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'''SERVAS INTERNATIONAL'''

Posts and names of elected persons

 '''President'''
 Gary Sealey - Canada

 '''General segretary'''
 Pramod Kumar - India

 '''Treasurer'''
 Ömer Özkan - Turkey

 '''Vice President'''
 Mary Jane Mikuriya - USA

 '''Peace Secretary'''
 Nandasena Amarasinghe, Sri Lanka

 '''Host List Coordinator'''
 Anna Flammini - Italy

 '''Conflict Resolution committee'''
 Luigi Uslenghi - Italy
 Julie Dotsch - Canada
 Chris Slader - Britain

 '''Development Fund Committee'''
 Laura Ragucci - Argentina
 Judy Shotten -
 Sheldon Weeks - Botswana
 Michael Johnson - Canada
 Sercan Duygan - Turkey

 '''Audit Committee'''
 Miroslav Wasilevski, Poland
 Rita Torsvik, Norway
 Florentio Gomez
 L.V.Subramanian - India

 '''ICT, Information and Comunication Team'''
 Uwe Federer - Italy
 Ömer Öskan - Turkey

 '''Job Descriptions and Statutes Committee'''
 Eda Guzeldemir, Turkey
 Pramod Kumar - India
 Diana Sweet, Surinam
 Chris Jones - Canada

 '''Nominations Committee'''
 Michael Johnson - Canada
 Evren Özkan - Turkey

 '''Archivist'''
 Grant Barnes - USA

 '''InternationalYouth Coordinator (YP)'''
 Pablo Chufeni YP, Argentina
 Mentor of Int. Youth Coord.
 Laura Ragucci, Argentina

 '''Youth Project Coordinator'''
 Ann Greenhough - Britain

 '''SINews editor'''
 Jane Giffould - Britain

----

'''Servas Global Changes and Challenges'''


Many of us in Servas are now using new Internet
systems to connect with each other, at no charge, or
very little cost. International committees are now so
dependent on email and free calls over the internet,
that postal mail is almost no longer used. Expensive
meetings are mostly replaced by teleconferencing.


For instance the SI Executive Committee completed
its regular free teleconference using GIZMO
([http://www.gizmo.com  www.gizmo.com]). Nandee, the Peace Sec, had no
access to a computer, so we joined him, using
VoipStunt, another nearly-free service. Quite often
we use Skype, a free telephone service, especially
when five or less. Skype has a convenient quick
messenger and chat-line. When poor connections or
regional accents challenge us, we type a short
sentence to clarify.


All of these services were invented less than two
years ago. Servas International has already saved
thousands of Swiss Francs by using them. Rapid
communications often yield quick responses.


We also use collaborative software. We can jointly
edit a single file. For instance, when a Servas world
team works together to contact national secretaries
each team member can update the file on-line
overnight, to spare the others from duplicate work.


Aren't all these services are available globally?


No. Or at least I don't think so. The Servas Website
displays a log. It shows the location of computer
servers accessing the website. Today, when I
checked the last hundred people who accessed
[http://www.Servas.org  www.Servas.org] on June 28 and June 29 it showed:

• 69 were from North America (Canada 10)

• 4 from Australia and United Kingdom

• 3 from Italy and Sweden

• 2 - France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Poland

• 1 each from Russia, Spain, Latvia, Netherlands, Finland, Brazil, Mexico

This does not mean that Servas inter-personal
connections cannot flourish in other regions, but the
main instrument we use for Servas coordination
globally has a distinct North and West "tilt". We
are at the Dawn of a new Distant Vote system. But,
clearly we cannot rely on the Internet exclusively.
We have to encourage face-to-face meetings and
find ways to connect South to North, East to West
and all between. Travelers make such connections,
maybe they make more active use of Internet than
residents. Perhaps Travelers are an under-used
Servas information resource?


Gary Sealey, President, Servas International


[[SI_MONTHLY_NEWS_JUNE_2006|return to contents]]