2019 General Assembly
Berlin, 28 November 2019
Summary Record – DRAFT
(A full verbatim transcript is available: here)
1. The IGFSA held its sixth General Assembly on 28 November 2019, the third day of IGF 2019, in Estrel Saal B of the Estrel Congress Centre in Berlin.
More than 50 IGFSA Members attended the meeting in person and via remote participation. Six Executive Committee Members were also in attendance. Markus Kummer, as the Chair of the Executive Committee, presided over the General Assembly.
2. The Chair called for a moment of silence commemorating Tarek Kamel, a member of the Executive Committee, chairman of the 2009 IGF meeting and a very active member of the community. Nigel Hickson gave a short eulogy commemorating Tarek Kamel.
3. The following agenda, sent out in advance, was approved by consensus by all members present.
- Adoption of the agenda
- Approval of the summary record of the 2018 General Assembly
- Executive Committee election
- Adoption of the contents of the reports and financial statements for the year
- Approval of the annual budget, based upon a recommendation by the Executive Committee
- Fundraising/Crowdfunding
- Release of obligations of the Executive Committee members
- Any Other Business
4. Adoption of the agenda
The agenda was approved as proposed.
5. Approval of the summary record of the 2018 General Assembly
The summary record of the previous General Assembly from 12 November 2018 that had taken place in Paris, France, was approved.
6. Executive Committee election
Two members of the IGFSA Executive Committee, Markus Kummer and Eduardo Santoyo, were up for renewal for a two-year term. 1 IGFSA member, Ayden Ferdeline, sought election to the 2 open seats of the IGFSA Executive Committee.
As the Chair of the Executive Committee, Markus Kummer was up for the election, the election agenda item was passed to Executive Committee member Avri Doria to chair.
Each candidate was given the opportunity to address the General Assembly. Eduardo Santoyo was not in attendance, but his statement of interest was read aloud to the meeting. The voting proceeded on the 2 open seats.
The following two candidates were re-elected to the IGFSA Executive Committee1 :
Ms. Markus Kummer, incumbent Executive Committee Member;
Mr. Eduardo Santoyo, incumbent IGFSA Executive Committee Member;
7. Adoption of the contents of the reports and financial statements for the year
The Chair presented the 2018 Report on IGFSA Activities. The report describes new memberships, meeting schedules, Executive Committee composition and how funds were collected and allocated. The Chair noted that Nigel Hickson was appointed to complete the term of Tarek Kamel, whereupon the seat will be open again for election. The Chair further noted procedures on membership dues, contributions from donors, and communication materials. There was a discussion on asking for financial reporting from NRI supported, due diligence and transparency. Several NRIs who received IGFSA support funding have brief statements on how the funding was utilized during their event. The Chair stated that IGFSA works closely with the IGFSA Secretariat regarding eligibility of NRIs for support, and one criterion is having submitted a report on their activities.
8. Approval of the annual budget, based upon a recommendation by the Executive Committee
The General Assembly was briefed on the budget situation by the Treasurer. It was noted that in 2019, CHF 99,918.89 was made in contribution to NRI in the form of small grants. Via the accessibility support funding, CHF 7,902.64 was made in contribution to travel support, CHF 6,130.41 was spent on transcription support for meetings.
The Chair recalled that in the decision made by the General Assembly in 2018 was to prioritize funding to the NRIs.
A representative of the Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD) thanked the IGFSA for support that IGFSA has provided for accessibility (real time text transcription for meetings and travel support for three persons with disabilities to participate in the IGF and intersessional work.
9. 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.
10. Any Other Business
Some time was spent discussing fundraising and crowdfunding. There was a general agreement on the need to be creative with fundraising and suggestions included pursuing strategies such as crowdfunding, revamping marketing materials, maximizing the IGFSA platform with NRIs and highlighting success stories.
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