First Video Conferencing Conducted by the SSVP’s Council General’s Board
On July 5th, for the first time ever in the SSVP’s history, a video conference meeting was conducted by the Council General International’s Board, presided over by fellow member Renato Lima de Oliveira, 16th President General.
It was meant to be an in-person meeting, but, due to the pandemic, this was not possible. Board members and some guests addressed important issues, and several decisions were made.
The Zoom video conferencing, which lasted about 4 hours, was blessed by the General Council’s spiritual advisor, Father Andres Motto (Congregation of the Mission – CM), who led the prayers and proceeded with the spiritual reading Coronavirus, in between Lockdown and Service, an upcoming article to be published on the General Council’s website. Attendees observed 1-minute silence for Covid-19 victims around the world, especially for members, families and poor households concerned.
“I think the meeting was a great success. The biggest challenge was to deal with the different time zones, but everything went smoothly. I was very pleased to see that Board members, thank God, were all in good health, which, of course, is the most important thing.”, stated our President Renato Lima. According to the International Rule, the Board must meet on a quarterly basis.
Some of the meeting items addressed were as follows: Council General’s 2019 economic report; the 2020 budget; report on beneficiary countries of Covid-19 Funds; review of cases handled by the Ombudsman General; new manuals and forms developed by the Twinning Department; the new headquarters in Paris; enhanced management of headquarters’ staff; youth; communication and formation/training updates (new website); institutional missions in new countries (“SSVP Plus” Project); updated information on Ozanam’s canonization; Vincentian Family’s activities; extended terms of office in some countries; and upcoming assemblies (Paris 2020 and Brasilia 2021).
God willing, the next CGI Board video conferencing meeting will be held on October 3rd. The visit to Félix Clavé’s tomb, initially scheduled for October 1st, has been postponed to December. The deadline for submission of writings for the international contest on Félix Clavé has also been postponed to 24th August 2020.
