Letter n° 5 – Ref. Annual management report

From the World Council in Buenos Aires, 2003 and according to the resolutions set by the participant organizations, we have organized our working plan in order to the fulfillment of four big goals.

1.      The production of formation materials to the Associations, instructors and guides;

2.      Favoring the communication in all the levels;

3.      Deepening  our catholic identity;

4.      The study of the document about spirituality by the WAGGGS.

You have received by e-mail the detail of the proposed actions for the fulfillment of the goals, the responsibles, the times and the required budget, and you can also consult it on the web page.

¨       A publication plan was designed;

¨       The financing of them was given by the CCDF thanks  the negotiations made by the World team;

¨     The pedagogical document of the World Meeting in Buenos Aires was elaborated, designed and published in the three official languages;

¨     The first formation document: THE CALL OF RECONCILLIATION - Reflections by P. Jean Debruynne, was designed, published and will be sent in the three official languages.

¨       The second formation document: GUIDING: AN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN TIMES OF EXCLUSION is being elaborated, for December 2004 as an estimated publishing date. The world Coordinator is the person responsible for this document.

¨       We are working in the document TRAVELLING DOWN MEMORY LANE, a brief historical description of the ICCG.  The writing of this document is in charge of the responsible of the Region Europe.

¨     The communication has been organized willing to favor interchanges in the National Organizations as well as in the Church International Organisms, the Catholic international Organizations, the World Association of Girls Guides and Girls Scout and organisms of economic help;

¨     In relation to the national organizations, three letters of the World Coordinator and the Working Plan suggested in the Paris meeting, in January 2004 have been sent.  The reflection around the triennium topic, that gives the topic continuity in the Meeting in Buenos Aires, has been sent through regional responsibles.  All the letters, working plans, and reflections can be also consulted on the ICCG web page;

¨     We have been in permanent contact with Association from Lebanon and Poland because of the next World Council and Meeting;

¨    We have mailed with to the member associations of the Region Africa to arrange a meeting in Ghana which allows the election of the new team and responsible of the region;

¨     As well as the Associations interested in a future affiliation;

¨     All the delegates of the World Meeting in Buenos Aires received correspondence of the World Coordinator; 

¨     We sent the Pedagogical Document of Buenos Aires, through the regional responsibles, in hand to the National Organizations of Region America and Africa and by traditional mail to Europe and Middle East;

¨       Also by mail, we sent the World Council Report;  

¨       We sent the Christmas greetings by traditional mail and the Easter reflection by P. Jean Debruynne,  World Chaplain. 

  In relation to the Church:

¨     We sent presentation letters to introduce the new team to the State Secretary of the Holy See and to the Pontifical Council for the lay people;

¨     The World Coordinator attended the International World Meeting and Assembly of Church Organizations Conference, in Rome from the 1^st to the 7^th of December, 2004.  During this Assembly the ICCG was chosen member of the Coordination Committee; as such, the World Coordinator participated in the Committee meeting in Paris in January 2004.

¨     After the World Team meeting in Paris, January 2004, meetings with the Pontifical Council for the lay people, the State Secretary and International Caritas in  Vatican City were hold;

¨     The worldwide contacts with the International Caritas made us proposed the associations of Region Latin America, Africa and Middle East the use of the Reconciliation Agents Formation manual as a resources source to the capacitation of leaders for a peace culture.  Caritas has facilitated us a sample to each National Association and it is possible getting others, as well as working together in the organization of formation workshops;

¨     The contacts with the MIAMSI (International Movement of Apostolat in the Independant Social Means)  have allowed two African leaders to participate in a forum about church social doctrine and citizenship in Mali, during a week in June 2004;

¨     Because of our belonging to the CICO (Conference of the International Catholic Organizations) our World treasurer has attended a course on fund collection in Ginebra in April, 2004;;

¨     The ICCG has participated in the working team Solidary Economy  of the CICO through Marie Therese Marchand, and the working team Education since September 2004 trough Alice Barthelemy from Scouts and Guides from France and the World Coordinator.

¨     With the representation of the Region Europe we are present in the organization of the next World Youth Meeting in Germany; 

¨     We are studying the adequacy of our statutes for the new code of Canonical Law;

¨     We have interchanged publications with the ICCS.

  In relation to the  WAGGGS:

¨     We have kept a fluid communication with the responsible of the World Bureau, Lesley Bulman;

¨     The responsibles of the Regions Europe and Latin America participated in the respective regional conferences of the WAGGGS;

¨     The World Coordinator and the executive secretary participated in the Regional Conference in Ghana in July, 2004;

¨     We have interchanged publications;

¨     We have received the invitation to the next World Conference in Jordania.

  In relation to the organs of economic help:

¨     We have a meeting with the CCDF (Catholic Committee for the Development and against famine, with headquarters   in Paris);

¨     We went with the responsible of Latin America to a meeting with the ADVENIAT responsible to Latin America, organism of German catholic helpers;

¨     The responsible of the treasury and finances has negotiated help requests to the regions from Africa and Middle East.

¨     We have received the functioning help from the Holy See that has allowed us great deal of the job of this period.

  Region Africa:

¨       We want to include in this point the Associations of Region Africa meeting hold after the Regional WAGGGS Conference.  We should thank Lesley as well as Alphonsine, executive of the Region Africa, and the Regional Committee that gave us this opportunity.  It would be impossible for us to convoke an ICCG exclusive meeting given the serous economic difficulties.

Our intense two-day meeting allowed us the elaboration of a regional working plan and the election of a new responsible and the team for the region: Brigitte Aguiar, from Benin was assigned Regional Responsible; besides Isabelle Konan (Ivory Coast), Zoe Bakoko (Uganda), Goretti Mukakamali (Rwanda) y Marthe Liberia (Madagascar) form the Regional Team. 

The participating Guide Association were the ones from Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda.

The working climate and everybody’s compromise allowed us a fructiferous communication and positive interchanges that we hope overflows in an effective job for the Region.

We give special thanks to Goretti Mukakamali and the transition team that produced a highly fluid communication during this period.

¨     Right this September we started working in the deepen of this document CATHOLIC IDENTITY AND OPENING TO EVERYBODY with the intention of sending it with reflection proposals before the end of 2004;

¨     Each Region has tried to deepen this proposal from its working plan, they will read it in the regional reports;

¨     The most significant point has been the job in the interchange world ambit with some International Catholic Organizations looking for mutual collaboration, particularly, in those things related to the education for a peace culture; the interchanges with the Church authorities in a local level as well as in a regional one and the Holy See makes us more aware of the compromise of being witnesses of Jesus Gospel in the world of the girls and the youngsters, and in all the instances of world life as lay Catholics;

¨       In this sense, it’s an invitation for each National Association to look for ways of working together with other associations and movements as well as its local churches and episcopacy in the construction of a fairer and more solidary society in which the construction of the Kingdom comes true.  The call to the construction of a peace culture for all good willing men and women and our programmes and actions should be relevant and central to all the Christians.

¨       The job of studying the ICCG document has been put in charge of the regions.

As you can appreciate, the undertaken task has been big and complex and, of course, we have much more to do.

We have counted on the help, enthusiasm and the job of each region that in this management model marks its own ways of giving answers to its Associations’ needs in unity with the resolutions of the Council.

As World Coordinator I had the opportunity to meet Melanie Stahl from the Region Europe, Silvia Campisi from Latin America, Marie Therese Marchand our treasurer and Briggitte Aguiar from the Region Africa.  The communication with the webmaster, Celine Gelinas, has been permanent and we will be introducing new changes on our web page.

We have counted on the encouragement of the Pontificial Council for the lays, of Monsignor Desirée and Monsignor Caccia from the State Secretary, with the encouragment of Mister  Nuncio Apostólico in Argentina, Monsignor Adriano Bernardini, and of the secretary Argentinian Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Sergio Fenoy, as well as with the support of the Argentinian Guides Association.

I also wish to highlight the collaboration of P. Nelson Viola, International Caritas ecclesiastic counselor for his interest and enthusiasm for a group work.

We also have to thank, especially, the AGESCI and Guides from France for hosting us in their national headquarters, sharing their interests and facilitating our job in the world meetings; the WAGGGS authorities for giving us their help for our meeting in Ghana and their constant interest in everything related to the ICCG, Francoise Parmentier for their advice and work in the elaboration of the Council report.  Thanks!

To our organisms that are maintaining our activities, the translators and especially to our secretary that has to answer constantly the exigencies of our job.

  October, 2004, meets us with various important proposals in our hands:

¨     Poland has been chosen the next place for our World Council and Meeting.  We will start working on its preparation in Warsaw the 28^th, 29^th and 30^th of September.  We thank here the other postulated country, Lebanon, for its disposition and we hope it is the headquarter of a  future meeting.

¨     We will work on the document Catholic Identity and Opening for Everybody.

¨     The regions must foresee the future budgets and events or publications.

¨     We start preparing our World Team Meeting in Rome in January, 2005, as well as the visit of the organisms of the Holy See.

¨     We must advance in the study of modifications of the new Code of Canonical Law.

¨     The World Coordinator must prepare the reports and be present in the next meeting of the coordination Meeting of the CICO in Ginebra.

Let solidarity among us, as persons and organizations, be the chosen way to grow.

Let our effort and our search, adults and educators in Guiding, get to every girl, teenager and youngster of our countries.

In these times when exclusion and violence oppresses the life of so many persons and peoples, let Guiding be a letter and gift to the world of the kids, an including pedagogy, exactly as it was dreamt by its founders. 

In Maria de Guadalupe.

  Silvia Staib de Chanes
  World Coordinator

  This balance of the Region Africa by the ICCG is about the period that goes from
   August 2003 to July 2004.

¨     Let’s remember that during the last ICCG World Conference hold in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the 20th to the 30th of July 2003, Africa was only represented by the delegates of 3 out of 11 member associations, so that the election of the Regional Team couldn’t be done and it was neither possible to establish a regional triennial action plan.

·     A coordination committee, compounded by Marie Esther Milongo from Burkina Faso, Lucrece Damango from Centro African Republic and Goretti Mukakamali from Rwanda that was named responsible, was started to manage the transition period until the meeting, that met all the member associations of the region, was hold.  2004 was proposed for this meeting.

·     During this transitory period, three works were trusted to this committee, to know:

1.      Quotation call to many Member Associations

2.      Allowing a nexus with the ICCG World Committee.

3.      Preparing the Region Africa meeting

¨       Quotation call

After Buenos Aires, many mails were sent to the different ICCG Member Associations to remind them their duties to pay their fees according to the principle adopted in Asis in 1997. The Committee responsible took advantage of the mails to propose the associations to share with other members reflections, projects, in short, experiences that allow us to grown at the same time they favor communication.

¨       Allowing a nexus with the World Committee

During the temporary period, the committee continued its permanent contact with the world team through mail interchange.

From the 2^nd to the 8^th of January 2004, the first triennium meeting of the ICCG World Team was hold and the responsible of the temporary  committee represented the Region Africa. During this meeting the preparation of the working plan 2003-2006 done by the World Team took place, the report of the OIC conference was in Italy in December of 2003, the analysis of the Web page of the ICCG and the diagnosis of the ICCG by the member of this committee.

¨       Regional Meeting Preparation

This meeting was hold in Ghana from the 18th to the 19th of July 2004.  It met 9 delegations from the 11 countries that are members of the Region and it was hold by the ICCG World Coordinator.

The participants made a self- evaluation of the Region, they prepared the 2003-2006 action plan for the region and got to know the International Caritas manual about education in Peace.  The Regional team was formed and the regional chaplain was named.

¨       Another activity

·         Participation in the Bamako Forum in Mali:

From the 7th to the 13th of June, 2004 the Bamako Forum was hold, it was organized by both MIAMSI (International Movement of Apostolat in the Independent Social Means) and the JICI (International Independent Christian Youth) for every international movements of catholic action.

This forum topic was: “Social Doctrine in the Church, Democracy, ferment of Peace and Justice”.  It started the following call to the youngsters: “ Young Christian Citizen of Africa act today and now in the name of your faith in Jesus Christ for it to reach democracy, justice and peace in your continent.”

Delegations coming from Cameroon and the Centro African Republic have represented the ICCG Region Africa in this forum.

·         Matter that needs continuity

Finishing the transition, the following topic was still pending and it needed a continuity.  It is a record given to the CCFD that has 3 aims to know

·         To allow 2 of the 11 African associations members of the ICCG to participate in the Seminary in July 2004 in Ghana.

·         To re print and deeply publish the booklet of poems by children about Peace, in 12,000 copies.

·         To analyze and start the work about the AMGS document about the spiritual dimension, apply it in the western Africa region and the sub region of the Big Lakes.

These last two objectives are still in force today and the contact person for the project is the ICCG World Treasurer

PS: This activity report is only narrative because during the transition period the ad hoc Committee didn’t receive the fee of the member countries, neither it received an amount to administrate as a minimum cashier for its correspondence so it had manage all this alone.

¨       Acknowledgements

In the name of the Transition Committee, I want to deeply thank the ICCG member associations of the Region Africa that have worked hard to pay their delayed quotations and their contribution for the succeed of the meeting in Ghana, July 2004.

We lead our thanks to all the members of the World Team for their support of their experience for our Region to go on.

The AMGS that made easier the Ghana meeting in July 2004 will find here our deep gratefulness, the World Coordinator that never stop being by our sides to guide us with the purpose of doing a good job that were entrusted to us until the Ghana meeting, finds here our deepest gratitude.

  Goretti MUKAKAMALI
  Responsible of the former Transition Committee-ICCG Africa               

¨       During the World Council hold from the 27th to the 30Th of July the Latin-American Region Team was constituted. It is integrated by:

·         Mónica Chamorro:  Federação de Bandeirantes do Brasil member.

·         Ana Houdin: Asociación Guías Scouts de Paraguay member

·         Delia Rengifo Ferro: Asociación Guías Scouts de Colombia member

·         Silvia Campisi de Cassanello: Asociación Guías Argentinas member, Regional Responsible.

and the 2003-2006 Triennium Action Plan was elaborated based on five goals:

1.    To reestablish the direct contact with all the Guide Associations in the Latin American Region.

2.  To optimize the use of new communication technologies to favor a continuous interchange of  information.

3.  To establish contact with Financial Organisms to look for a possibility of financial self-arrangement.

4.  To ensure the presence of the ICCG in the most significant events in the western hemisphere.

5.   To involve leader adults in the contribution that the ICCG makes in the guiding pedagogy, to produce a multiplying effect and by this reaching the girls and the youngsters.

¨     In July 2003 a note by the Honduras National Association of Young Leaders was received, it asked information to affiliate to the ICCG, which was answered to inform which ones were the steps to follow to get the affiliation and from that moment on Honduras is considered a correspondent  country.

¨     On the 20th of August 2003 the invitation to participate in the Western Hemisphere Conference was received.  It will be held in Costa Rica from the 3rd to the 8th of July 2004 and in which the Regional Responsible will be given 3 minutes to talk about the ICCG.

¨     In September 2003, it was received the invitation to participate in the Leaders in Action Meeting in Picarquin, Chile, and to collaborate with its Pastoral Team.  We had permanent communication with the Meeting Secretary, the World Association contact person, Marta Arcocha, and the person in charge of the Meeting, Sister María Francia.  The lack of economical resources in the Region made not possible to afford the journey and the stay.

¨    In October 2003 a team-presentation letter was sent to the member and correspondant countries of America, to the World Association and to the World Centre of the Region, Our Hut.  The Triennium Action Plan was attached.

It was also sent a team-presentation letter and a brief explanation of the ICCG goals to the countries that are not members or correspondants, attaching the Triennium Action Plan.  Everything was sent by e-mail.

Some acknowledgments were received.  We resent some of the letters and we couldn’t make contact with some of the countries, so we resent them traditional by mail.

¨     We  had communication with the National Secretary of the Third Meeting of Responsibles of the Juvenile Pastoral that was hold from the 28th to the 30th of November, 2003 in the province of Entre Rios, Argentina.  Unfortunately it was impossible to participate.

¨     In December 2003 a presentation of the Regional Team and the Action Plan for the ICCG web site were elaborated.

¨     In December 2003 it was hold an interview with the bishop of the Lomas de Zamora diocese, Argentina. Monsignor Agustín Radrizzani, accompanied by the Association of Argentinian Guides president, Mrs. Ana Maria López Varela, with the purpose of showing the Movement itself and the goals of the ICCG.  This dioceses integrates the Zone to which the Regional Responsible belongs. 

¨     With the aim of asking for economic help the project Latin America in movement was elaborated, its objectives are:

·      To maintain continuous communication with the Guides Association/ Scout Guides in the Region, meeting their realities and needs.

·      To give material to work in leaders preparation having to do with the education from faith.

·      To try to get the presence of a member from the regional team in the most relevant events in the Region, to collaborate in the things connected to the pastoral area in those events.

This project was sent to CELAM on the 24th of September 2003, which supported it to be presented to ADVENIAT, that is a foundation of German Catholics that offers its solidarity to the Latin American Church. We got the positive answer of this organization. On the 9th of January 2004 we had an interview with the ADVENIAT Coordinator of Projects, and we got the economic that allows the functioning of the Region.

¨       In December 2003 a virtual group of discussion was organized for the communication of the Regional Team members.

¨       Christmas greetings were sent to every American country, to the World Association, to the responsible people in different areas of the ICCG and Our Hut.

¨       From the 3rd to the 8th of January 2004, the Responsible Regional participated in the World Council meeting held in Paris, in which the diagnosis of the ICCG situation, a World Working Plan was elaborated for the triennium 2003-2006 and some other topics that have to do with the functioning of the organization were mentioned.

¨       From the 11th to the 14th of January 2004, we held some interviews in the Holy See with authorities of the State Secretary, of the Papal Council of the lay people, and of Cáritas.  In these interviews the ICCG was introduced and also its plans for the triennium and we try to make contacts to get economic help for Latin America and Africa, as well as collaboration with working materials.

¨       In February 2004 a letter was sent to the countries asking for information in order to elaborate an informative bulletin about the Region.

¨     Mónica Chamorro, member of the Regional Team, was in charge of the realization of spiritual moments in different events made by the Federação de Bandeirantes do Brasil:

·       National  assembly, held in Rio de Janeiro in February 2004, also informed about the Argentinian World Council in July 2003 and the Action Plan.

·       The Bandeirante Meeting on Internet, in March 2004.

·     The Great National Game “ GINCANA”, that was from the 15th to the 31st of October 2004, undertaking the AMGS triennium topic, the values and spirituality.

¨       The first Regional Team working meeting was in Sao Paulo during the days 29th and 30th of May 2004. The four members of the regional team took part in the meeting.

The working atmosphere was intense and nice, with a lot of collaboration from the present people.  In this meeting we:

·      Analyzed the resolutions taken by the World Council in Buenos Aires in July 2003, the report by the world team made in January 2004 and the action plan elaborated in that meeting.

·      Analyzed the region action plan, the work done up to the moment and the work that is going to be done during the triennium and we also distributed, among the members, the responsibility for each one of communicating much closely with an amount of countries.

·      Agreed upon the reconstruction of the region Web site and the inclusion of the Portuguese language.

·       Arranged that from the three informative bulletins planned for this year, we will elaborate one.  Instead of the other two missing ones, a calendar will be made which will include pictures, messages and relevant dates from each country.

·     Regarding to the 2005 regional meeting, Medellin is the possible place where it could take place, in September or October.  The line of the Buenos Aires World Meeting “Listen to the girls...” would be followed in concordance with the triennium topic of the AMGS: “our rights, our responsibilities”. The meeting would be for: guides, faith animation team and clergymen.

¨       From the 8th of July, the Responsible Region participated in the 10th Conference of the Western Hemisphere of the AMGS.

·      Every meeting day was motivated by one of the children’s rights, that the AMGS plans to work on during the triennium.

·         The participation in this conference was a very valuable possibility to make direct contact with each country representers.  The breaks and meal time were useful to talk about the needs and apprehension of each country; we could also check the directory, renewing the e-mail addresses  and the names of the responsibles.  Material about the ICCG was distributed, a dossier and the informative bulletin. Many countries showed their interest in receiving orientation through this private confessional identity in the faith animation of the groups.

·     The journey to Costa Rica made it posible to have a meeting with the Regional Latin America Coordinator and the Caritas Carib, Francisco Hernandez Rojas and with the president  of the Episcopal Conference in Costa Rica Monsignor Francisco Ullca Rojas.  Some Guides and Scouts from Costa Rica authorities also participated, they were: Alice Morera Jimenez, International Commissioner; Gilberth Salazar, Formation Executer and Mario Rivera, Controller.  We talked about de goals of the ICCG and the job they are doing.  Likewise, there was a compromise among Guides and Scouts from Costa Rica to collaborate with the job the Episcopate is doing in aboriginal communities and at the same time the church will collaborate with the labour of the National Association.

¨     We had constant communication with the members of the Regional Team, with the responsibles of the other ICCG regions and with the rest of the World Team members.

¨    All the information, that we got from the World Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer and Clergyman, was sent to the American countries, to the contact person from the western hemisphere and to Our Hut.

  Silvia Campisi
  Regional Latin America Responsible.

¨       Europe Team Meeting in Dublin : 18th and 19th of October, 2003

·         Presentation of the Team

·         World Meeting in Buenos Aires

·         Preparation of the camp « living stones » (December 2003)

·         Elaboration of the first letter to the associations

·         Web page of the region Europe

·         WAGGGS Conference in Iceland

  Read Weekend

¨       Camping « Living stones» in colaboration with the ICCS (December 2003)

  Read Camping
 

  THE PLAN

1.      Constitution of the Team

2.      1st Team Meeting. Damascus

3.      The Action Plan proposed for the year 2003- 2004

4.      The region activities

·         Two guide formation camps

·         A regional meeting. PILGRIMAGE Jordan

5.      A new opening

6.      Future Perspective

¨       Team Constitution

The new team chosen in the World Council in Buenos Aires in July, 2003 is constituted by :

Father Jean Debryunne: regional Chaplain