European Committee (EC) Annual Report 2019
2020 WSO Annual Business Virtual Conference
EC Committee Members
| Majbrit M., Denmark | Chair Emeritus and Member of the WSO Board of Trustees (2014-2020) | |
| Fredrik H. Sweden
Vacant Position Veronica L, Switzerland Beryl VN, South Africa(UK) Marjo, Finland Markus S, Sweden Hasse O, Denmark Marc, The Netherlands Irma R, Lithuania (UK) Charlie H. |
Incoming Chair of the EC
EC Vice Chair EC Treasurer EC Secretary EC Webmaster EC Vice Webmaster and MPS Chair EC Literature Chair EC Literature Vice Chair EC Service Sponsor Coordinator Chair of WSO the board of Trustees |
[email protected] |
Websites
WSO Repository: https://acawso.org/category/european-connection/
European Committee website: www.acawsoec.com
Monthly Meeting
First Saturday of the month 02:00 PM CET
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/178726055
Meeting ID: 178 726 055
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac3j5Blsoa
Mission Statement
Our mission has been to be the human face and local presence in Europe of the World Service Organization (WSO) for the Fellowship of Adult Children of Alcoholics / Dysfunctional Families (ACA). From a place of unconditional love, we carry the message of the 12 Steps, by supporting the growth of the European Fellowship through a wide range of services that help build local service structures in each country including: understanding ACAWSO concepts of service, traditions, and the structure of the WSO and facilitating the translation, local printing and distribution of ACA literature in the language of the fellowship of each country. We are not organized for the private gain of any person, and function as an autonomous body for Europe, as part of the WSO.
Activities
2019 was a year of tremendous change and growth not only within the committee but for the European fellowship in general.
March was the last time I, alone, attended an event as the Chair of the EC, This was the first ACA convention in Germany. It is hard to explain the energy of a first event in a country. But for me it was extremely rewarding. I was the point of contact for the WSO in the beginning, sending a Starter Kit to Germany as a “Lights ON” for ACA many years ago, and I followed their progress and growth throughout the translation process leading to up to their first convention. Being a part of the initial growing pains of the new fellowship in a country is extremely humbling: and one cannot help being affirmed in gratitude for our program. To see the full report on this convention, click on the link below: https://acawso.org/2019/04/11/the-first-german-aca-convention-2019/
In April we had our ABC/AWC in Malmö, Sweden. A long list of volunteers were energized at this event to do service at the EC/WSO level. This increased motivation and commitment (at one point we had people from 8 different countries involved) meant that the European Committee needed to come up with new procedures and new ways of working together. We had to find similarities in diverse understandings of our program in order to be able to change from a small committee of four members that had dwindled down to one person to a committee of eleven members after the 2019 ABC/AWC.
In July, the European Committee went to Minsk, Belarus to attend their National event. This allowed us to piggy back encouragement of the local fellowship with our first strategic planning meeting for the European Committee, which we held in that location. Below is a short list of procedures needing development:
- Qualifications for European Committee officers
- Qualifications for European Committee Country Representatives as well as qualifications to vote on European Committee matters
- Division of tasks and existing accomplishments, which had been handled by one person, into different positions which would need to be created.
- Creation of a European Committee Procedures Manual
- Creation of a new email system including an extensive new list of email addresses
- Creation of a new website for translations made in collaboration with our WSO literature chair and our special worker in Germany.
- New updates for our existing European Committee website
- Creation of a new header for the European Committee website
To handle all of this ambitious workload we scheduled regular European Committee working sessions twice a month. Minutes of these meetings are available in the repository by clicking on the following link: https://acawso.org/category/european-connection/
7th Tradition Contributions
Requests for Future Action
There are still a lot of things that need to be done in order to fully support the European fellowship. The European Committee asks that the following be considered for the coming year.
- A tracking system for foreign literature
- A separate WSO bank account for the European committee for 7th tradition donations.
- A study of the literature system for the delivery of literature within the fellowships in Europe, this would include recommendations for better book delivery in the future and the payment of royalties to the WSO for such literature.
Final Comments
The European Committee is facing many new challenges, but as the chair rotating off, I can safely say that the new European Committee is on solid ground. Those now in position as officers are showing a solid group conscience, enthusiasm and experience. The European Committee shows and strength from within and has a huge faith in our fellowship.
With profound and sincerely respect for the new team, and humble gratitude,
Majbrit M, Denmark
Signing Off
