Summary Record of the 2017 IGFSA General Assembly

Internet Governance Forum Support Association (IGFSA)

 2017 General Assembly

Geneva, 19 December 2017

Summary Record 
(A full verbatim transcript is available: here.)

1.         The IGFSA held its fourth General Assembly on 19 December 2017, the second day of IGF 2017, in Room XXVII of the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
More than 50 IGFSA Members attended the meeting in person and via remote participation.  Seven Executive Committee Members were also in attendance. Markus Kummer, as the Chair of the Executive Committee, presided over the General Assembly.

2.         The following agenda, which had been slightly amended from the version sent out in advance, was approved by consensus by all members present. The election of Executive Committee Members was moved to the top of the agenda due to conflicting candidate schedules.

1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Executive Committee election
3. Approval of the summary record of the 2016 General Assembly
4. Adoption of the contents of the reports and financial statements for the year
5. Approval of the annual budget, based upon a recommendation by the Executive Committee
6. Discharge of the activity of the Executive Committee
7. Any Other Business

3.         Adoption of the agenda

The agenda was approved as proposed.

4.         Executive Committee election

Two members of the IGFSA Executive Committee, Tarek Kamel and Jimson Olufuye, were up for renewal. One incoming IGFSA member, Manu Bhardwaj, sought election to the open seat of the IGFSA Executive Committee.

Each candidate was given the opportunity to address the General Assembly. Manu Bhardwaj was not in attendance, but his statement was read aloud to the meeting. The Chair recalled that the General Assembly in 2015 had approved a change in the Articles of Association whereby non payment of dues would not anymore be an automatic cause for exclusion from membership. However, he appealed to the Members present that only those who had paid their membership dues should vote. IGFSA Members were given the opportunity to add themselves as candidates but no one did. Therefore, all three candidates were appointed to the open seats.

The following three candidates were elected or re-elected to the IGFSA Executive Committee 1 :

• Mr. Tarek Kamel, incumbent Executive Committee Member;
• Mr. Jimson Olufuye, incumbent IGFSA Executive Committee Member;
• Mr. Manu Bhardwaj, new Excutive Committee Member.

5.         Approval of the summary record of the 2016 General Assembly

The summary record of the previous General Assembly from 5 December 2016 that had taken place in Guadalajara, Mexico, was approved.

6.         Adoption of the contents of the reports and financial statements for the year
The Chair presented the 2016 Report on IGFSA Activities. The report describes new memberships, meeting schedules, Executive Committee composition and how funds were collected and allocated. The General Assembly took note and adopted the report.

The issue of accessibility for people with disabilities was raised. One member, Vint Cerf, offered a contribution of USD 10.000 to enhance the accessibility of all IGF related meetings. The contribution on behalf of his company, Google, could be paid into a dedicated fund for this purpose.

7.         Approval of the annual budget, based upon a recommendation by the Executive Committee

The General Assembly was briefed on the budget situation. The Chair recalled that in 2016, the General Assembly decided to allocate 35% of all the funds to the UN IGF Trust Fund and 40% to the NRIs. However, given the growing demand and the increased number of NRIs, the allocation of funds was adjusted accordingly and close to 50% was attributed to the NRIs. The General Assembly expressed its support for prioritizing the NRIs.
The General Assembly also agreed to provide a fellowship to the IGF Secretariat’s NRI coordinator, Anja Gengo, as an in-kind contribution. Several members praised her work in support of the NRIs. The fellowship would allow her to continue her work until she would be in a position to apply for a staff position. .

8.         Discharge of the activity of the Executive Committee

At the request of the Chair, the General Assembly granted the discharge to the IGFSA Executive Committee.

9.         Any Other Business

Some time was spent discussing fundraising. There was a general agreement on the need to attract more people with fundraising skills and suggestions included pursuing strategies such as approaching corporate donors, revamping marketing materials – perhaps with the help of an in-kind donation – and crowdfunding.

Last updated: November 16, 2018
Modification: Removed “Draft” from title