Worldwide, CODA is growing at a rapid rate, with meetings in over 70 countries and in many languages around the world. This page lists information for different resources within CODA World Service for individuals and groups wishing to start a meeting or connect with others in their region, especially if there are few meetings or if there is no formal regional support in place.

If you are looking for assistance in starting a meeting in a region/country, there are different resources to consider:

• Does your region have an Intergroup or Voting Entity?  Please see the CoDA Global Area Contacts Around the World where many are listed.  If you have detailed questions about Voting Entities and Intergroups, please see the section below as well as the Voting Entity and Intergroup webpage of the ORG.
• Does your region have any meetings that may serve as support for you?  Make sure you go to the coda.org Find a Meeting webpage and specifically search in your region.  There are over 70 countries listed on the coda.org site.  Additionally, your local region may have another way to search for meetings through a regional webpage as not all countries list their meetings on coda.org. Germany, England and Australia are examples of such areas, which may be listed on the CoDA Global Area Contacts.
• Please use the resources throughout the ORG for starting a meeting, but also consider additional resources for assistance (as listed below).

Possible Resources for Worldwide Support:

World Connections Committee (WCC):  The World Connections Committee can provide support to people from around the world who are looking to connect with one another and learn from experience, strength and hope.  Please email them at [email protected] for more information.

World, National, Regional and Local CoDA Events:

• The CoDA World Service Conference (CSC):  The CSC allows members to connect with one another from around the world.  Information is available in the CoDA World Service Events page as well as the Fellowship Service Manual. To become a delegate is a formal process, described in the FSM (pp.20-22), and may be assisted through the IMC. Much of the FSM describes the CSC policies and procedures.
• Regional Events, such as the European CoDA Conference and the CoDA Austalasian Conference, are large regional events that facilitate fellowship and support members.
• Listings & Resources: Please see the coda.org calendar and the ORG Events & Related Materials page for more information.  Please list your events on the CoDA calendar by emailing  [email protected].

Issues Mediation Committee (IMC):  The IMC assists in the development and support of Voting Entities.  They handle requests to recognize Voting Entity delegate’s election process as well as requests from Voting Entities to divide into two or more entities. Additionally, the IMC helps to facilitate representation at the CoDA World Service Conference (CSC).

• Please see the document  Guidelines for the Development and Structure of Intergroup and Voting Entities for detailed information and answers to frequently asked questions.
• The IMC facilitates dispute mediation for Voting Entities, Intergroups, and other CoDA entities as needed. (Please see the Fellowship Service Manual, pp. 14-16 & 35-37, for more information).
• Travel Reimbursement Opportunities (TRO) are available through the IMC for representatives from a region to attend the CoDA World Service Conference (CSC):  The TRO is a financial assistance award offered by CoDA World to Voting Entities and Voting Entity delegate(s) who qualify for financial assistance to come to CSC. CoDA World reimburses an eligible Voting Entity delegate who is voted in by their Voting Entity; preferably, a new attendee/Voting Entity to Conference; eligible for aid; and who must agree with the reimbursement method with CoDA, Inc’s Treasurer prior to the TRO being awarded. (quoted from Guidelines linked above- see Guidelines for more details as well as the Fellowship Service Manual for forms, pp. 51-52)

Language and Literature topics:

Is there CoDA literature in my language?  Please see the CoRE literature website for English materials and materials from CoRE in Additional languages (currently available in Spanish, Chinese and Japanese). Other countries have translated their materials through an agreement with CoDA, Inc.  These agreements are facilitated through the Translation Management Committee.  If you are unsure if there is a translation in your language, please contact TMC at [email protected].  Also the Linguistic Diversity page of the ORG has many meeting specific suggestions.

Translation Management Committee (TMC):  “The Translation Management Committee’s mission is to carry the message to codependents worldwide whatever their language.” “The Translation Management Committee, working with the CoDA Board of Trustees, maintains, coordinates and assists in the process whereby individuals, groups and Voting Entities around the world find, (if necessary), create, publish and/or distribute CoDA literature and materials in their own language.” (FSM, 2015, pp.39-40) When groups wish to have CoDA materials translated into additional languages, there is a very specific legal process that must be followed.  The summary of the process is as follows, but may have new updates:

1. Before any translation is done, contact the Translation Management Committee (email address: [email protected]). *CoDA materials are copyrighted and, as such, may not be reproduced or translated for reproduction without explicit permission from CoDA, Inc.
2. The TMC will check if that material has already been translated to that particular language / dialect. If it hasn’t and a significant amount of translation (e.g. books ) is intended, the proposer may initially be asked to submit a translation of only one chapter, which will be submitted to a professional to evaluate the accuracy of the translation and consistency of intent, before approving the intention to translate. If it has already been translated to that language / dialect or it does not meet accuracy of translation, the application will be denied.
3. If the translation is accurate, two agreements (i.e. the Translation Agreement and the Copyright Assignment Agreement) must be signed. Once a document is translated the translator owns the copyright of that translation and therefore a copyright assignment must be signed by each individual involved in translating. The translation will be approved subject to the signing of these agreements whereby the rights on that piece of translated material will be assigned to CODA.The Translation Agreement is signed by the board officers and the person (s) involved in the translation.
4. The translations will then be completed and re-submitted for evaluation of accuracy and consistency of intent.
5. If publication is intended and a legal entity exists a Publication and Distribution agreement will be signed by the officers of the legal entity and by CoDA board officers. Where there is no legal entity to sign the agreement, royalty free publication agreements may be signed for a duration of one year. The benefit of this second agreement is to enable individual members to begin the work of carrying the message in the initial stages without having to comply with all legal formalities at the very beginning when membership or funds are small.
6. Translations of non CoDA copyrighted material (e.g. original material or material by other authors) does not require the above procedure to be followed. Locally developed material although on the subject of CODA does not require the above procedure to be followed unless it is intended for it to be copyrighted by CODA. However, it is likely that this other material will not be conference approved and the autonomy of each group may be used to decide if this material may be used in meetings.