June 2018     Letter No. GA Preparation 01  

SI General Assembly motions, AWG and pre-GA discussion

To: National Secretaries of Servas International Member Groups

Subject: SI General Assembly motions, AWG and pre-GA discussion

Dear National Secretaries of Servas International Member Groups,

This is the first in a series of messages being sent to the SI Member Groups, as we lead up to our next Servas International General Assembly (GA) in October 2018 in Seoul, Korea. I am excited about the conference, and look forward to seeing many of you there.

SI Exco has received 43 motions that have been submitted by Member Groups or SI Exco. These motions have been posted on the SICOGA 2018 website (https://servas.org/sicoga2018/general-assembly-motions.php ).

SI Exco has appointed a four-person Agenda Working Group (AWG) to manage the preparations for the decision-making at the GA: Penny Pattison (SI Exco, convenor), Danielle Serres (SI Peace Secretary), Pramod Kumar (Servas India) and Chris Patterson (SI Distant Vote Administrator).

The AWG will help to ensure that all of the motions are clear, and have been reviewed and discussed, so that it is easy for the GA to make decisions. This is done by enabling discussion of the motions for the months leading up to the General Assembly. During that time, delegates and other interested Servas members can look at the details of the motions, and suggest:

·TnTiHtMleFtspan style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;'>         whether they could be worded more clearly

·TnTiHtMleFtspan style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;'>         if a motion would be better divided into more than one

·TnTiHtMleFtspan style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;'>         if two motions could be combined

·TnTiHtMleFtspan style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;'>         if the motion might be withdrawn

·TnTiHtMleFtspan style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;'>         presenting a list of the pros and cons of the motion

The Member Group (or SI Exco) that made the motion retains the right to agree or disagree with the suggestions they receive.

The AWG is reviewing the motions, dividing them into Subject Working Groups (SWGs) and establishing convenors of each SWG. After the announcement of the formal agenda (around July 14, 2018), further information will be circulated about the details of the different SWGs, which motions they include, and how to join one. It is assumed that any Member Group that made a motion will participate in the SWG where it is placed.

Every Servas member in the world is welcome to join a SWG. It is an opportunity leading up to the GA, for different ideas and perspectives to be raised.

We look forward to your active participation in this process, as we all prepare for a successful and forward-thinking GA.

In peace,

Jonny S�g�nger,

President

Servas International