Proposer's Guide—Part 2
Actions of Immediate Witness
General Assembly offers delegates the opportunity to participate in the high-energy Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) process. People come impassioned on a wide range of issues, engage one another in conversation, craft proposed statements, sign petitions, debate the issues, vote, and bring to life the values of Unitarian Universalism, all within the span of one General Assembly (GA). Unlike a Statement of Conscience, an AIW does not carry the full authority of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA); rather, it expresses the conscience and carries the authority of the delegates at the GA at which it is passed. This distinction follows from the difference in procedure: Congregational Study/Action Issues are initiated by congregations or districts or specified UUA sponsored organizations and move through a three-year period of study and action with opportunities for congregational and district comment. There are no such opportunities for AIWs, which are initiated by individual delegates or groups of delegates and move through their entire creation and adoption process during one GA. Nonetheless, AIWs are the product of considerable thought, collaboration, and commitment. The AIW process allows Unitarian Universalists to respond quickly to social issues deemed urgent. Adopted AIWs are used by congregations in local efforts and empower the Washington Office for Advocacy to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other UU groups.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is witness?
- Witness is the public profession by word or deed of the convictions of an individual or group regarding a particular issue. Actions of Immediate Witness profess convictions grounded in Unitarian Universalism.
2. Who may propose an Action of Immediate Witness
- Any member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation who is present at General Assembly, though only a delegate may present the AIW on the plenary floor. However, preference will be given to proposed AIWs that emerge from a documented group process, typically arising from a committee or board at the congregational or district level.
3. What kind of issue is appropriate for an AIW
- An issue that requires immediate action for our witness to make an impact
- An issue that is specific and that is too narrow to merit three years of study and action that define the Congregational Study/Action Issue process
- An issue that does not duplicate a recent AIW
- An issue that is grounded in our Unitarian Universalist theology and practice
- An issue that fits with our member congregations’ capacity to take meaningful action
- An issue that presents opportunity for our member congregations to become respected participants in public dialogue
- An issue that is crafted in civil language
4. Where do I begin?
- If you are thinking of proposing an AIW, consider posting your idea go to Planning for AIWs at GA to get a head start and gain partners or allies.
- From about April 15th to June 1st before GA, the Commission on Social Witness will receive at socialwitness @ uua.org: 1) a topic title, 2) a two-sentence description, and 3) a contact email address. (Please start your email subject line with “AIW”).
- This information will be posted on the above cited web page. People interested in learning more about a particular topic or cooperating on drafting an AIW can communicate directly with the original proposer.
- If you prefer to just propose a topic for others to consider, send only the title and description to be posted. If another person wants to coordinate planning that issue, they can notify us at socialwitness @ uua.org.
- Proposed AIWs CANNOT be submitted online.
- You must visit the Commission on Social Witness booth in the Exhibit Hall, where you can get the necessary forms, updates, and assistance with fine tuning your proposed AIW.
5. What should my proposed AIW look like?
- It must have a title that clearly identifies the subject. It may be written as a narrative or in a "resolution format" (with "Because," "Whereas," and "Therefore Be It Resolved" clauses).
- It should be concise. There is a 500-word limit.
- It must be clear. Someone with no previous knowledge of your topic should be able to read the proposed AIW and understand exactly what the issues are and what actions you are proposing. Time restrictions at GA do not permit the CSW to make substantial or substantive edits. Visit the CSW booth if you have any questions about clarity or how to write your proposal for maximum impact.
- You are strongly encouraged to attach reputable documentation to substantiate facts you set forth in your proposed AIW.
6. How do I submit my proposed AIW?
- Get official forms and instructions at the CSW Booth in the Exhibit Hall on the first days of General Assembly. The booth will have a check list of the deadlines and other instructions, as well as the official AIW "Cover Sheet" and "Petition Sheets." (Note: While a sample Cover Sheet may be available online, only the current official cover and petition sheets available at GA may be used, and signatures may not be gathered until GA has begun.)
- “Pre-post” your proposed AIW topic on a flip chart at the CSW booth, along with your contact information. Check this site frequently before you finalize your proposed AIW text. The purpose is to permit proposers on similar topics to collaborate. Otherwise, the CSW will select from proposals on similar topics the proposal which best meets AIW criteria, specified in #3 above.
- "Post" your proposed AIW at the CSW booth by 5 PM on the Thursday of General Assembly. That is, deliver to the CSW booth the text of your proposed AIW, with a Cover Sheet attached to the front. If you can, bring an electronic form of your documents. You will have access to a computer at the CSW Booth. (Do not attach signature lists to the copy of your proposed AIW that you turn in for posting.)
- Gather your signatures – from delegates only! You must acquire at least 150 delegate signatures from at least 25 different congregations, representing at least five different districts. You are strongly encouraged to exceed the 150 signature requirement. The text of the AIW must be attached to each page of signatures.
- "File" your proposed AIW at the General Assembly Office by 5 PM on the Friday of General Assembly. The filing copy must have a properly completed "Cover Sheet" on top, the text of the proposed AIW, and the "Petition Sheets" with the requisite number and distribution of signatures.
7. What happens after the filing deadline?
- The CSW will review all proposed AIWs with the requisite signatures, and select up to six according to the criteria cited in #3 above. The CSW may edit them and may combine two or more proposed AIWs on related subjects (although the CSW encourages proposers addressing the same issue to form a joint proposal before such proposal is posted at the CSW booth, as set forth in #6 above).
- Once the CSW has made its decisions, a CSW member attempts to notify each sponsor at the phone number indicated on the Cover Sheet, during a designated two-hour span on Friday evening. It is important for the sponsor to be available for the call. Cell phones sometimes don't work in convention facilities, so either cite a land line in addition to the more commonly cited cell phone number on the Cover Sheet, or ensure that you are in a location that has cell phone service during the two-hour call period.
- The CSW's selection of a proposed AIW does not automatically place it on the Final Agenda. At the Saturday morning plenary, an advocate for each of the selected proposed AIWs speaks for up to two minutes on its behalf. After each presentation, a two-thirds vote of the delegates is required to admit the proposed AIW to the Final Agenda.
- For each AIW admitted to the Final Agenda, there is a mini-assembly. Proposers will be strongly urged to attend these mini-assemblies and sit up front, available for questions of clarification. These mini-assemblies provide delegates with their only opportunity to submit amendments to the proposed AIWs. The mini-assemblies run concurrently after the Saturday morning plenary.
- After the mini-assemblies, the CSW meets to determine which amendments to incorporate and prioritizes any unincorporated ones for possible adoption by the delegates in plenary. The amended AIWs are available to delegates through the CSW Alert before the plenary at which delegates debate and vote on each proposed AIW. A two-thirds affirmative vote is required for adoption.
- Proposed AIWs are not in competition with one another as are proposed Congregational Study/Action Issues. Each of the proposed AIWs admitted to the Final Agenda may be adopted or rejected by the delegates.
8. What happens to an AIW after General Assembly?
- If the delegates adopt an AIW, then UUA Advocacy and Witness, other UUA leaders, congregations, districts, and UU organizations may use it as a basis for public statements on the matter and are urged to act on it.
For additional help as you proceed, please contact the Commission on Social Witness at socialwitness @ uua.org. Through our social witness process, we work together so that the moral arc of the universe bends ever more closely toward justice.
Part 1—Congregational Study Action Issues/Statements of Conscience >
Last updated on Tuesday, June 2, 2009.
