Agenda

The (year-delayed) GFMD General Assembly will take place on September 30th and October 1st 2021.

Due to the pandemic, this will be a hybrid event - a limited in-person gathering with some sessions also held in a digital space that all general members can attend.

HOW THE 2021 GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILL WORK:

This year is going to be very different from previous years as the pandemic has not only put severe limitations on travel but also made organising an event for GFMD members and the wider media development and journalism support community impossible.

Due to these restrictions, the Secretariat is organising an in-person meeting of just over 20 representatives of GFMD general members in Tirana, Albania. This will be combined with a hybrid online General Assembly for all members.

We extend special gratitude to our member, the Albanian Media Institute, for assisting us in organising the event.

1. In-person meeting

The in-person gathering will include:

GFMD Steering Committee members, who will convene for a series of working and strategic planning meetings.

The GFMD Secretariat for support and strategic planning.

A limited number of GFMD regional members and candidates for the new Steering Committee.*

* Nominations for the new Steering Committee are now closed. A list of candidates is available here. Voting for the new Steering Committee will take place online from 20-24 September online.

2. Hybrid General Assembly for all members

Members who are not able to travel to Tirana will be able to join the General Assembly online on September 30th and October 1st.

As not all General Members will be able to attend the in-person meeting many of the processes and decisions that are normal taken at the event will begin before and end after the in-person meeting.

For example:

The nomination process for candidates for the GFMD Steering Committee was launched on August 2nd via an email to the GFMD members mailing list.

Voting for the new Steering Committee will take place online 20-28th September.

And the results will be announce at the General Assembly on 30th September.

With this in mind, the Agenda for the 2021 GFMD General Assembly has been split into three sections:

1 - Activities that will take place before the hybrid (in-person and online) General Assembly:

Pre-assembly (2 Aug. - 28 Sept.)

2 - The Agenda for the hybrid (in-person and online) General Assembly:

29 September 202130 September 20211 October 2021

3 - Activities that will take place after the hybrid (in-person and online)

Post-assembly (13 Oct. - 1 Nov.)

WHAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILL VOTE ON AND DISCUSS

- Steering Committee candidates and elections

Every four years (five in this exceptional case) GFMD general members vote to elect a new Steering Committee at the General Assembly.

The Steering Committee then elects a Chairperson, Deputy-Chairperson and Treasurer from among its number.

All members were invited to submit their applications by September 10th 2021.

The GFMD Secretariat has prepared a list of candidates and will share the details of how each member organisation can vote on 20th September.

The new members of the Steering Committee will be announced during the General Assembly on September 30th.

For more about the Steering Committee and the election, see:

• General Assembly FAQs

• VI. STEERING COMMITTEE in the new GFMD constitution

- Changes to GFMD constitution and bylaws

On 13 August, the Secretariat published the rationale behind a series of suggested changes to the GFMD Constitution.

A final version of the new constitution - incorporating suggestions and feedback from members - was published and shared with members on 15th September.

Voting to approve the new Constitution will take place from 20-28th September.

The result will be announced at the General Assembly on 30th September.

- 2021-2025 GFMD Strategy

The Secretariat has also developed a draft strategic plan that will form the basis for discussion at the meeting on 1st October.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

As we continue with the preparations leading towards the event, we will keep you informed. Stay tuned for more updates!

Please get in touch if you have any questions about the agenda - [e-mail].