The IFAJ Executive committee met via Zoom on 27 January with 37 members in attendance. In addition to hearing reports from the members of the Presidium, the Executive approved the 2021 budget and recognized the new schedule for upcoming Congresses:
- 2021 e-Congress (June 21-23)
- 2022 Denmark (June 27-July 3)
- 2023 Canada
- 2024 Switzerland
- 2025 Israel
- 2026 Kenya
- 2027 Croatia
A special thank-you is due to the Danish guild, which has struggled with the travel restrictions and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, and Markus Rediger and the Swiss guild, for reaching out to Denmark to explore changes in the schedule. Thanks, too, to the other host country guilds for their flexibility in changing their schedules to allow Denmark an opportunity to host the next Congress.
Governance Committee
The Executive also approved the formation of a Governance Committee, which will finalize constitutional changes to bring to the Executive and Delegate Assembly as needed, prepare an IFAJ Statement of Principles, and address the governance aspects of Vision 2025 Committee recommendations, including exploring options for regional representation.
The Governance Committee will be elected by the Executive and will include the IFAJ president, three members of the Executive and one past member of the Executive or Presidium. The Global Office is currently accepting nominations. Contact Hugh for a nomination form.
Foundation Update
Treasurer Adrian Bell and Vice President Steve Werblow met via Zoom in November with representatives of Great Britain’s Charities Commission. The officials provided very helpful feedback on the application for the IFAJ Foundation. Guided by that feedback, Adrian and Steve will edit the application and re-submit it this month.
Changes to the application will include:
- A greater emphasis on how agricultural journalism serves the public benefit;
- Basing IFAJ’s work on press freedom within IFAJ Ltd. to comply with strict Charity Commission rules concerning conflicts between charitable objectives and political action;
- Clarifying the formal separation between the Foundation and IFAJ Ltd.; and
- Exploring new names for the Foundation to avoid possible confusion between the not-for-profit company (IFAJ Ltd.) and its charitable offshoot (the Foundation).
A discussion forum in the IFAJ Portal will permit a dialogue among Executives as the application is updated.