Words and photo from Colin Matthews, Subud Britain Chair…

Day 1:

Welcome to Kalimantan where there are many jet lagged members who have travelled on three separate planes but many came before and others are still en route. The hotel is a wonderful venue, complete with a large hall, which can accommodate all of us. However, there was a Delegates Latihan using a smaller room as well as the main one, it will not be big enough for a simultaneous Latihan, so they will be staggered and not every day.

The first delegates’ meeting was to look at the proposal by Subud Britain, on behalf of the WSA, to formalise how many members a country should have in order to get voting rights. Not having them would not exclude a country receiving full support. Ten was decided based on Bapak’s comments. Passing this should have been a formality as it had already been agreed, in principle, at the last Congress but we spent an hour discussing it before finally being passed. Only thirteen more to go through.

After lunch, we had three screens showing a Bapak audio talk. Each screen had a different language. Even though the English subtitles were too low for us to see, and many of us had to stand up to see them, it was a clever way of allowing so many people to watch the talk at the same time.

In the evening was the opening ceremony where each country was called out and you had to stand up. The ceremony started with one or two speeches in English and several more in Indonesian by a range of dignitaries. This was followed by an Indonesian fusion dancer and a group of children dressed in traditional Dayak clothing and was a great hit which you thought that nothing could beat but then Ibu came onto the stage. The perfect ending.

Day 2:

In the morning, we had another Bapak talk and how he saw the bright light. This time Conrad and I sat in the front row! It was a memorable talk and one that I have never seen on video.

I forgot to mention that, on the first day, I met Philip, from the USA, who told me that, if they were chosen to host the next World Congress, they would probably use Calgary rather than Montreal. There does seem to be a buzz about which venue it will be. I was sitting next to some New Zealanders and overheard them say, “I hope Glasgow gets it as I really want to visit Scotland.” Then as I walked down the corridor an Australian that I knew said the same. I get the feeling that Scotland will prove popular, but it is all down to the testing tomorrow afternoon.

In the afternoon, we had the Men’s Latihan which was opened by a female member of Bapak’s family. There were literally hundreds of men and I have never done it with so many. The atmosphere and Latihan were incredible. This was followed by testing of different parts of the body and then we were told to dance like an Indonesian and then as a Spaniard. Are we going to ask them to dance like a Scot if Glasgow is selected?

Tomorrow is a big day. The presentations by USA/Canada, Britain and possibly Portugal will take place and the International Helpers will test. They will also test for the WSA chair, will it be Hannah de Roo? Watch this space.

Day 3:

Today started with the testing for the WSA chair. There were eight candidates including Hannah. The international helpers sat along the back of the rostrum. Then each candidate was called on stage and, if it was a man, the nine male helpers would get up and form a semicircle and the same with the female applicants. The questions asked were as follows:

Show by your Latihan the qualities you have to fulfil the role of WSA chair in the next term.

Show through your Latihan your ability to work in harmony with the World Subud Council in the next term.

After conferring, the international helpers had a short list of Rifka Several and Arifin Konrad so the following additional questions were asked:

How is it for the WSA if you are the World Chair for the next term?

Are you the right person?

Rifka, from the USA, is the next World Chair.

In the afternoon came the presentations for the next location. It started with the delegates agreeing to allow a last-minute bid by Portugal. It was agreed and Britain went first with its Glasgow bid. The presentation had been well rehearsed, and all went well with a good response by the audience.

Then it was the turn of Canada/USA whose focus was on Calgary rather than Montreal. It was presented by Rifka, and their research was impeccable. She had been responsible for the Spokane bid.

Finally, it was Portugal’s turn. They produced a very well-constructed PowerPoint presentation with all the commentary in the slides with use of video and music. It certainly won the hearts of those assembled and, after testing, Portugal was selected with their Fatima bid.