Page 16: Opinion
From SI Exco News
Contents |
Functioning of Servas
The Exco members meet annually during their 3-year term; the area coordinators (AC’s) are not invited to these meetings. Some AC’s omit holding the one required regional conference in their three-year term. Some national secretaries (NS’s) hold their annual meeting & some form of election only to ensure their continuity in office. The Exco, the AC’s & the NS’s should interact so as to be continuously in the picture for the well-being of Servas.
The importance of regular regional meetings & the role of AC’s have not been adequately appreciated. At their first meeting, the Exco should plan the dates of regional meetings, which should be attended by one or two Exco members. These meetings will give insight into the functioning of the regions, besides ensuring all-important interaction at all levels of Servas. With improved communications, & personal computers now available to Servas officers, the need for colossally expensive face-to-face meetings of Exco should be dispensed with. They could complete their work with one meeting immediately after the SI conference & another in the last year of their term.
Other important Issues:
The grassroots members feel discriminated against since the statutes (these need review/revision) deny them access to the points for the SI conference agenda. At their first meeting in September 2001, Exco decided to frame guidelines for the election of AC’s; this has not yet happened. Guidelines should always be framed with due urgency. The structure of Exco should be discussed & it should be made more representative of all regions in the world.
Conclusion:
Greater involvement of Servas can be made possible by holding regional conferences regularly. If Exco holds only two meetings, sufficient funds will be available for one or two Exco members to attend the regional conferences. The lack of interaction between various levels of Servas has led to some unhealthy perceptions. Those officers that have performed indifferently or poorly give the impression that their positions are redundant. It would be wrong to abolish these positions based purely on the conduct of a few. It is hoped that all matters described above will be considered by Servas' top echelon & others in order to effect all round improvement. Gurdev Singh Pannu, Pannu, 152D Sidharth Extn. Pkt. “C”, New Delhi 110014, India <mahaguru@nda.vsnl.net.in> According to Exco, the national secretary is responsible for sharing the information about the conference with the members. This information is now available on the Servas web page. Exco encourages all members to read this information and discuss the items with their representative.
A Fresh Proposal for Servas
According to Yahoo.com Directory in the Internet, there are 25 countries in Oceania: Servas has erroneously included PALAU, which has one Servas member now, as a Southeast Asian country.
Servas in the Key List as “Pacifica” countries have listed Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Tahiti. Servas has also added Canada and USA in the Western Hemisphere as "Pacifica" countries. These two countries are surrounded not only by the Pacific Ocean but also by the Atlantic Ocean and therefore besides being given the inappropriate geographical name as "Pacifica" countries by Servas; this gives rise to confusion.
My suggestions, therefore, are:
A: The present so called "Pacifica" region in the Key List be aptly renamed Oceania, and efforts be made to open new Servas chapters in Palau and the 20 other countries mentioned above in that region.
B: Canada and USA remain as North America.
C: The other four regions be consolidated to remain as:
- 1. Europe
- 2. Asia
- 3 Africa
- 4. Central America, South America and the Caribbean (all Spanish/Portuguese speaking countries).
This arrangement will enable the Area Co-ordinators to cover all the 6 continents in a realistic way and hopefully some serious thought for this proposal will be given by those concerned.
S.C. SUNDARARAJ
saviourc@tm.net.my 22 Jalan SS 3/64, 47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
Looking Toward Barcelona
This is a special message to all of you who have been giving their best to keep Servas working, making it a better and more efficient organization in midst of a fast changing world. I believe our organization has in fact become even more diverse since July 2001/ Thailand. The increasing use of e-mail AND Internet have enabled the expression of the most divergent views on all matters, so much so that I wish I could fly a few years ahead in order to gain some perspective of what is valid, worthy and truly stands for the values that best represent our organization. In Thailand, many corners of the world were brought together, and in the "Land of Smiles" sixty votes were cast at the General Assembly on matters concerning nominations, the definition of different working committees, such as the Development Fund, Audit, Appeals; the democratic election of an Area Coordinator; the budget, and the future of the organization.
HOW IS SERVAS DOING ?
Being extremely involved in Servas affairs presents a permanent challenge between General Assemblies. In the name of the "Peace Builders", who formed an organization which, significantly, is called SERVAS today, we should rethink, ponder over, and look into the most general feeling among our members of how the present organization is being steered, constantly asking ourselves what must be changed to preserve the peace within, as example of the best image to be projected to the world. Hopefully, in Barcelona the "old ones", former conference participants, will meet known faces much to their pleasure as well as new ones. The latter will bring along their expectations, ideals, and curiosity as to what these conferences are all about. It is true too that no two conferences are alike. All are staged against a different background. France, Canada, Australia, Guatemala, Thailand, and now Spain, enough to make anyone sing, "I’ve got the whole world in my hands"! The delicate decision of who will be present in Barcelona and how we can make the selection representative is approaching its final chapters. Indeed, all those who have in some way or another been present in Servas would like to be in Barcelona and this should be borne in mind, because maybe there are just not enough funds for the cake to be split among all "eager" individuals. I therefore highly encourage the authorities to find creative, interesting and innovative ways for everyone who wishes to be present, to do so, even if not physically. Internet and teleconferencing may be alternatives for physical presence. Or? But, sharing, laughing, hugging, talking face to face are definitely irreplaceable. I hope that Servas will forever symbolise meaningful personal encounters.
- Anita Kalbermann, Area Coordination, South America <akalber@hotmail.com>
