A: World services are those services that deal with the needs and challenges of NA as a whole and that NA offers to its members, its groups, and to society:
- The basic purposes of our world services are communication, coordination, information, and guidance.
- We provide these services so that our groups and members can more successfully carry the message of recovery and so that our program of recovery can be made more available to addicts everywhere.
- Although all parts of our service structure affect and are affected by NA as a whole, only at this level do we find service bodies designed to deal with problems that involve our entire Fellowship.
A: NAWS is comprised of the World Service Conference (WSC), the World Board (WB), the World Service Office (WSO), the Regional Delegate (RD) Team, the Zonal Delegate (ZD) Team, the Human Resource Panel (HRP) and the WSC Cofaciliators.
A: The World Service Conference (WSC) is where all of our world services come together to exchange ideas and have discussions:
- Those discussions happen at the biennial, in-person meeting and through virtual and in-person discussions throughout the two-year cycle.
- The WSC, regional delegate (RD) teams, zonal delegate (ZD) teams, members of the World Board (WB) and the executive director (ED) of the World Service Office (WSO) discuss questions of significance to the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous as a whole.
- The purpose of the WSC is to be supportive of the Fellowship as a whole and to define and take action according to the group conscience of Narcotics Anonymous.
A: The purpose of the World Board (WB) of Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc., is to contribute to the continuation and growth of Narcotics Anonymous:
- The Board serves as a primary resource for the NA Fellowship by providing the support needed to carry our message while ensuring that the service and support provided are of the highest quality possible.
- The World Board manages all activities of World Services including oversight of the operations of the Fellowship’s primary service center, the World Service Office.
- WB members are elected by the voting participants at the World Service Conference.
A: The purpose of the World Service Office (WSO), our main service center in Chatsworth California, is to carry out the directives of the World Service Conference in matters that relate to communications and information for the Fellowship of NA, its services, groups and members:
- The World Service Office achieves this purpose by maintaining correspondence with NA groups and service committees
- By printing and distributing WSC-approved literature
- And by maintaining the archives and files of Narcotics Anonymous
- There are two WSO Distribution Centers: one in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and the other in Bangalore, India
- NAWS has two branch offices: one in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Tehran, Iran
A: The regional delegate (RD) serves as the primary contact between NA’s World Services and the local NA community:
- The delegate provides information on current World Services projects to the regional committee
- The delegate provides a local perspective to the work of World Services
- During the delegate’s term, they attend the World Service Conference and virtual Conference participants web meetings as fully active participants
A: As a result of Conference decision in 2016, zones that wished to were able to send a delegate to WSC 2018 as a non-voting participant:
- At WSC 2018, participants passed a number of motions related to zonal delegates
- As a result, zones that include two or more communities or regions that are not seated at the WSC may send a zonal delegate (ZD) and alternate to the Conference
A: The Human Resource Panel (HRP) facilitates an election/selection process for the WSC to elect its trusted servants:
- The process allows trusted servant choices to be based upon the principles of ability and experience
- Helps to allow members to be nominated from around the world
- Creates a more open opportunity by providing and established and recognized process
A: The WSC Cofacilitators preside over the Conference Agenda Report (CAR) and Conference Approval Track (CAT) related Discussions and Decisions during the WSC:
- They may be asked to facilitate at other times when decisions are being made or straw polls are being taken
- The Cofacilitators communicate with the World Board as necessary in order to be prepared for the Conference meeting
A: More in-depth essays on how NA World Service is structured can be found by clicking the link below for A Guide to World Services in Narcotics Anonymous (GWSNA):
https://www.na.org/admin/include/spaw2/uploads/pdf/conference/2018-20_GWSNA_Web.pdf
A: NA World Services produces several different publications in an effort to provide frequent and regular written communications:
- NAWS News – a short, easily translatable report that is published several times each year to allow the World Board to regularly report, particularly after its meetings
- NA World Services, Inc., Annual Report – provides a summary of the activity of World Services for the prior fiscal year
- The Conference Report – release immediately before each WSC it contains information to conference participants about the activities of World Services to help them prepare for the biennial meeting
- The Conference Agenda Report (CAR) – is distributed a minimum of one hundred and fifty (150) days prior to the opening day of the conference which contains the reports, proposals, and motions before the conference
- The Conference Approval Track (CAT) – contains a variety of material to be considered at the upcoming World Service Conference that was not included in the CAR
A: To subscribe to NAWS Electronic Subscriptions please click on the link below:
A: The World Board will consist of up to fifteen members elected by at least 60% of the World Service Conference. Currently there are thirteen members with two open positions:
- Jose Luis Andreu – San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Jack Hovenier – Bellingham, Washington, USA
- Tim Smith – Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia
- Tana Agostini – Saugerties, New York, USA
- Irene Crawley – Westmeath, Ireland
- Paul Fitzgerald – Petaling, Jaya, Malaysia
- Hammed Al-Tamimi – Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Lib Edmonds – Christchurch, New Zealand
- Yoel Geffen – Ashdod, Israel
- Danny Gershman – North Carolina, USA
- Eduardo Gilioli – Brazil
- Jorge Mejia – Colombia
- Michael Bennett – Tennessee, USA
A: Current projects recently completed or in development are:
- Spiritual Principal a Day (SPAD) Book Project
- Fellowship Intellectual Property Trust (FIPT) Operational Rules Project
- Mental Health/Illness IP Project
- Local Service Toolbox Project
- Convention and Events Tools Project
- Service System Project
- WSC of the Future Project
- Revising Existing Recovery Information Pamphlets Project
- Role of Zones Project
A: A New Book in the Making – A book that explores a spiritual principle each day of the year is taking shape:
- WSC 2018 initiated this work by approving a project plan for work over two Conference cycles
- Since then, we’ve been busily engaged in creating a book that’s truly by addicts, for addicts
- We anticipate publishing an approval draft for the book in the 2022 Conference Agenda Report
- Be a part of creating NA literature – Send us your writing!
A: CAR motions were the outcome of this workgroup in the 2018-2020 cycle with recommendations for changes to the Fellowship Intellectual Property Trust (FIPT):
- WSC 2018 placed a moratorium on additional FIPT inspections until the close of WSC 2020
- The motions intended to address the challenges that led to the moratorium
- WSC 2020 extended the moratorium until the close of WSC 2022
A: A new Information Pamphlet named Mental Health in Recovery:
- The work on this project has been completed
- The approval draft is in the 2020 World Service Conference Agenda Report
- This new IP was approved by conference participants at the 2020 Virtual WSC meeting
A: The Service Tools Project consists of Consensus-Based Decision Making (CBDM) Basics, Serving NA in Rural and Isolated Communities, GSR Basics and Online Meetings Best Practices and carrying the NA message effectively and virtually:
- CBDM Basics discusses what consensus-based decision making is and how it aligns with our spiritual principles, and offers a model of the process for communities to adapt for local use
- Serving NA in Rural and Isolated Communities discusses some of the challenges and solutions when carrying the message in less densely populated areas
- GSR Basics is the next piece in the toolbox and a review draft has been completed and posted which includes two templates for GSR reports
- Online Meetings Best Practices and carrying the NA message effectively and virtually is the next focus of the project
A: The Convention and Events Tools Project consists of the current list of completed tools and the current focus is on Committee Structure and Accountability:
- Contracts & Negotiations
- Contract Support Material
- Money Management
- Money Management Support Material
- The Program Committee & Development of the Program
- Program Committee Support Materials
In addition to collecting input and ideas on Committee Structure and Accountability, please remember we are looking for tools, ideas and input for future development.
A: The Service System Project was created to take an overall view at how to improve local services and address some of the long-standing challenges in service delivery resulting in the following tools:
- A Vision for NA Service
- Facilitation Tools
- Group Support Forum (GSF) Tools
- Local Service Committee (LSC) & Local Service Board (LSB) Tools
A: The project’s three main goals are:
- Develop a shared understanding of what is meant by an effective and sustainable WSC
- Forward ideas to the Board for a project plan for presentation at WSC 2020 on the role of zones, their relationship to the wider Fellowship, including integrating zonal delegate participation into the decision making process at WSC
- Strengthen collaboration among zonal forums and between NAWS and zonal forums, and collect and share best practices of zonal forums
A: This project is to update a minimum of one IP per cycle.
- IP # 21 The Loner has been chosen
- The Loner was written in 1986, long before the internet and technology made online and virtual types of connections possible
- Project will gather current experience from members
- Survey about the issue to see what the fellowship wants to see in the revision
- Create a draft, send it out, and post it on na.org for review & input
- Revise the draft based on the input received followed by an approval draft in the 2022 CAR
A: For this project, we plan to build on the work of the WSC of the Future Workgroup related to zonal collaboration and the role of zones.
- A virtual workgroup will be created for the 2020-2022 cycle
- The primary focus be on gathering and sharing ideas and experience
- To help zones become more effective service bodies
- And focus on their relationship to the wider Fellowship
A: Please click on the link below to learn more and keep up to date on project activity:
https://www.na.org/?ID=projects
Alternatively, click on the links below for specific projects:
A: NA World Services Webinars & Web Meetings are a great way to gather information and share experiences on service related topics such as Public Relations, Hospitals & Institutions, Inmate Step Writing, Rural Service, Phonelines, Conventions – Events and Local Service Toolbox:
- Some of the topics are ongoing discussions
- Others are new as we attempt to put together new tools for the Fellowship
- To find out more visit na.org/webinar
- There you will also find a Web Meeting Participant Orientation link
A: You can always email your questions to the World Board at wb@na.org for additional information.
A: NA World Services’ activities fall into four categories:
- Literature Production and Distribution –includes the expenses for the production and distribution of our literature. It is a reflection of the complexity of supporting our current catalog, with more titles in more languages than ever before, and the work required to get these items published.
- Conference Support – includes the expenses for our biennial meeting itself and all of the expenses associated with the WSC. This includes all expenses for the World Board, Human Resource Panel, WSC Cofacilitators, Conference- and Board-related publications, and Conference-related projects.
- Fellowship Development – encompasses all of the other ways NA World Services supports the continuation and growth of NA worldwide. This includes the direct support we are able to extend to individuals, groups, and service bodies, including a portion of what’s spent to provide free and subsidized literature. It also includes public relations, publications, travel, and workshop expenses.
- Events – includes the expenses for planning a World Convention for 2021, which will require significant time, effort, and resources.
A: NA groups are formed and facilitated by NA members:
- Study the Group Booklet: na.org/ips
- Gain support from other NA members in or near your community
- Find a meeting place
- Develop your meeting format
- Review the Local Services Resource page for lots of support materials: na.org/localresources
- Contact your local service body to announce your new group
- Register and update your group’s meeting information with NA World Services: na.org/reg-update
- Establish guidelines for managing the group’s funds
- Get Literature
A: Narcotics Anonymous is modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous. As the founders of Narcotics Anonymous adapted our steps, our first step gives us one focus: our addiction. The wording of step one takes the focus of powerlessness off the symptom and places it on the disease itself. The AA perspective, with its alcohol-oriented language, and the NA approach, with its clear need to shift the focus away from specific drugs is the main difference.
A: You can find an NA meeting by clicking on the following link:
https://www.na.org/meetingsearch/
There you can locate helplines and websites for local groups near you who can assist you in finding a meeting.
You can also search to locate meetings near you.
In addition, there are links to the NA Meeting Search app for your smartphone or tablet.
Finally, the following link will take you to the Virtual NA Meeting Resources page to locate virtual NA meetings:
A: This is an all-volunteer event; all resources, time and services were donated by NA members.
A: NA World Services will receive the contribution with no strings. The funds will transfer, and the Office will put it to use for mission critical services such as: communication, coordination, information, and guidance to provide services so that our groups and members can more successfully carry the message of recovery and so that our program of recovery can be made more available to addicts everywhere.
A: Yes – Include the information in the memo as you make your contribution
A: At na.org there is a button labeled ‘contribute’ and a YouTube Video at:
A: YouTube Video Instructions
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzULodwtuiBAjm83X8DWNOltdBUV4SlSR