahili despite some difficulties in getting some generically translated illicit literature. The translations committee released their first text not long after the conference. FIPT and Literature There are three main issues discussed during the conference concerning the FIPT and our literature. They are: Illicit literature/grey books Registering group with NAWS that use non NA approved literature Area/Regional websites posting recovery literature Gray Book Groups and Group Registration Concerns Currently there are four registrations for meetings that have made it clear they plan to use what is called the gray form in their format. The gray form was the review and input draft that compiled all of the input received from members at a middle phase of the development of the Basic Text. The input received after the draft was released resulted in substantial changes to the text. Review and input drafts are not intended for use in meetings and are not Fellowshipapproved. Sometimes items in a registration stand out and calls for more questions to be asked when a group is registering with NAWS. Some examples of this are a group name (like the First Baptist NA group), lack of NA terminology (including not knowing the ASC or RSC), the group location (individuals homes, apartment building), a non-na member registrant

7 (treatment professional, pastor) to name a few. If there is any obvious concern, the point of contact is reached to clarify what an NA group is. This usually resolves the most common issues. The Group Booklet, a Fellowshipapproved booklet, identifies that NA groups use only NA approved literature in NA meetings. To use the gray form in an NA meeting is in conflict with this Fellowship conscience. NAWS believes that groups that openly disregard the Fellowship s expectations of what an NA group is, as expressed in The Group Booklet, require their attention. They weren t sure how to proceed, so were holding these groups registrations until discussion could be had at the WSC. The next topic was illicit literature in regards to the baby blue distribution. There were two bulletins created and sent out this cycle to address this issue. The WB and NAWS are asking for help from the Fellowship to put an end to this behavior and believe the reasonable approach is to simply exercise due diligence. An external remedy will not solve this problem. It was stressed multiple times that the issue is not with members personal use of any NA literature but the distribution of literature outside of the guidelines of the FIPT. discussed in detail with the fellowship in the OK Region. The straw polls below were NOT decisions made by the conference but only straw polls taken to give an idea to the WB and NAWS about how the conference participants currently felt about these topics. In the FIPT session, we answered yes to the first question and no to the second. We also answered no the third item about taking action that could mean shutting down websites as we felt this could have long term consequences and we did not have enough information or understanding of the effects this could have. In the moving forward session, we answered yes to all three items. We agreed that NA meetings should use current literature but did feel that those meetings that still had 5 th editions or older version of JFT for example, would not be in conflict with the fellowships conscience of the FIPT or understanding of the term nonapproved literature. We felt like an additional statement from the conference reflecting the conscience of all the regions of NA would further clarify the fellowships voice in this matter. The last item in this discussion was the topic of ASC/RSC Posting Literature online. Concerns were duplication by paper or digital is not permitted by the FIPT; the ASCs doing this have been asked numerous times to remove the posted literature; there are currently websites that are posting book length pieces. NAWS can contact the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and send a copy of the FIPT, showing that the posted items are done illegally. The ISP will most likely shut down the site and then current, local meeting lists would not be available. NAWS again asked for guidance from the WSC on how to handle these issues. There were many straw polls taken during the Moving Forward sessions that are listed below. This is one of the items that will need to be

8 NAWS REPORT There are three main NAWS publication: The NA Way, NAWS News and Reaching Out. Also distributed is the Annual Report among other occasional periodicals. Currently the NA Way has 26,454 copies ed in 8 languages. NAWS News has 122,251 e-subscriptions in 6 languages. Reaching Out has 13,546 paper subscriptions. The NAWS database currently stores over 100,000 addresses. need a lot of translations. We look at how much we can translate in any given year, for the least amount of cost. We now have IP #1 in both Zulu, Estonian, Amharic and Cree, and the Introductory Guide to NA in Chinese. Farsi is the only non-english communities that have all literature translated; Spanish is close, with only Miracles Happen not translated. We still have a long way to go! One of the goals of NAWS is to ensure reliable flow of literature by navigating customs, duties and politics when necessary. Approximately 35% of all NA literature is distributed through regional service offices; the rest is distributed by NAWS, through local distribution centers when possible. There are three distribution centers: in Canada, Belgium, and India and have agreements with locations in Egypt, Russia, Argentina, and Brazil. As a reminder Tradition Nine: NA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve, still applies to regional service offices, even if they have incorporated. There is no such thing as an autonomous service corporation. And Anthony states vigorously this included our WSO! NA is currently in 130 countries, and we speak 76 languages. Translation contractors are very costly; the communities that are most in need of assistance are typically those that are least able to contribute. If we are successful in sharing our message worldwide, we will always This is the end of my portion of the summary of the WSC. More will be revealed throughout the next several months as videos are presented, discussions occur and more questions are asked. Further information concerning the items listed in the beginning of this report will be addressed by the alternate. Thank you to the OK Region for allowing me to serve. I am forever humbled. Anonymous Trusted Servants from AfriCan Zone