Agenda and papers (for members only)
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2011
MARLBOROUGH HOUSE
Wednesday 29 June 2011 at 4 p.m.
AGENDA
1. Welcome by Chairperson
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Adoption of Minutes for AGM 2010
4. Chairperson's report for 2010-2011 and Matters Arising
5. Treasurer's Report and Financial Statement for the year ending 31 December 2010.
6. Election of Officers and Appointment of Auditor
7. Any Other Business
8. Guest Speaker: Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (5.30pm)
9. Reception (6.30pm)
|
AGENDA ITEM 3 |
REPORT ON THE EIGHTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MARLBOROUGH HOUSE - 22 JULY 2010
The ninth annual general meeting was held at Marlborough House on Thursday 22 July 2010. About 60 members attended and there were many apologies for absence and good wishes sent for a successful meeting, including from members living abroad.
Minutes of the AGM 2009, Chairperson's Report and Matters Arising
Amendment: There was one request for amendment to the Minutes of AGM2009, in the first paragraph of the section headed 'Treasurer's Report and Financial Statement for the year ending 31 March 2009, the second sentence should read 'He then presented the unaudited 2008/2009 accounts which showed a cash balance of £1,040.91 at the end of the financial year (31 March),' correcting the date of unaudited accounts from 2009/2010. This was agreed.
Patsy Robertson's outlined points in her Chairperson's Report. A number of issues raised in her report were discussed and decisions taken:
· Support for Zimbabwe: The Association will continue to be involved in various consultations on Zimbabwe with a view to assisting the people of that country. It is represented on the Zimbabwe Committee of Commonwealth Organisations and a number of members also represent other Commonwealth bodies on the Committee. Two delegates went to The Commonwealth People's Forum and CHOGM in 2009 and helped towards the inclusion of a statement calling for Heads of Government to look forward to the return of Zimbabwe when the conditions were right. That statement and subsequent repetition in the CHOGM communiqué laid the groundwork for more open overtures to Zimbabwean institutions and people.
· Fundraising: An appeal was made to members to support the Association's fundraising evening for the Tanzania Albino Centre in Arusha. The Association has been fortunate to get the sponsorship of Rotary Club Westminster West for the 11 September 2010 event. Members were asked to come to the event, buy raffle tickets, make a donation or even contribute food. The funds will go towards educating young albinos who are otherwise shunned by parts of their communities.
· Oral History Project: Mrs Robertson urged all members once again to contribute towards this important undertaking which was designed to help maintain the Secretariat's institutional memory by enabling staff to describe and comment on their work. David Blake, who heads the project for the Association, will continue to urge members' contributions. Former staff members who had already sent in articles were thanked. Their contributions are on the Association's web site.
· Membership: The Association now has 150 members who are spread over more than 10 countries. Mrs Robertson said groups of members in Canada and Australia were being encouraged to come together to start their own activities. It was felt that if membership could reach 200 The Commonwealth Association could be more assertive in the councils of the Commonwealth.
During discussion on the Minutes of AGM 2009 and the chairperson's report, members said they hoped that the Secretariat had become more enthusiastic about keeping in touch with former staff whose expertise and experience was invaluable and who, moreover, had built networks in their own countries or new places of employment. Some former staff have been placed on election observer missions or interview boards. To a suggestion that the Association maintain a database of skills of members, it was pointed out that the Secretariat had databases for CFTC experts and for short-term volunteer experts and anyone could register on these. The Association should consider approaching the Secretary-General with the suggestion that the former staff could be called upon for assistance.
The Hon Patron Peter Marshall said it might be preferable if the Association put its thoughts in a paper which it presented to the Eminent Persons Group thus using the opportunity to lodge itself in the Group's consciousness.
On raising funds for the Association, a suggestion was made that members leave legacies to the Association. The tax status of such legacies and the desirability of the Association becoming a charity then came in for some discussion. In the end it was decided that the Treasurer Richard Sisson and member Rickie Sankar should look into the issue.
The Minutes of AGM 2009 and the Chairperson's Report were approved on the proposal by Asif Khan who was seconded by James Allie.
Treasurer's Report and Financial Statement for the nine months ending 31 December 2009
Richard Sisson presented the Treasurer's Report and Financial Statement. He explained that it was for the nine months ending 31 December 2009 because of a change in the accounting period to a calendar year mandated in AGM 2009. The Association is keeping costs down by communicating more by email and through the web site. Collection of subscriptions and arrears have improved thanks largely to Dharani Rethnam's energetic efforts.
Mrs Robertson then presented the Executive Committee's proposal that the subscription be raised to £15 a year from 1 January 2011. After some debate on the quantum, the subscription increase was accepted on the proposal by Rickie Sankar who was seconded by Azam Khan.
The Auditor, Yusuf Gulamhussein then pointed out that Treasurer's reports had in recent years been presented unaudited to members and suggested that these should go to the Auditor in good time so hat audited accounts could be presented at the AGM. This was agreed.
The Treasurer's Report and Financial Statement were accepted on the proposal by Neville Linton who was seconded by Arvind Barve.
Election of Officers
There being no other nominations, the following were declared as committee members for 2010/2011:
Patsy Robertson (chair)
Stuart Mole (vice-chair)
Cheryl Dorall (secretary)
Richard Sisson (treasurer)
Dharani Rethnam (membership and social secretary)
James Allie
Sharon Robinson
David Blake
Lindsay Ross
Mr Mohamed Yusuf Gulamhusein was re-appointed auditor on the proposal by Stuart Mole which was seconded by James Allie.
Patsy Robertson thanked the outgoing ExCo member Terry Dormer for his years of dedicated service.
Any Other Business
Guest Speaker: Mr Richard Dowden, Director, Royal African Society.
Mrs Robertson introduced Richard Dowden as a distinguished journalist who had interacted for many years with the Commonwealth Secretariat and had watched the association of countries develop since the 1980s. Mr Dowden's speech introduced his speech as an 'Outsider's View' of the Commonwealth and dwelt on its search for a role in the 21st Century. His view was that the Commonwealth's various declarations and statements gave it clear and unambiguous values and principles and that it remained for the Commonwealth Secretariat to speak out especially when these values were being transgressed. He also suggested the Commonwealth adopt a single 'new' issue and suggested migration as the movement or peoples within and between countries was one of the biggest phenomena of recent times.
Short Statement by Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture Zimbabwe
Spotting that Zimbabwean Minister Senator David Coltart had arrived early for the reception, Stuart Mole invited him to say a few brief words after introducing him as a member of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government who was a guest of the Commonwealth Consortium of Education at the event.
Senator Coltart said that many Zimbabweans, including those in the government, looked forward to the return of his country to the Commonwealth. He made a plea, however for the Commonwealth to be consistent in its approach to human rights and in applying its principles. International silence over massacres in the early post-independence years had indirectly encouraged those who felt they could flout international norms. Even then, he added, the trauma of Zimbabwe had not been played out in the last 10 or 15 years only, but over the last 50 years starting with the ouster of Sir Garfield Todd as Prime Minister of what was then Southern Rhodesia, through the years of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence and beyond.
Vote of Thanks
Sir Peter Marshall, in leading the vote of thanks to Mr Dowden, described his speech and the question-and-answer session that followed as a 'full and frank discussion' which had stirred people's minds. He asked, however, whether there was a distinction to be made between the Commonwealth being UK-based and being Anglo-centric. Additionally, should the Commonwealth be at the micro economic end of the business rather than in the macro political world? If the latter, how would others be more active and what would be their interest? Sir Peter concluded with words from William Blake to the effect that he who would do good to another should do it in minute particulars. Perhaps, Sir Peter said, that is what the Commonwealth does best.
Reception
After the AGM, members joined Mr Dowden, Minister Coltart, Secretariat and Foundation staff, representatives of Commonwealth organisations and guests of a conference on education in Zimbabwe for a reception in the Blenheim Saloon.
-- xx --
|
AGENDA ITEM 4 |
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Marlborough House - 29 June 2011
Chairperson's Report for 2010 - 2011
I am delighted that I can confirm to you today that our Association is now ten years old and is now firmly established as an active and prosperous Commonwealth civil society organisation.
This past year has been exceptionally busy, successful and rewarding. We have been involved in the discussions on the reform of the Commonwealth with the Eminent Persons' Group, we have held a highly successful fund-raiser for a deserving charity in Tanzania and through these and other activities, we have raised our profile even further as an organisation which has enabled former staff of Commonwealth organisations to continue to play a role in supporting the Commonwealth and its values.
We continue to forge closer relations with other organisations, as well as with the entire Commonwealth civil society community, and the Secretariat and the Foundation.
General
This report covers the period August 2010 to May 2011, with the accounting year covering 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010. Our first task after the 2011 AGM was to hold our first ever charity fund-raiser for the Tanzania Albino Centre, an exercise that involved quite a number of members and received the support of even more. Later in 2010, we made submissions in response to the Eminent Persons Group questionnaire and individually have met and briefed some members of the Group on our concerns and recommendations for the Commonwealth. Through our membership of the Commonwealth Organisations Committee on Zimbabwe we have also continued our work on the rehabilitation of Zimbabwe.
We continue to develop our oral history project which is designed to help the Secretariat and other Commonwealth organisations retain an institutional memory.
1. The Eminent Persons' Group
The Eminent Persons' Group (EPG) was set up after CHOGM 2009 to review and recommend reform of the Commonwealth. The EPG, chaired by a former Prime Minister of Malaysia, has met several times and has been noticeably much more open about its work than similar groups in the past. It has, for example, reached out to the public for its views. Several EPG members have met with individuals on our Executive Committee and engaged in frank discussion. The questionnaire the EPG sent out to Commonwealth organisations sought views on how the Commonwealth could sharpen its impact, its strengths, financial resources, networking (especially interaction with civil society) and partnerships, raising the profile of the Commonwealth.
The Association's full submission is available on our web site as well as the Secretariat's but members should know that we sent a robust reply which has been well received. In summary, we suggested a revitalising of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group and better promotion of good practice to embed its principles; more open and flexible working relationships with civil society organisations by the Secretariat and Commonwealth Foundation; making ministerial meetings work more effectively and thus encouraging better attendance; and an urgent need to raise the profile of the Commonwealth. Most notably, we pointed out that the Commonwealth did not make proper use of the expert human resources it had its disposal adding that Association members constituted such a resource.
The EPG has responded in an admirable, inclusive and open way. It has published all the civil society comments on the Secretariat's web site, and has now released a summary of its draft recommendations and asked for further feedback on this. We have also sent to all members the draft recommendations of the Group and we do hope that you all took this opportunity to send us your views for incorporation into a response. The final report is to go to CHOGM this October which will be held in Perth, Australia.
2. Fundraising for Charity
Our venture into fund-raising for charity took up most of the third quarter of 2010 and we were very pleased to have been able to hand over a cheque for £5,000 raised to the Tanzania Albino Centre. We had a small organising committee of members which worked hard to organise everything from food and drinks for the evening, entry tickets, selling of tickets for an exceptionally attractive lottery which in itself raised nearly £2,300 and other fund-raising devices. Many thanks go to our members, including some from outside the UK, who generously bought tickets, donated money, and turned up on the evening to have fun and take part in an auction. Our thanks too to Westminster West Rotary Club, without whose partnership this event would have been difficult to organise, various donors including Air Asia which donated two return tickets to Bali, and to the Social Club of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Secretariat staff members who helped manage the entry doors, the bar and even put on a Tanzanian dance as part of the evening's entertainment.
On 1 March this year, a cheque for £5,000 was handed to Mr Franck Alphonse, representing the Tanzania Albino Centre, who has said the funds would be used to support albino students in schools, colleges and vocational training schools. The bottom line is that about £380 can help to educate and train a young albino child for a year and give him or her life skills needed for self-sufficiency. We were pleased to have helped this much persecuted community and will be following its progress from time to time.
We have learned a number of lessons and picked up some experience along the way. If there are any Association members who wish to raise funds for a deserving charity and are willing to lead the organisation of such an exercise, please let us know.
In early 2010, following the earthquake that devastated Haiti and at the request of some of our members from the Caribbean, we put out an appeal for emergency relief funds. I am pleased to report that we collected £400 for the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee Haiti fund. I know that many members also came forward to contribute generously elsewhere and I thank you all for your generosity.
3. Zimbabwe
The Association continues to be represented on the Commonwealth Organisations Committee on Zimbabwe, with a number of other members representing other organisations also on it. Members will remember that at the last Annual General Meeting Zimbabwe Minister for Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart made an unscheduled short speech reaffirming his country's desire to return to the Commonwealth. Since then, the Association has monitored the progress of the Special Programme on Zimbabwe which has been established by the Commonwealth.
4. Oral History Project
The oral history project which is being managed by David Blake has made tremendous progress in the last year. Thanks to David's personal hard work, a Guide to Books and Articles, and Guide to Archival Resources is about to be put up on our web site. A few memoirs have been submitted and more are being processed.
Apart from the two Guides, the project is proceeding slowly partly because of resource constraints but also because members and other former staff are either shy or reluctant to talk about their work. I reiterate what I said last year that all members are part of the history of the Commonwealth and your voice should be preserved through our project, so please come forward.
David can be contacted at history@comassoc.org.
5. Membership
I would like to recall with sadness the deaths of our members Roy Carter and Peter Snelson in the last few months. Both were stalwart Commonwealth supporters and the outpouring of memories of their work and times that members shared with each other on the Internet was recognition of their high regard and that they will be missed. Members and the Association conveyed their condolences to their families.
The Association's membership stands at 153 and we continue to be represented in many Commonwealth - as well as some non-Commonwealth - countries. In response to members' requests, we have been experimenting with a Facebook page for the Association, especially as a way to attract younger members. We think, however, that a Facebook group could be the best way to stimulate discussion and exchange of information between members and would invite anyone with knowledge of and adroitness in the technology to take this up and run a Facebook Group in the Association's name. Please do step forth and take us into the second decade of the 21st century!
We continue to use the Internet and electronic means to communicate with members in order to keep costs down and for reasons of immediacy. We will therefore continue to communicate with you by email - but ask you to please notify us at info@comassoc.org of any change in email address or other contact details. For the few of you without email addresses, we will send you important papers by post.
Members will be pleased to know that our link with CANADEM, the Canadian-based experts and volunteers group run by former Secretariat staff member Paul Larose-Edwards is close to being put up on our website. We urge interested members to register with it when it does.
6. Advocacy and Information
Our outreach to other Commonwealth organisations and personalities continues. In the past year, we have worked closely with the Ramphal Centre for policy studies, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Countries League, the Commonwealth Media Group (incorporating the Commonwealth Journalists Association, Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust and Commonwealth Broadcasting Association) and many of the other Commonwealth bodies in London and elsewhere.
We continue to have warm relations with the Secretariat's Social Club which includes us in events such as the Summer Sizzle, the Quiz Nights and other special events.
For the second year running, we held a small end of year reception at the Atrium in Marlborough House. This is a way of receiving feedback from members and other members of the Commonwealth family on our work to date and also as a way of thanking those who may have helped us. Last year's event was on 3 December and despite the snow there was a turnout of 35.
7. Finances
From this year, the annual subscription for the Association is £15 a year which was agreed on by members at last year's Annual General Meeting. All our Finances are contained in the separate Treasurer's Report and I would commend it to you. Please note that we received £5,930 for the Tanzania Albino Centre for an outlay of only £469.70 thanks to the generosity of members of the Association and Rotary Club Westminster West.
8. Conclusion
As in the past, it is my pleasurable duty to record our gratitude to the Commonwealth Secretary-General for allowing us to hold this annual event in Marlborough House. His staff have been most supportive of our efforts and we are grateful to them. Finally, I would like to place on record our thanks for the hard work and support which our Honorary Patron Sir Peter Marshall has always extended to me personally and to the Executive Committee and members of our Association.
Patsy Robertson
Chairperson
20 June 2011
-- xx --
|
AGENDA ITEM 5 |
The Commonwealth Association
Treasurer's Report 2011
Receipts and Payments Account and Balance Sheet
12 months to 31 December 2010
2010 9 months to 31/12/09 General Fund Charity Event Total £ £ £ £ Receipts Subscriptions 1,230.00 1,230.00 1,200.00 Contribution to AGM from Link Community Development 522.35 522.35 Sundry 72.60 72.60 Contributions from Association members towards Disasters Emergency Committee - Haiti Appeal 400.00 400.00 Sale of door tickets and raffle tickets 3,737.30 3,737.30 Advertising in brochure 900.00 900.00 Donations to charity event 1,223.00 1,223.00 Total Receipts 2,224.95 5,860.30 8,085.25 1,200.00 Payments AGM and social functions 1,317.00 1,317.00 1,207.94 Charity event 469.70 469.70 Postage, printing, photocopying 0.00 165.21 Subscriptions paid 25.00 25.00 20.00 Bank charges 0.00 28.00 Payment to Disasters Emergency Committee - Haiti Appeal 400.00 400.00 Total Payments 1,742.00 469.70 2,211.70 1,421.15 Excess receipts over payments / (payments over receipts) 482.95 5,390.60 5,873.55 (221.15) Balance Sheet Cash at Bank HSBC 1,303.71 5,390.60 6,694.31 820.76 Net Assets 1,303.71 5,390.60 6,694.31 820.76 Financed by Accumulated Fund 820.76 820.76 1,041.91 Excess receipts over payments / (payments over receipts) 482.95 5,390.60 5,873.55 (221.15) 1,303.71 5,390.60 6,694.31 820.76
Notes
1. 1. These accounts have been prepared on a cash basis for the period.
2. 2. The subscriptions are paid on a calendar year basis.
3. 3. At the Annual General Meeting in 2009 a resolution was passed, changing the financial year end from 31 March to 31 December, so that the accounting year and the subscription year would coincide. Hence these accounts have been prepared for the 12 months ending 31 December 2010.
4. 4. £5,000 from the proceeds of the charity social has been paid to the Tanzania Albino Centre in the current year. Since the year end, further receipts to the social of £47.50 have been received and expenses of £188.29 have been settled. The balance on the Charity Social account is therefore currently £249.81.
-- xx--
|
AGENDA ITEM 6 |
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 29 JUNE 2011
NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICE BEARERS 2011-2012
|
POST |
NAME |
PROPOSED BY
|
SECONDED BY
|
|
Chairperson
|
Patsy Robertson |
Sir Peter Marshall |
Amrit Sarup |
|
Vice-Chairperson |
Stuart Mole |
Mary Mackie |
Janet Singh
|
|
Secretary
|
Cheryl Dorall |
Antony Ellman |
Chris Wright |
|
Treasurer
|
Richard Sisson |
Rickie Sankar |
Jagdish Gandhi |
|
Committee Member 1
|
Dharani Rethnam |
Elizabeth Hinks |
Raja Gomez |
|
Committee Member 2 |
Sharon Robinson |
Yusuff Ali |
Clive Jordan |
|
Committee Member 3
|
David Blake |
John Barber |
HM Gulathi |
|
Committee Member 4
|
Lindsay Ross |
Terry Dormer |
Shiranee Ranasinghe |
|
Committee Member 5
|
Domini Bingham |
Rupert Jones-Parry |
Keith Mather |
These are the complete set of nominations received by
20 June 2011.
-- xx --