2021 BLIA World Headquarters Virtual General Conference was held via Zoom from the 2nd till the 4th of October. Staff members from all regional associations in the headquarters were intensively preparing for the smooth holding of the conference. BLIA North Island participated in more than 30 preparatory meetings and connection tests of various working groups, including the Headquarter, Western United States and Oceania Discussion Office, Administration Office, Information Office, and Word Processing Office, creating another glorious history of Humanistic Buddhism.
Nick Yoong, a member of the BLIA Sub-chapter 2, acted as the chief controller of Oceania zoom system, will work together with various associations in the Western United States on the second day of the conference to conduct group discussions in 16 groups. Nick Yoong said that this is the first time to participate in such a large-scale online grouping. How to accurately assign online members to each group in a short time is the biggest challenge the technical team would have faced. In addition, on the first day of the conference on October 2nd, BLIA North Island would have also held an Annual General Meeting and a joint meeting of North and South Islands at the same time. It is necessary to change the venue quickly in a short time. The cooperation of Auckland and Christchurch teams would also be a great test and challenge for the technical team.
Lintao Yu, President of BLIA NZ North Island Chapter, one of the Oceania technical team members, mentioned that he participated in almost every group’s preparation meeting for this conference, which included dozens of meetings with various groups, such as Administration, Discussion, Information, Word Processing and so on. The complexity of the matter is only appreciated by those involved. The biggest obstacle was when elder members were not familiar with the conference system. Teaching them one by one with patience and skill is a great challenge of his patience and wisdom. “Thanks for all support from the team at the temple, who provided various methods and solutions to make this event go ahead as scheduled.”
Nick Yoong said, “I’m thankful for the trust from the temple and strong support of the Headquarters. The collective creation of the team and the cooperation of all BLIA members have allowed us to turn the sense of pressure into motivation and overcome technical issues with the dexterity and wisdom of Dharma. When we face difficulties in the process, we also find the technical team of the Headquarter striving to not only support various needs all over the world and take care of associations in various regions, but also had to face the challenge of tens of thousands of people connecting simultaneously. Our hearts are immediately full of power. “
