Welcome to the First Edition of the Asia Pacific Newsletter!
This is not yet a totally 'Official' publication of the Asia Pacific Forum, but we hope that the forum participants will give us their approval, so that we can publish this newsletter on a continuing basis. This is your newsletter, so feel free to make it into what you want. As it was once said, approval is indicated by participation and use of a piece of literature.

Initially, just to get started, this newsletter will be distributed free to anyone who wants the information. The newsletter is dedicated to assisting the Asia Pacific Forum in making recovery available to all members in Pacific and Asia. This first issue will be sent to all members who are listed as contact people for the Asian Pacific Forum.

The newsletter will be a place where reports on what's happening in you country can be printed, and we will also be interested in printing recovery articles, lists of NA anniversaries, service conferences and conventions. Also, we will print articles in this newsletter in any language, so that non-English speaking members of the fellowship will have an opportunity to read recovery in their own language. We will maintain a contact list of interested members of the Asia Pacific Forum.

Although this newsletter is being produced in Hawaii, we want to stress that the newsletter is being paid for by the Asia Pacific Forum and is intended to serve the changing needs of the Asia Pacific Forum. It may be a small tab in the ocean at first, but we feel that it can grow into an effective vehicle of communication for the fellowship. We will be coordinating with you as much as possible, and we welcome your articles, in any language.

This first newsletter will be distributed at the Hawaii Regional Convention 11, which will be held at Kona-Kailua, Nov 4-7 1993. There will be a designated time for a Asia Pacific Workshop at the convention, and if the participants wish, an Asia Pacific Forum. Anyway, we will keep you posted on the events occurring that concern the Asia Pacific Forum.

Asia Pacific Forum Overview

(This article includes excerpts from a report given by Larry R., Hawaii RSR)

The Asia Pacific forum began with a few individuals in the Pacific Rim area having informal talks about how they might be of service to the Fellowship in this part of the world. Simply by the geography of the area, even those who live in countries with a developed NA service structure have often felt very isolated from the rest of the fellowship. We have great empathy for those NA communities who are just starting out on their own road to recovery, knowing that it can often be a difficult and frustrating path.

Some of our goals and priorities in joining together are to discuss issues of mutual concern, exchange ideas and share experiences. We want to support the development of NA in the Asia Pacific area. We can do this by supporting translations of NA literature into languages in use in the Pacific basin, maintaining communication among NA members and committees, and in supporting outreach, Hospital and Institution efforts, and Public Information activities in this part of the world. We intend to work with World Services in these efforts.

At the 1992 World Service Conference, the first informal meetings was held. There was great excitement about the possibilities of what might be accomplished if we pooled our resources and met again. At the 2nd Annual Aotearoa New Zealand Region Convention in Oct 1992, we met again. We had a number of RSRS, concerned members and two Trustees in attendance. We identified several new countries at this meeting as having NA meetings and members. All present expressed how much K meant to their fellowships to have visits from the WSC.

The next meeting was scheduled for the 1993 World Service Conference. There, we were able to review our progress and participate in Trustees and Translations committee meetings. We gave a report to the full conference on the Asian Pacific forum, and began to get some recognition.

The needs we have are just beginning to be addressed. With the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Forum, established NA communities now feel ready to reach out to each other, and support those communities who don't speak English. Recently, the Hawaii Region formed an Asia Pacific Ad-hoc committee, to examine how the Hawaii region could support the Asia Pacific Forum and the NA fellowships. It means a lot to fellowships just to have some sort of contact with other NA fellowships (this newsletter is part of this effort). We thought of sharing RSC minutes, exchanging personal letters, tapes, T-Shirts and other items.

In the areas of H & I and PI, what can we do? How do we let the public know we exist? There are also questions about the service structure. Also discussed was the difficulty most Regions have in sending representation to the WSIC. We are mostly very young fellowships, and do not have the resources. Also, we have long distances to travel and limited funds.

In the future, forums like ours may take on an important role in NA’s service structure. As for now, the formal structure of our forum is being kept to a minimum. We are simply sharing information and dividing up tasks. We welcome everyone's input and help. As of now there are no formal plans to meet before the next WSC in Atlanta, USA in April 1994. There will be an informal meeting in Nov. in Hawaii, and several world level servants wall attend, plus some forum participants. Until then, please feel free to correspond with other Asia Pacific Forum members, so we can be prepared for our next meeting.

Who's in the Asian Pacific Forum?

There are many people in service who are members of the Asia Pacific Forum. For this newsletter, we keep a contact list of people who are in the APF. Anyone who is on this contact list will receive this newsletter. If you're not on the contact list, please let us know and we'll add you. At first, we will only have a few people, but we hope to grow. Also, we need updated information on new meetings, changes of address for Areas and Regions, new services such as phone services and new H & I committees. We plan to offer a section in future newsletters called ‘Updates’ that will keep you informed as to new services to the still suffering addict as they develop in Asia and Pacific Rim fellowships. We don’t want to be another version of the WSC Newsline, rather, we see ourselves as a more localised newsletter, focusing on happenings in our part of the world.

Also, if you aren't receiving the Newsline, it's probably because you aren't registered with the World Service Office. The Newsline is a good way to keep in touch with what’s happening in the world of NA. Any registered group can receive it, at no cost. Just use the enclosed registration form to register your group, and you will start receiving the Newsline.

One more thing, if you are alone, in an isolated area, and this newsletter reaches you, we want to stress that there is a publication that you can use to stay in touch with other addicts. It’s called ‘Meeting By Mail’, and its published by WSO as a way for isolated addicts to write in and read letters that other loner members have written. Please fill out the enclosed form and mail it in, so you can care and share with others the NA Way. You can have it sent to you at no cost, and many addicts vouch for the fact that it has helped them stay clean, and given them hope and new associations.

Upcoming Events:

India:

Bombay is hosting their 2nd

Convention, Jan. 22-24th, 1994

"We are the Proof'

Bombay, India.

WE NEED YOUR INPUT!!!!

This is your newsletter, so please mail us your stuff. We invite articles, letters, convention and event notices, even artwork. We will try to publish this newsletter every other month ' but in order to do this, we will need items to print. Please send all correspondence to:

ASIA PACIFIC NEWSLETTER

PO Box 90397

Honolulu, HI, USA 96835-0397