Executive Committee Summary Records Summary Record of 73rd meeting of the Executive Committee – 26 September 2023

Oct 16, 2023 | Meeting Summary Records, Reports and Meeting Minutes

Internet Governance Forum Support Association (IGFSA)

73rd meeting of the Executive Committee

26 September, 2023

  1. The Executive Committee held its 73rd meeting on 26 September 2023. The meeting took place in in a virtual setting with the following participants: Amrita Choudhury (chair), Nigel Hickson (Treasurer), Anriette Esterhuysen, Fiona Asonga, Amado Espinosa; and Jennifer Chung (Secretariat). A quorum was established for the meeting after item five, with five of the nine Executive Committee members taking part.

 

  1. The Agenda was adopted as circulated, and the summary record of the 72nd meeting is pending approval if no comments or corrections are received on the IGFSA EC mailing list before 3 October 2023.

 

Review IGFSA General Assembly Agenda and discussion on IGFSA EC elections process

  1. The Secretariat gave an overview of the proposed IGFSA General Assembly (GA) Agenda to be held in Kyoto, Japan on Sunday 8 October 2023 – 12:30 to 13:30 local JST. There were questions about the financial reporting and annual budget, the Secretariat confirmed that the IGFSA accountant will be preparing the year end report, but the proposed 2024 annual budget that will be presented will be the proposed budget prepared by the Secretariat in conjunction with the Accountant. There was a brief discussion about the Tides Foundation funding that is still in process.

 

  1. It was noted that agenda item 6 is a discussion of the IGFSA Executive Committee elections as the 2022 elections were delayed and held at the start of 2023, this discussion item will open the nominations period which will run for a month thereafter. There was a brief discussion on whether IGFSA should continue to hold the EC elections at the end of 2023 or move it to early 2024. The EC confirmed that the elections should go ahead for November 2023 and the Secretariat took an action item to circulate a projected elections process timeline for approval.

 

  1. There was a discussion about membership renewal and whether there should be a set time annually that this is sent out. The Secretariat noted that because the 2022 EC elections happened in 2023, some of the membership renewals happened in early 2023, and for those members they should still be eligible as an active member in the 2023 November EC elections. The EC confirmed that the membership renewal should follow the calendar year to avoid confusion and membership renewal reminders should go out early for everyone to be able to renew in time for the EC elections.

 

  1. There was also discussion on whether the IGFSA GA should also be on a set cycle instead of fluctuating every year. It was noted that the IGF’s date also shifts from year to year depending on the host country and it was desirable to maintain an in-person component as the IGFSA members tend to also attend the IGF in person. There was also a worry that Day Zero is getting more packed and there are competing sessions that would create schedule clashes for some members. The Secretariat noted an action item to check the term limits for current Executive Committee members and send reminders to those who will be up for re-election, and further noted that the GA cycle item should be put up for discussion with the full membership during the 2023 GA.

 

IGFSA bank accounts update and pending invoices

  1. Nigel Hickson, IGFSA Treasurer gave an update on the IGFSA bank account and noted the accounts are now functional. Regarding the impact to the NRI payments, it was noted that the approved invoices are currently being cleared and the new requests will be circulated to the EC mailing list this week.

 

  1. It was noted that the IGF Secretariat intern request for travel support to IGF 2023 in Kyoto was adjusted by the Intern and a supplemental invoice has been approved and is in process.

 

Outreach and communication and IGFSA Annual Report

  1. There was a discussion about the status of the Annual Report that is currently being produced by Wim Degezelle. There was a question regarding the total amount of funds contributed, including 2023. It was decided to send the year-to-date figures to Wim for the completion of the report. The Secretariat also confirmed that once the financial reporting has been completed by the IGFSA Accountant, the figures can then be updated further as necessary.

 

  1. AOB
    • IGFSA Secretariat to confirm with IGF Secretariat regarding the zoom link for the IGFSA General Assembly – whether it will be an official link for IGF 2023 or if IGFSA will be using its regular zoom link.
    • The Secretariat also confirmed that there will be an in-person (and hybrid) meeting to be scheduled and coordinated with Chris Mondini at ICANN 78 in Hamburg, Germany.