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Speak up and step up to help shape the 2021 WILPF US Congress!
National Ballot Results Open Way for Congress Preparation and Planning
Implementation of Program 2.0 Likely to Shape Congress
This email announces the election of all the candidates and the passage of all the Bylaws amendments in the 2019 WILPF US balloting. Thank you to all those who voted! (See more election specifics at the end of this email.)
With the approval of the second Bylaws amendment, giving the national board some limited flexibility in scheduling the WILPF US Congress, I can now confirm: Our next Congress will take place in the summer of 2021. (That will be in the same year as the International WILPF Congress, planned for Australia.) We now move forward, based on that Bylaws change; please respond to the items below.
Special thanks
to the Sacramento, California, WILPF branch for volunteering to count the ballot votes. (Sacramento is my branch, but, because of my involvement with the Bylaws amendments, I did not participate in the counting nor interact with the counters.)
With the 2021 Congress confirmed,
action
begins on many Congress-related activities.
I'm asking you, WILPF members, to step up now in multiple ways!
1) What are your suggestions for Congress themes, programs, and/or content? It's likely that the outcomes of November's US Presidential and Congress elections will influence our Congress plans. Also, by the summer of 2021, implementation of Program 2.0 will lead to a range of national and branch actions and projects on issues -- to evaluate, to plan for, and to participate in.
What do you think about these and other directions for our 2021 Congress? Please send your ideas to [email protected].
2) Once again, I have a key question: What WILPF branches are willing to offer to host -- or help host -- the national Congress? Branch planning and logistic help on a Congress allows the branch members to have important input in the nature of the Congress. Also, such a united branch effort strengthens the branch by involving more members and building leadership skills among the members. Additionally, of course, when the Congress is in your own area, the branch builds new connections both with local presenters and with non-WILPFers who may choose to check out the Congress program for one or more days.
A paid Congress Coordinator supports and works closely with local planners, along with back-up from the Congress Planning Committee (see # 5 below) and other national leadership.
Please contact me -- if possible, within the next two weeks -- if your branch
has any questions about, or is considering, helping host the Congress:
[email protected].
3) Be a decider in the Congress planning! Wherever the Congress is, you could be part of a national Congress Planning Committee, which will be the liaison between national leadership and the local planners. We want (and need) your participation to build a diverse and multi-faceted Congress that responds both to organizational needs and the interests of members!
Please contact me to volunteer
-- or to suggest someone -- to be part of the Congress Planning Committee: [email protected].
4) What about a weekend "Virtual Congress" this summer? Would you call in or sign in (online) to one or more "virtual sessions"? We'd schedule a Virtual Congress weekend early, to reduce time conflicts for members involved in electoral activism. Sessions for all members could feature important speakers, skills training, issue analyses, and topic updates. Some sessions could be regionally specific, in order for members and branches in particular areas to connect, confer, and make area plans.
The Virtual Congress would help unite our WILPF work! We could provide members nation-wide with a short summary of the action items being developed as part of Program 2.0. We could also include an update from the International Congress.
5) Costs are going up, so start saving and/or fundraising now, so you and/or members from your branch can attend the Congress. By attending, you can personally take advantage of the many benefits of our live Congress: participation in presentations and workshops, personal networking, ad hoc sessions on geographic and/or developing issues, and late-night (or early-morning!) conversations. If you're in a branch, support someone to attend the Congress and return with ideas and information to enliven your branch!
Also, in recent Congresses, we've shortened the Congress, in order to save on the registration cost. What do you think of that approach? Should we have a longer Congress (four days - such as Wed. evening through Sun. evening), or a shorter one, in order to make it less expensive? Should the first day focus on "optional" sessions?
What is your view?
Do you have other ideas or suggestions for cost-savings?
Send your input to
[email protected]
.
Election Results
The three candidates were all elected:
- Shilpa Pandey, Membership Development Committee Chair
- Joan Goddard, Program Committee Chair
- Jan Corderman, Treasurer
This is a short summary of the Bylaws amendments, all of which passed. For the details on the Bylaws amendment language, click here:
- Changing national WILPF decision making (to majority vote).
- Giving limited flexibility to the Board, in scheduling of national WILPF congresses.
- Allowing limited flexibility in the WILPF US membership requirement to apply for Board candidacy or appointment.
- Removing obsolete language concerning Nominating Committee procedures.
- Removing obsolete language, primarily about committee membership of employees, for the Personnel Committee.
- Clarifying the length of Board terms.
Note:
Are you interested in helping keep our Bylaws current?
Contact me to learn more about being on the Bylaws Committee: [email protected].
To see the detailed election results, click here. Thank you to the voters for this implicit affirmation of the work of national WILPF, by electing all the candidates and passing all the proposed Bylaws amendments.
Darien De Lu, WILPF US President,
in cooperation with
Laura Dewey, Interim Chair, WILPF US Nominating Committee
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