TH AOSM WAS HELD in Chandigarh, India from 22nd – 24th July 2011. AOSM, short for Asia Oceania Service Meeting, takes place every 2 years and is a gathering of representatives from member countries in the Asia Oceania region. Delegates meet and share ideas and exchange information on how we can cooperate to spread the

message of recovery in our respective countries and the region. 26 AA members from the Asia Oceania region and GSO New York met this time. The countries represented this year were: Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Bhutan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, MERCA, Dubai, and Nepal. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel very welcome by the Host committee from India. After a long journey and rest, we attended a local AA meeting. The message is the same worldwide as fellow sufferers from India shared their stories and the solution for recovery from Alcoholism. The 3 day AOSM was chaired by Ian C from Australia who kept us moving along on a tight schedule. Workshops were held in which we discussed how we were Reaching Out to the still suffering Alcoholic in our respective countries. It was a truly encouraging and uplifting time as we learned from each other. Several novel ideas were shared such as printing the 20 questions on the meeting list to reach out to potential members. Doug R from AA GSO in New York gave a keynote message on Singleness of Purpose which was the subject for further discussion. We found it reiterated the idea that AA has to stick to what we are good at or we will fall by the wayside (Tradition 5). The Delegates also had time to work with our designated committees to discuss issues and put forward suggestions for consideration by the AOSM as a whole. These committees are: Agenda/ Website Committee, Policy/ Admissions/ Finance Committee, Literature and Publishing Committee, Working with Others Committee. Besides the sharing ideas and policies, it was a great time of Fellowship and Recovery. The Principles of Unity, Service and Recovery were shared member to member.

The 10th AOSM in 2013 will be held in Russia and will be chaired by the delegate from India, Shrikanth S., with Nathan from Singapore as alternate chair. We look forward to another successful AOSM and to participation from countries which were unable to join us this year. It is truly heartening to see Bill’s words from the Big Book page 162 come true – “Someday we hope that every alcoholic who journeys will find a Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination”.