The Secretaries General from all the AMECEA Conferences held their first ordinary meeting for this year in Malawi on 24th – 25th March 2014 while commending the preparation done by the Malawi Conference for the coming 18th AMECEA plenary Assembly.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News, the AMECEA Secretary General Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo said the main agenda for the meeting was a follow-up on 18th AMECEA Plenary Assembly scheduled to take place in Malawi in July.
During the two-day meeting which took place at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi Secretariat in Lilongwe, AMECEA Secretariat presented to the Secretaries General a report on technical part of the preparations in terms of sourcing for expertise who will give presentations during the study sessions of the plenary.
According to Fr. Lugonzo, all individuals who are scheduled to give presentations during the study sessions of the plenary have been contacted and have confirmed their availability and willingness to participate. “The presenters are now only waiting for AMECEA Secretariat to give them directives in terms of time and length in regards to the contents and specific objectives of the presentations,” Fr. Lugonzo explained.
The Secretaries General also managed to look at the plenary program, which has been set and is only awaiting final touches.
The other issue that was discussed at the meeting was in regards to fund raising strategies for the plenary. Fr. Lugonzo told them that the AMECEA Secretariat has been seriously involved as he confirmed that some of the AMECEA Partners and well wishers whom the secretariat approached have already given their contributions and the secretariat is currently waiting for responses from the rest of the partners they contacted.
In terms of Local Contributions, Fr. Lugonzo said that some of the AMECEA Dioceses have started sending their contributions. The Secretaries General agreed to approach the issue of local contributions with a sense of urgency and they committed themselves to fast track and ensure through collaboration of conference’s Chairmen to have all contributions from the dioceses to be submitted by May 2014.
He confirmed that Malawi conference is set for the plenary; a venue where study/business sessions will be held has been identified and booked. The venue where opening/closing ceremony of the plenary will be held has also been identified and booked. In addition the conference has also identified venues for accommodations for the plenary delegates.
He said that the Malawi conference has also set up operational committees that are in-charge of various logistics.
He concluded by saying that the secretariat is now busy finalizing the documents to be presented during the study sessions of the plenary.
Participants to the Meeting were: Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo – AMECEA Secretary General (Kenya), Msgr. John Kauta – Secretary General (Uganda), Rev. Fr. Cleophas Lungu – Secretary General (Zambia), Fr. Daniel Rono – Deputy Secretary General (Kenya), Fr. Jacob Odwa – Secretary General (South Sudan), Fr. Gallus Thomas – Deputy Secretary General (Tanzania), Fr. George Buleya – Secretary General (Malawi), Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo – Deputy Secretary General (Malawi), Sr. Anne Muiruri – AMECEA Secretariat (Kenya), Gloria Pereira – Catholic Secretariat (Malawi)
Source: AMECEA Social Communications and ECM