“Over the years, SD has broadened my view of the world and given me an international perspective of humanity. SD has a small capacity but I have seen it make a big difference.”
“Pat ourselves on the back for just how much we achieve with an almost exclusively, volunteer network.”
“We need to build capacity, strengthen initiatives, and continue on our current path but do it better.”
The evening meal at Loudwater - July 3rd
|
From July 3–5 SDIA held its annual Members Meeting and AGM at beautiful and peaceful Loudwater Farm in the UK. We are immensely grateful to Subud Britain, and particularly Annabella Ashby, Haskel Adamson and the team of volunteers for their caring hospitality at this idyllic and convenient meeting place. Loudwater Farm is truly a jewel among Subud properties and should be valued, cherished and developed!
On Saturday, representatives of eight SD national organisations, two project members and a number of other participants came together to explore what we have achieved and where we should be heading in the lead-up to World Congress 2010. We held a workshop called “Looking Back, Looking Forward” on SDIA’s three key goals 1) to support SDIA’s members (75 projects and SD nationals); 2) to strengthen our International Network and 3) to strengthen links with others. The workshop was facilitated by Solihin Garrard of Makesfive™ who wrote an article on the process.
With great support from the SDIA team, willing volunteers and brothers and sisters prepared to be real participants in pursuing Subud’s humanitarian wing, all we had to do was provide a framework for results to happen.
Looking back on the past four years of our work as network, members felt that we have grown in our awareness of SD as an intercultural network; “What makes us different is the inter-cultural aspect of our SD work — we are learning to know each other and the opportunities and constraints we face. This is different from imposing a western model of development on our partners”. Yet we still have a long way to go – recommendations for future action focused on building our capacities and drawing on expertise in the area of communications, project management, fundraising and intercultural awareness. World Congress in Christchurch, NZ was seen as an important opportunity to join outreach and youth involvement with capacity building for SDIA members and the general public.
In the evenings, Lailah Armstrong gave a presentation on ICDP’s activities in 2008, Michael van der Matten spoke about the progress of the Bina Cita Utama (BCU) school in Kalimantan, Lawrence Fryer gave an update on the state of SD projects in India, and Virginia Thomas, Heloise Jackson, Jorge Guerin and Arnaud Delune showed photos and talked about the situation of SD projects in the DR Congo. Polly Skerratt, Chair of SD Britain, also presented a professionally-made video about SD Britain.
On Sunday, we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM). Lusana Blond and Raphael Bate were both elected by members to the SDIA Board. We reviewed the actions that have been taken since our last AGM, and also discussed the proposal of WSA for SDIA to be governed by a WSA policy on the UN. Michael van de Matten and Sabariah van Beek, both early UN pioneers who had worked with Variandra Vittachi and Ed Kerner on the process of registering SDIA, explained the original intention to register SDIA as the social and humanitarian organisation of Subud. Members felt that it was a sign of growth that WSA might seek its own accreditation at the UN, but in the meantime SDIA retains responsibility for its UN accreditation and its policies should reflect this. The SDIA Members meeting was followed by a two-day SDIA Board meeting.
SDIA would like to thank outgoing Board members Paloma de la Vina and Laura Lesley for their service to SDIA and our members. Paloma goes on to take up her new role as Zone 3 representative and Laura Lesley will stay on as an advisor to SDIA.
A full report on the meeting is forthcoming and will be posted on our website.