21st GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
REPORT
The 21st IEF General Assembly was held as part of the 21st IEF Annual Conference in de Poort, the Netherlands, during the Justice Conference, on Saturday evening 15 April 2017.
1. Opening of the General Assembly
IEF President Arthur Dahl opened the General Assembly and welcomed the
members and visitors present.
2. Introduction of members present
There were four IEF members present: Arthur Dahl, Sylvia
Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Laurent Mesbah, and Wendi Momen, and ten visitors
from the USA, Germany, Belgium, and UK. Arrangements had been made for
several members to participate at a distance over the Internet, but this
did not work due to technical problems. All those present introduced
themselves and said something about their interest in IEF, including peace
education, local environmental water work, and sustainable architecture
for reconstruction after disasters.
3. Selection of officers of the General
Assembly
The General Assembly agreed that Arthur Dahl should serve as Chairman and
Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen as Secretary. Two of the visitors offered to be
tellers.
4. Approval of the agenda
The agenda was approved as presented.
5. Election of the Governing Board
Four members voted in person and five over the internet. The elected
Governing Board members are Arthur Dahl, Laurent Mesbah, Emily Firth, Ian
Hamilton, Victoria Thoresen, Wendi Momen, and Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen.
6. Presentation, consultation and
approval of the Annual Report
The Chairman presented the highlights of the Annual Report and responded
to questions from those present. The Annual Report was approved.
7. Consultation on activities and
priorities for the coming year
On the location and theme of the next IEF conference, one suggestion was
to meet in association with the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
in February 2018 in New York, with a focus on rural women and the role of
the media. Another proposal was to have the 2018 conference either with
UNFCCC COP24 with its facilitated dialogue that may be in Eastern Europe
or Latin America, or the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York
in July.
On the challenges to get the membership more involved, one suggestion was to ask members to send in their one idea of what they do locally for the environment and put these on the website. One participant had just led a junior youth group in nature, and studied its environmental aspects. Nature discovery was the theme of a junior youth camp, including connecting with the virtues in the junior youth books.
8. Other business
There was no other business.
9. Closing of the General Assembly
After an hour and a half of useful discussion, the Chairman closed the
General Assembly.
Last updated 19 April 2017