WSBC 2025: Video Qualifier Motion
Short Name:
VIDEO QUALIFIER MOTION
MAIN MOTION
The Eastern and Western Area Intergroups move to amend the FA World Service Bylaws, Article IV, Constituent Groups, Section 1 by adding a new subsection (b), which will enable meetings to utilize video qualifications. This addition would also entail relettering the existing subsections.
CURRENT WORDING (WSI Bylaws):
Article IV. Constituent Groups
Section 1. FA Meeting Groups (a/k/a FA Meetings or FA Groups)
(a) An FA meeting group is an association of two or more food addicts who regularly meet in person, or using videoconferencing technology which allows telephone access, or telephone conferencing to share experience, strength, and hope about recovery from food addiction through the Twelve Steps of FA. FA meeting groups are the primary service body of FA.
PROPOSED WORDING
Article IV. Constituent Groups
Section 1. FA Meeting Groups (a/k/a FA Meetings or FA Groups)
(a) An FA meeting group is an association of two or more food addicts who regularly meet in person, or using videoconferencing technology which allows telephone access, or telephone conferencing to share experience, strength, and hope about recovery from food addiction through the Twelve Steps of FA. FA meeting groups are the primary service body of FA.
(b) An FA meeting group that meets in person may allow a member to qualify via videoconferencing technology.
RATIONALE
The purpose of this motion is to take advantage of technology to connect the worldwide fellowship with in-person meetings, by allowing an in-person meeting to invite a qualifier via video conferencing.
In-person meetings have always been and shall continue to be a much-respected feature of recovery. However, in the age of videoconference meetings, attendance at some in-person meetings has shrunk, and it can be difficult to find individuals to qualify. We propose supplementing the in-person fellowship through qualifiers via video conferencing. Smaller meetings would see and hear sharing from a broader fellowship and would not need to rely so heavily on sharing from just a few members in the room.
The FA fellowship, which started with approximately 100 members, has grown to over 7,000 members. Consider the vast numbers of members who can share experience from all over the world, giving in-person meetings the opportunity to connect and realize the universality of food addiction. A sponsor and sponsee who live in different parts of the world could see one another and hear each other share. Newcomers could see someone speaking in real-time and see the speaker’s pictures as well. These benefits cannot be experienced via podcasts or other audio recordings.
Options for setting up a Video Qualifier at an In-Person Meeting
There are a variety of ways in which the members at an in-person meeting might view a live video qualifier. If the in-person meeting is small, all members might look at a common computer screen showing the qualifier via Zoom or a similar video conferencing platform. If the group is bigger, they might connect a computer to a larger monitor or to a screen projector. The meeting may choose to purchase dedicated equipment, or use a personal laptop. Other technical considerations such as a videoconferencing account are decisions that meetings will make individually as guided by the principle of meeting autonomy. Cost estimates for each meeting would vary based on such decisions.
Please remember that this is suggested as only one of the many options available for weekly meeting formats. There are in-person meetings for which this format would be excellent, some that might utilize this rarely, and those who would choose to not use it at all. Even if your group is not interested in using this option, please consider this Motion, when voting, for its possible merit as a topic for discussion by FA as a whole.
