(Rivista Internazionale - December 1994: Report of the Secretary of the Commission for Future Strategies - 1/3)

Chapter General

Report of the Secretary of the Commission for Future Strategies
The Results of the Strategies Programme

Valletta, Malta. The Second Seminar for Strategies held in 1993, presided over by the Secretary of the Strategies Commission, Count Winfried Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Excellencies,
As I have been asked by your distinguished congregation to participate during today's session as representative of the Commission for Future Strategies I would first of all like to express the most sincere thanks on behalf of the members of the Commission as, through this very act, you chose to demonstrate your valuable support to our work, underlining the importance of continuing reform to our venerable Order.

Rivista lnternazionale. The most significant moments in the Order's life and activities world-wide.
The Order of Malta in its history, in its spirituality, in its humanitarian action.

I am aware of the fact that you have all followed our activities over the various stages during the last several years and that many of you have indeed personally participated in the actual process and meetings. Consequently I would not like to take up too much of your limited time by repeating past presentations and would rather just highlight a few important points which may require resolutions to be passed by this very Chapter. Of course I will also be available for any questions that you may have with regard to these matters.

On the other hand, in order to emphasise and document the significance of the Strategy Reform Work, with your permission, I would like to submit the two reports of our commission as well as the summaries of the four Working Groups of the 1993 Malta Seminar to the official Acts of this Chapter.

As you will see from the reports a number of positive results have been achieved, or are on the way of being achieved, by our joint efforts.

A world-wide board of representatives of the Civil Protection and First Aid organisations is meeting regularly and showing good results through much improved co-ordination.

An international advisory council to support the work of the Hospitaller and generally help with the implementation of his task throughout the Order is in the process of being formed and will surely lend substantial qualitative support to these activities during the forthcoming five-year period. The complicated field of simplifying and systematising the Order's emblems and procedures of patronage has received a useful impulse by the recommendations of the corresponding working group and has laid the ground work for further elaboration of this point.

International co-operation in the fields of Communications has begun with promising results and is continuing.

The delegates from the various entities of the Order are meeting regularly and with their support the Grand Magistry has been able to improve and reorganise its spectrum of publications.

The multinational enlargement of the Camera dei Conti decreed by the Chapter General has significantly assisted the work of the Receiver of the Common Treasury and has clearly contributed to the most apparent improvement of the Order's finances. However, as you will see from the submitted documents a number of areas need a great deal of further attention and study in the near future.

The four documents of the Malta Seminar clearly show that, whilst needing further elaboration, many crucial points can only be addressed by a Constitutional Reform as you may decide to be enacted during the next period of Government.

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