GFMD governance & strategy
A shared workspace for GFMD governance & strategy development
  • GFMD governance & strategy
  • Governance bodies
    • General Assembly
      • 2025 Annual Meeting
        • Code of Practice: Review & Approval
        • Steering Committee Election 2025
      • 2024 Annual Meeting
      • 2023 Annual Meeting
      • 2022 Annual Meeting
        • GFMD final accounts 2021
        • GFMD budget 2022
      • 2021 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
        • Agenda
          • Pre-assembly (2 Aug. - 28 Sept.)
          • 29 September 2021
          • 30 September 2021
          • 1 October 2021
          • Post-assembly (13 Oct. - 1 Nov.)
          • Participants
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          • General Assembly - Tirana 2021
          • Steering Committee - Tirana 2021
          • Strategic planning
          • Albanian media roundtable
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          • Appendices
      • 2020 Annual Meeting
      • 2016 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
      • 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
      • 2008 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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  • Constitution & Bylaws
    • GFMD Constitution (2021)
      • I. DEFINITION AND GOALS
      • II. FUNCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES
      • III. OPERATING PRINCIPLES
      • IV. MEMBERSHIP
      • V. PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS
      • VI. STEERING COMMITTEE
      • VII. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
      • VIII. THE GFMD SECRETARIAT
      • IX. DISSOLUTION
      • X. MISCELLANEOUS
    • GFMD Code of practice (2016)
    • Administrative and Financial Manual (2021)
  • Reports & Analysis
    • Reports (2021-2025)
      • Activity reports
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    • Reports (2016-2021)
      • Activity reports
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      • Strategy documents
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    • Network analysis (2016 & 2021)
  • Strategy & Business Planning
    • General Strategy (2021-25)
      • General Strategy 2021-2025
      • Digital policy & advocacy strategy (2021-2025)
        • Mission and vision
        • The context
        • Focus areas
        • Our objectives
        • Activities
        • Methodology
      • Planning process (2021-2025)
      • Draft strategic plan (2021-2025)
        • 1. Problem statement
        • 2. The GFMD approach
        • 3. Target groups
        • 4. Membership, partnership structure & engagement
        • 5. Mission statement & vision
        • 6. Strategic objectives
        • References
    • GFMD IMPACT (2021-25)
  • GOVERNANCE DOCS ARCHIVE
    • GFMD Constitution (2016-2021)
    • Other bylaws & admin docs
  • ABOUT
    • GFMD homepage
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On this page
  • Frequency of meetings
  • Upcoming meetings
  • Recent meetings
  • FAQs
  • Is the General Assembly an in-person meeting?
  • Does the General Assembly meet between in-person meetings?
  • What is the General Assembly?
  • Can only GFMD members attend the GFMD General Assembly?
  • Where has GFMD held in-person General Assembly meetings?
  • Has the General Assembly been called different things in the past?
  • What happens at the General Assembly?

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  1. Governance bodies

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the sovereign body of GFMD.

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Last updated 1 year ago

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Frequency of meetings

The GFMD General Assembly meets every four years to elect a new . *

Since 2022 -- as a consequence of GFMD's Brussels registration -- GFMD has also held annual meetings of its members to approve annual audited accounts and other administrative matters.

* In 2020 GFMD members -- -- voted to postpone voting for a new Steering Committee until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Upcoming meetings

Recent meetings

FAQs

To help new members and those unfamiliar with the processes and rules that govern GFMD's General Assembly we have put together some answers to frequently asked questions.

Please note that the answers to these questions are abridged summaries. Full details are available in the .

Is the General Assembly an in-person meeting?

The most recent in-person General Assembly took place in Tirana, Albania in 2021. The next in-person meeting will take place in 2025.

Does the General Assembly meet between in-person meetings?

Yes. Under GFMD's constitution and the rules related to GFMD's registration in Brussels, the General Assembly annually meets online in the three years between in-person meetings.

What is the General Assembly?

The General Assembly:

  • Approves annual financial report, including remuneration of members of the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee, the appointment of auditors or representatives and their fees, and the annual budget.

The programme is prepared by the Steering Committee in consultation with members.

Can only GFMD members attend the GFMD General Assembly?

Where has GFMD held in-person General Assembly meetings?

Meetings of the General Assembly (and a wider conference alongside it) have previously taken place in Amman (2005), Athens (2008), Makhanda/Grahamstown (2012), Jakarta, (2016), and Tirana (2021)*.

* Delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Has the General Assembly been called different things in the past?

No. However, the conference that often occurs at the same as the General Assembly has been referred to in different ways, including:

  • Global Forum for Media Development (also known as the Global Forum).

To avoid confusion the Secretariat proposes that future meetings be referred to using the following naming conventions:

Global Forum for Media Development - General Assembly - Tirana, 2021

The Global Forum for Media Development's General Assembly will take place in Tirana in 2021.

The General Assembly of the Global Forum for Media Development of 2021 took place in Tirana, Albania.

What happens at the General Assembly?

The General Assembly:

  • Deals with appeals on decisions of the Steering Committee.

  • Decides on policy and overall strategy and priorities

  • Elects the Steering Committee.

Yes. Every four years the GFMD General Assembly takes place in person to elect a new .

The quadrennial in-person General Assembly normally takes place alongside a conference for the wider media development and journalism support community that involves - among others - donors, partners, and supporters, as well as .

The General Assembly is the sovereign body of the GFMD and brings together all .

The is the sovereign body of the GFMD and brings together all , as well as , provided that only general members have the right to vote at General Assembly meetings.

Yes. The General Assembly is constitutionally mandated. Attendance and voting rights are accorded only to GFMD general members. Its procedures are governed by the. can attend but do not have voting rights.

The in 2016 in Jakarta.

Receives and approves a financial and activity report from the (the report is prepared by )

Deals with matters related to the amendment of .

Steering Committee
GFMD members
General Members
7.2 Sovereign body
GFMD Constitution
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World Forum for Media Development
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the Secretariat
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General Assembly
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2024 Annual Meeting
2023 Annual Meeting
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2021 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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