Dear All,

The most notable aspect of 2022 has been the gradual return to normalcy, after two years of being impacted by the COVID pandemic.

This culminated in a very well organized and well attended joint Zone 3 and 4 meeting in Assisi, Italy.

Since then, there have been other large gatherings.

Occasionally, some attendees contract COVID, but it appears that this is now perceived as one of many other illnesses that are an unfortunate and undesirable, but inevitable affliction of human life.

Still, from what I hear, regular attendance at group latihans is not yet fully back to where it was, and I hope this changes. Group latihans are very important and cannot be fully substituted for by latihan at home. I urge all groups to make an effort to accommodate anyone still concerned so that we all benefit from group latihans.

An issue that is on many members’ minds at the time of writing is the World Congress.

We had to postpone it by a year due to COVID. These delays frustrated some of you, and some also raised concerns about the logistical challenges of holding the congress in Kalimantan.

Many of us have our ideal picture of what a world congress should be like, and what it should be for. It is important for me here to point out a couple of points:

Please consider that your own ideal version of a World Congress may not be the same as someone else’s, and also, that there is always a need to find a compromise between the needs of individuals and the need of the organization.

Lastly, there is really no reason to expect one world congress to be the same as another.

When we receive to have the World Congress in Kalimantan, it is to be expected and accepted that this means a different World Congress than it was if Freiburg, Puebla, Christchurch, etc.

We welcome the unique nature of each world congress and seek to understand what it is in the content of the congress that makes it different, rather than try to fit it to the mold of a past congress we particularly enjoyed.

Please let us work together towards a congress that is an acceptable compromise to as many of us as possible, and let’s welcome the change, the difference that would hopefully make this congress special.

Yours, Nahum