“On behalf of A.A. as a whole, our General Service Conference has the principal responsibility for the maintenance of our world services, and it traditionally has the final decision respecting large matters of general policy and finance. But the Conference also recognizes that the chief initiative and the active responsibility in most of these matters should be exercised primarily by the Trustee members of the Conference when they act among themselves as the general Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
From the discussion on the Concepts Checklist;
Concept Vl: The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service …read more

Concept XI
“While the trustees hold final responsibility for A.A.’s world service administration, they should always have the assistance of the best possible standing committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs and consultants. Therefore, the composition of these underlying committees and service boards, the personal qualifications of their members, the manner of their induction into service, the systems of their rotation, the way in which they are related to each other, the special rights and duties of our executives, staffs and consultants, together with a proper basis for the financial compensation of these special workers, will always be matters for serious care …read more

The resource may have been unknown to you also, so here it is again.
From the Alcoholics Anonymous web site… a break down of the Concepts for discussion – good stuff!
Concept V
“Throughout our world services structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, thus assuring us that minority opinion will be heard and that petitions for the redress of personal grievances will be carefully considered.”

Do we encourage the minority opinion, the “Right of Appeal”, to be heard at our home group, district committee meetings, area assemblies and the Conference?

What does our group accept as “substantial unanimity”?

Has our group …read more

“Throughout our Conference structure, we ought to maintain at all responsible levels a traditional “Right of Participation,” taking care that each classification or group of our world servants shall be allowed a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.”
Hmmm… now, what exactly does that mean???

From the pamphlet “The Twelve Concepts for World Service illustrated;”
“Finally, there is a spiritual reason for the ‘Right of Participation.’ All of us desire to belong. In A.A. no members are ’second class.’ The ‘Right of Participation’ therefore reinforces Tradition Two, that no member is placed in ‘ultimate authority’ over another. …read more