THE 12 CONCEPTS =
Service
The
Twelve Concepts for World Service were written by A.A.’s co-founder Bill W.,
and were adopted by the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous in
1962. The Concepts are an interpretation of A.A.’s world service structure as
it emerged through A.A.’s early history and experience. The short form of the
Concepts reads:
1.
Final responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. world services should
always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
2.
The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical
purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole society in
its world affairs.
3.
To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A.—the
Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs,
committees, and executives—with a traditional “Right of Decision.”
4.
At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “Right of
Participation,” allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to
the responsibility that each must discharge.
5.
Throughout our structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, so
that minority opinion will be heard and personal grievances receive careful
consideration.
6.
The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility
in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the
Conference acting as the General Service Board.
7.
The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments,
empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The
Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the
A.A. purse for final effectiveness.
8.
The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of over-all policy and
finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and
constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all
the directors of these entities.
9.
Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future
functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the
founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.
10.
Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority,
with the scope of such authority well defined.
11.
The trustees should always have the best possible committees, corporate service
directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Composition, qualifications,
induction procedures, and rights and duties will always be matters of serious concern.
12.
The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it
never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating
funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its
members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all
important decisions by discussion, vote, and whenever possible, substantial
unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to
public controversy; that it never perform acts of government; that, like the
Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.
Copyright © A.A. World
Services, Inc.
The
text of the complete Concepts is printed in The A.A. Service Manual/Twelve
Concepts for World Service (BM-31). This publication is available from the
General Service Office, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 459, New York, NY
10163. The price is $1.55