United Bible Societies Association Inc

THE ASSOCIATION PROMOTES THE WIDEST POSSIBLE EFFECTIVE TRANSLATION, PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIBLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, BY SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES FELLOWSHIP AND OF MEMBER BIBLE SOCIETIES OF THE FELLOWSHIP.

THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES ASSOCIATION'S GLOBAL MISSION TEAM HELPS THE UBS FELLOWSHIP MAKE THE BIBLE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE BY PROVIDING SHARED SERVICES, TOOLS, AND LEARNING AND COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES TO BIBLE SOCIETIES. THIS INCLUDES FACILITATING THE SHARING OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES THROUGH THE GRANTS PROGRAMME. BY DOING THIS, THEY INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF BIBLE SOCIETIES' MINISTRIES, THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR WORK TOGETHER AS A FELLOWSHIP. IN 2022, THE GLOBAL MISSION TEAM'S SERVICES CONTINUED TO SUPPORT BIBLE SOCIETIES AS BIBLE SOCIETIES ADAPTED THEIR OWN MINISTRY AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT TO THE POST-COVID REALITIES. THE GLOBAL MISSION TEAM PLACED SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON DELIVERING SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORTED THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BIBLE SOCIETIES, THE FELLOWSHIP AND UBSA IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT. THIS INCLUDED REDESIGNING THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTING THE NEW STRUCTURE BY THE END OF THE YEAR. THE CHANGE WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE THE SERVICES OFFERED BY GMT TO THE BIBLE SOCIETIES.THE UBS GLOBAL MISSION TEAM DELIVERED SERVICES THAT INCREASED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BIBLE MINISTRY THROUGHOUT THE FELLOWSHIP. THEY DID THIS BY:- PROVIDING SCRIPTURE TRANSLATION EXPERTISE TO SUPPORT THE COLLECTIVE TRANSLATION EFFORTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP. THIS INCLUDED PROVIDING TRAINING TO 398 REPRESENTATIVES (PRIMARILY TRANSLATORS AND TRANSLATION OFFICERS) FROM 46 BIBLE SOCIETIES. AS THE POST-PANDEMIC RHYTHM OF WORK CONTINUED TO BE ONLINE AND DUE TO FINANCIAL RESTRICTIONS DURING THE FIRST HALF OF 2022, THE TEAM CONDUCTED MUCH OF THIS WORK VIRTUALLY. THEY ALSO CONTINUED TO PROVIDE HELP TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT STANDARD PRACTICES, PROCEDURES AND TOOLS THAT SUPPORTED SCRIPTURE TRANSLATION. DURING 2022, THERE WERE 38 GRADUATES FROM THE PROGRAM: 8 TRANSLATION OFFICERS FROM THE PHILIPPINES, INDIA, NIGERIA, TAIWAN AND VIETNAM AND 30 TRANSLATORS FROM GUATEMALA, MEXICO, MOZAMBIQUE AND PERU;- PROVIDING PUBLISHING EXPERTISE TO MEMBERS OF THE FELLOWSHIP THROUGH CONSULTANCY, VIRTUAL CAPACITY-BUILDING SEMINARS AND AN E-LEARNING PLATFORM THAT IS UPDATED AND ENRICHED REGULARLY. THE WEBINARS INCLUDED A UBS-FELLOWSHIP-WIDE SERIES ON CONTENT MARKETING, AS WELL AS WEBINARS TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF SPECIFIC REGIONS. BY FOLLOWING UP WITH PARTICIPANTS OF THE E-LEARNING PLATFORM, THE UBS GLOBAL MISSION TEAM INCREASED ENGAGEMENT AND COURSE COMPLETION ON TOPICS SUCH AS CONTENT STRATEGY AND EDITORIAL PROCESS, CONTENT MARKETING, AND WORKING WITH PEOPLE.- FACILITATING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIVE CONTENT CREATION AMONG BIBLE SOCIETIES ON A REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVEL. THE "AFRICAN WOMEN DEVOTIONAL BIBLE" (WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE IN 3 LANGUAGES IN 2023 AND ADAPTED TO THE INDIAN CONTEXT) AND THE MIGRATION BIBLE (DUE TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2023), AS WELL AS THE "AFRICA CHILDREN BIBLE STORIES", THE "AFRICA YOUTH BIBLE", AND THE "AFRICAN LEADERSHIP BIBLE" (ALL 3 CONCEPTUALIZED IN 2022) ARE EXAMPLES OF THIS.- MAKING AVAILABLE FREE, CUSTOMIZABLE RESOURCES TO PUBLISHING BIBLE SOCIETIES ON A DEDICATED RESOURCE HUB.- BESIDES CONTINUED ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT FOR THE BIBLE SOCIETIES IN THE VARIOUS LANGUAGE GROUPS: SPANISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE, THE MAIN FOCUS IN 2022 WAS ON THE DELIVERY OF THE ONLINE UBS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM, DESIGNED TO HELP BIBLE SOCIETIES BUILD MORE RESILIENT AND AGILE SUPPLY CHAINS. OUR AIM FOR 2023 IS TO IMPLEMENT THE SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES OUTLINED IN THE COURSE, WHICH INVOLVE THREE PILLARS: OPTIMIZING INVENTORY LEVELS, ENHANCING INTERNAL PLANNING CAPABILITIES IN BSS, AND IMPROVING VISIBILITY IN THE EXTENDED SUPPLY CHAIN THROUGH BETTER COLLABORATION AND INFORMATION SHARING WITH KEY SUPPLIERS. - PROVIDING PUBLISHING EXPERTISE TO MEMBERS OF THE FELLOWSHIP THROUGH CONSULTANCY, VIRTUAL CAPACITY-BUILDING SEMINARS AND AN E-LEARNING PLATFORM THAT IS UPDATED AND ENRICHED REGULARLY. THE WEBINARS INCLUDED A UBS-FELLOWSHIP-WIDE SERIES ON CONTENT MARKETING, AS WELL AS WEBINARS TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF SPECIFIC REGIONS. BY FOLLOWING UP WITH PARTICIPANTS OF THE E-LEARNING PLATFORM, THE UBS GLOBAL MISSION TEAM INCREASED ENGAGEMENT AND COURSE COMPLETION ON TOPICS SUCH AS CONTENT STRATEGY AND EDITORIAL PROCESS, CONTENT MARKETING, AND WORKING WITH PEOPLE.- OFFERING TWO WEBINARS AS WELL AS ONLINE COURSES IN THREE LANGUAGES AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT ON EMAIL MARKETING, WHICH CAN HELP BIBLE SOCIETIES ENGAGE THEIR AUDIENCE WITH THE MINISTRY, AS WELL AS FUNDRAISING AND SALES. THE MOVE TO ONLINE COURSES CALLED THE DIGITAL ACADEMY ALLOWED THE UBS GLOBAL MISSION TEAM TO REACH MORE BIBLE SOCIETIES THAN IN PERSON TRAINING.- SUPPORTING THE UBS FELLOWSHIP IN PROGRESSING TOWARD THE GOALS SET IN THE BIBLE TRANSLATION ROADMAP BY CONVENING AND FACILITATING REGIONAL BIBLE TRANSLATION ROADMAP COORDINATION AND WORKING GROUPS TO ADDRESS TRANSLATION, CAPACITY, COMMUNICATIONS, FUNDRAISING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, AND INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATION. IN 2022, THE UBS GLOBAL MISSION TEAM LAUNCHED AN ONLINE CAPACITY-BUILDING COURSE IN TRANSLATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR BIBLE SOCIETY STAFF IN ENGLISH FOLLOWED UP BY A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE CONNECTING REGULARLY. IN 2023 THE SAME COURSES ARE BEING OFFERED IN FRENCH AND SPANISH.- COORDINATING AND FACILITATING THE PRODUCTION OF A SELECTION OF UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN SCRIPTURES TO SERVE AFFECTED AUDIENCES IN UKRAINE, AS WELL AS REFUGEES OF ALL AGES IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES.