Knights and Ladies of Rizal Cologne 1996 e.V.

Report to the Supreme Council
and
the Regional Commander for Europe.

On a Consultative Meeting of concerned European Knights.
16th. /17th. February 2008


A Meeting of Knights of Rizal was held in Schriesheim, near Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld in Germany, on the week-end of 16th. /17th. February 2008. The meeting was organised by Sir Peter P. Plückebaum KCR and Sir Rainer Weber KCR and was graciously hosted by the Wilhelmsfeld/Heidelberg Chapter with both Chapter Commanders making excellent plans for the meeting and arranging a superb venue.
Invitations were issued to all Chapters and Regional and Area Officers. A proposed Agenda had been prepared and circulated in advance.

The Meeting began at 14.00hrs. on Saturday 16th. in the conference room of Haus Scheid in Schriesheim.

The attendance included a total of 13 Knights, representing seven Chapters from five Countries and included two Area Commanders, Seven Chapter Commanders and a former Deputy Regional Commander. Five Ladies of the Kababaihang Rizalista also attended. The attendance list is attached as an Annex.


1. On the Meeting being convened the Chapter Commander of Wilhelmsfeld-Heidelberg, Sir Rainer J. Weber, welcomed the participating Knights and Ladies and thanked them for coming, some even from as far as Madrid and Dublin. He expressed his wish for an open, honest, substantial and fruitful discussion. He also voiced his regret that an even greater number of Chapters and Knights had not availed of the opportunity to air their views on the important issues facing the Order now and into the future and how these might be resolved, despite all Chapters in Europe and the Regional and Area Commanders having been invited. He emphasised the positive support given for the meeting by the Regional Commander and read the letter of support, commendation and congratulations from the Area Commander for Germany. It was unanimously agreed and made very clear that the meeting was not intended to exclude or assail anyone, and certainly should not be seen as any kind of revolt, but as a platform for serious, mature, free and open discussion for every Member who is seriously interested in the welfare of the Order. Every Knight should have the right to reasonably express, discuss and disseminate his ideas and opinion in the Order. Sir Rainer also presented the greetings of Sir Alexander Mushake and Sir Ulrich Freytag, both of whom are, unfortunately, ill and so could not attend as they wished.


2. Sir Don Brennock was unanimously chosen as Chairman for the meeting. He first asked that all present introduce themselves to the meeting He then led the discussion. He did an excellent job in keeping the focus of the discussion on the elements of the agenda, prevented any digression from these items and giving short and clear intermediate summaries as the meeting proceeded.

3. The proposed agenda was unanimously agreed to. This consisted essentially of two main elements: An understanding of Rizalism and the Basis of our Order and the structures considered appropriate and necessary for our Order in to-days World. It was also agreed that not all elements of the agenda were likely to be able to be fully discussed and concluded in a satisfactory fashion, due to the limitations on our time.


4. The first area of our discussions dealt with the questions, "What is a Rizalist ?, and "What is Rizalism"? A suggested basis for the discussion was Dr. Bulaong´s speech on Rizal at the Bonn Chapter's 30th. Anniversary Celebrations last October. This item generated a very intense, animated, lengthy and serious discussion, involving virtually all those present. It was agreed that 'Rizalist' and 'Rizalism' are in serious danger of becoming no more than hackneyed, hollow words, used by many but truly understood by few. So, the practical reality of what Rizal actually stood for believed in and aspired to needs to be clearly identified, established and agreed to by all concerned. That Rizal stood for universally accepted values like democracy, equality of all, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, internationalism, self-determination, education and social justice for all and personal responsibility was accepted by all present. The difficulty identified was, how this might be acceptably expressed in an appropriate fashion. A true Rizalist would try and put all of these ideals into practise in an enlightened fashion, while avoiding any extremes.

It was agreed by the meeting that this critically important item requires further serious research, analysis and discussion before really worthwhile definitions of both words may be arrived at. However, it was felt that a good beginning had been made and the subject was commended to the Supreme Council for serious consideration. The meeting felt very strongly that having these two definitions established and promulgated officially would provide a much needed focus for the Members of the Order. The contribution of Dr. Bulaong and Sir Peter Plückebaum to the discussion was acknowledged by the meeting.

Recognising the time-pressure we were under, it was agreed at that point that we would move on to the next item for discussion. The Chairman suggested, and it was agreed, that the meeting would initially break-up into a number of small groups or mini-workshops to identify the specific areas we might consider under the next item. This was done and produced an amazingly coherent list of concerns. A suggestion that the meeting re-consider and re-submit the various cases of objection against the appointment of the present Regional Commander was rejected on the grounds that it would be divisive, wasteful of our time and achieve nothing.


5. The second area for our consideration was the external appearance (or 'public face') and presentation of the Order to the world, in addition to appropriate operational and administrative structures for the proper management of the affairs of the Order. A general discussion took place initially, during which it was agreed that the Order should make itself better known publicly in a positive way, through practical actions such as humanitarian and social commitments and projects. At the same time much more emphasis needed be laid on the 'education' of all Knights in matters of 'Rizalism' and being a 'Rizalist'. It was also suggested that an emphasis might usefully be placed at school-children level to inculcate the values proclaimed and emulated by Dr. Rizal. An agreed 'Corporate Identity' needed to be established. In addition, the profile of the Order might be raised by greater co-operation between Chapters in their projects and the attendant publicity that could be gained from this. Chapters could also form partnerships in a common official website. Dennis Barcelona, of Hamburg, was suggested as a possible new webmaster for an official European website, with a responsible Moderator possibly being Sir Repotente, also of Hamburg. It was suggested that the regional website should only contain information, not commentary. That the Order really needed to be clearly identifiable from outside was emphasised time and again. In this context 'Good Leadership' was paramount and it was stressed and agreed that, at present, this seems to be largely missing from the upper echelons of the Order. This did not mean that the Order needed to or should adhere to a strictly hierarchical structure, but to a rather more democratic and self-determined structure within a properly defined policy. A rigid, military-style 'chain of command' was perceived as being inappropriate and not in keeping with the ideals of Rizal. All Members of the Order have a natural, democratic right to be included in the reform debate and the Supreme Council should make whatever arrangements are necessary to facilitate this, as soon as possible, to ensure that every Member has a voice and the right and opportunity to disseminate his opinion and cast his vote within the Order. Because of this strongly held view, the minutes of and the decisions taken by this Meeting will be distributed throughout the Order, from the Supreme Commander downwards. It was a matter of widespread complaint and deeply regretted that, in the past, communications between individual Knights and Chapters and IHQ had been, to a very large degree, a one-way affair. It was a matter of historical record that virtually all letters, e-mails or other communications sent to IHQ remained un-answered.


6. The sub-groups then discussed the following:-

a) Why are we Knights of Rizal ? What structural changes need to be made within the Order and its Bye Laws to achieve fair, democratic and equitable decisions, voting structures and appointments within the Order and the right to express a viewpoint and have it heard ?

b) What should be the character or format of all Assemblies so that they are useful, meaningful and achieve a worthwhile outcome ? What administrative arrangements need to be put in place to achieve this ?

c) What should be the requirements for the appointment of officers to positions in the Order ?

d) What can be done to ensure that the mistakes and negative developments of the past (in Europe, Canada and the Philippines) will not be repeated ?

e) How can all Officers in the Order be prevailed upon to respect the democratic vote of Members in Assemblies ?

All responses produced from the sub-groups are suggestions for further serious debate and discussion by all concerned Members and also perhaps deserve appropriate action within the Order. Most could well be realised and applied to all levels of the Order immediately.


7. The discussions in the sub-groups led to the following proposals, which were adopted by the Meeting:-

a) The Preamble to Bye Laws should contain appropriate references to democracy, non-paternalism, self-determination and autonomy, as being typical Rizalian characteristics, and should be accepted and carried out by the Order as a whole and by every individual Member.

b) Assemblies, (while focussing on Regional Assemblies, we see our comments as being applicable to all Assemblies) should:-
i) concentrate on Rizal in the first place;
ii) deal with the business of the Assembly;
iii) contain substantial, worthwhile and practical discussion;
iv) find a place for 'fun' and social camaraderie, when the work is done;
v) be attended by the Regional Commander and his Deputy;
- All Chapter Commanders and their Deputies;
- All interested Knights;
- Appropriate invited Guests;
vi) not permit guests during open voting procedures or confidential discussions.

c) Items for the agenda should be focussed on substantial matters of the business of the Assembly and the Order and on Dr. Rizal and should be circulated in good time to all participants in advance. All Member Knights must have the right to submit items for the agenda. The Regional Commander, with the Pursuivant (where appropriate), then sets out the agenda, but must give a legitimate explanation where he refuses to include an item (submitted in advance) on the agenda. These refused items may be dealt with up under 'Miscellaneous' or marked to be dealt with by the next Assembly. Every Chapter has the right to have their items included in the agenda. It must be made clear that every Assembly should contain meaningful, purposeful and fruitful discussions with clear and positive results. The social matters should be only a minor aspect.

d) Topics for the agenda (recognising the contents of Article XIV, Section 1 of the Bye Laws) might include:-

i) Looking back to developments and achievements since the previous Assembly;

ii) Exchange of information about activities, achievements and plans among the Regional Chapters;

iii) Decisions/voting on all appropriate items on the agenda, including nominations for Regional Office holders;

e) Votes in these decisions might be:-

i) Regional Commander and Deputy (1 individual vote each)

ii) Chapter Commanders and Deputies (1 individual vote each)

iii) Chapter Commanders, or their Deputies (representing their Chapters, 1 additional vote for every 10 members)
If a Chapter legitimately cannot be personally represented clear, reliable documentation must be presented to confirm the acceptability of its votes.

iv) There should be no additional vote for specific ranks.

f) The Assembly should be a truly democratic, legislative body with its decisions binding on all its Members with regard to all its legitimate business. Where it is a Region it should establish practical working contacts and communications with other Regions. With regard to IHQ, it should be the legitimate voice of the Region in matters of development of the Order, communication, influence and the contribution of proposals for reform of the Manual and Bye-laws. It should establish and develop appropriate links and communication with whatever official 'Representative for the Regions' is appointed by the Supreme Council, who should be an additional voice and link to transport the Assembly's views to the S.C. and Supreme Commander. This Assembly should be the place for the nomination of candidates for all Officer positions in the Region.

g) The quorum necessary for all meetings and decisions should be 50% of all Chapters in the Region. All decisions must be by majority vote of those present and entitled to vote.

h) Time schedules for all Assemblies should be clear, with dates being set not less than four months in advance; items for the Agenda being forwarded to the Regional Commander, or appointed Organiser, at least three months in advance and final Invitations, with all necessary documentation, to go out at least two months in advance.
i) Regional Assemblies should be held at least once each year, but not at inappropriate times, such as school holidays. Where possible they should be rotated amongst the Chapters of the Region, while recognising the travel needs and requirements of Members. Each Assembly should fix the location and timing of the next.


8. With regard to the requirement for the nomination of candidates for Rizalian Years 2008/2010 to be sent to IHQ, it was agreed that the Regional Commander should make clear, equitable arrangements regarding the nomination procedure (which fully comply with all time and organisational regulations of our Order) and send them to all Chapters well in advance of the Assembly, to enable all Chapters to take a proper part in the nomination procedure. The procedural disaster of two years ago must not be repeated.

Due to the seriously important and concentrated nature of the agenda items, and the limited time available to us, not all issues within the agenda could be given the time they really deserved to be discussed in full in plenary session. The conclusions reached were virtually all unanimous and the atmosphere experienced during our meeting was positive, friendly, harmonious, relaxed and gentlemanly.

Our meeting ended at 15.15hrs. on Feb 17th. with a formal wreath-laying ceremony, in commemoration of Dr. José Rizal, at the monument in the Rizal Park in Wilhelmsfeld, followed by a most inspiring speech by Sir Rainer J. Weber, Chapter Commander of Wilhelmsfeld-Heidelberg Chapter, containing Rizal's visionary and meaningful ideas as dealt with in his 'The Philippines 100 years hence'.

_Original Signed:_____________________ ===========================_Original Signed:_________________________

=============Sir Rainer Weber, KCR ======================================= Sir Peter P. Plückebaum, KCR

Joint Minute Secretaries.

Original Signed:_____________________
Sir Don Brennock, KCR

Chairman. 16th. March 2008.