Board Meeting Minutes

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1 Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke ActionAid Denmark Date: 5th March 2014 Place: MS Board Meeting Minutes Present From the Board: Dines Justesen(Vice-Chairman)(DCJ), Gunver Bennekou(GB), Helle Munk Ravnborg (Chairwomen)(HMR), Nana Gerstrøm Alsted (NGA), Tea Balle Fromholt Hansen(TFH) and Andreas Dybkjær-Andersson(alternate Institutional members)(ada). Others: Nils Wiese (Parliamentary Audit)NW From the Secretariat: Frans Mikael Jansen(FMJ), Vibeke Vinther(VV) and Birgit Møller Jensen(BMJ) Apologies Anders Hamming(Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee)(AH), David Archer(DA), Ellen Buch-Hansen(EBH), Karen Jørgensen(KJ), Kirsten Bruun(KB), ), Silas Harrebye (SH) Steen Folke(SF), Trine Pertou Mach(TPM) and Amalie Bosdatter(first alternate)(ab) Minute Taker: Birgit Møller Jensen The meeting was conducted in Danish Agenda 01. Welcome and approval of the agenda 02. Approval of Minutes and matters arising from the Board Meeting on 5th February, AADK in Denmark: How to strengthen AADK work in 2014 Presentation from SLT to Secretariat Development of membership concept Application from Globale Gymnasier Democracy work in DK Global Platform and Training4Change Global Contact Cooperation with Sweden and Norway 04. From the Contact Group Report from Council and Membership Day in January Frame for the ordinary Council Meeting on Status on the work ensuring ethical and ecological principles in travel, purchase and consumption at Fælledvej. 06. AOB 01. Welcome and approval of the agenda HMR welcomed board members to the board meeting and stated that Board did not have a quorum (which means that 7 board members shall be present) due to a high number of apologies. The Board decided to go through the agenda and to identify items, which cannot be postponed to the coming board meeting in April. In these cases the board members present will discuss and present a written recommendation in a written consultation to the entire Board. 02. Approval of Minutes and matters arising from the Board Meeting on 5th February, 2014 The approval of the Minutes from the last board meeting was postponed to the next board meeting. bmj

2 HMR acknowledged that it has not been possible to find time on the board agenda for the discussion on AADK and the Private Sector, but she proposed that there should be a special meeting with interested board members, members from the interest group and staff members. The aim of the meeting should be to have some preliminary clarifying discussions on AADK and the Private Sector. GB proposed that the paper presenting the follow-up on discussions should be forwarded to board members together with the draft minutes. The Governance Manual indicates deadlines for the draft minutes to the Board and the publication on ms.dk, but it was agreed that there shall be a procedure, where they are forwarded to board members as soon as possible. 03. AADK in Denmark: The Board members decided to go through the items under this agenda to indicate, where there is need for an immediate action and where the item should be postponed to the coming board meeting How to strengthen AADK work in 2014 Presentation from SLT to Secretariat FMJ stressed that this presentation is his response to the mandate from the Board in relation to the extension of his contract with respect to implementation of the strategy and prepare the organisation for a change of secretary general. Board members mentioned that the discussion during the next board meeting should focus less on structure, but more on some of the new initiatives like the implications of the wishes for an open organisation and for co-creation, which will have both an impact on the organisation and the role of the governance structure Development of membership concept Here board members mentioned areas, which shall be included in the coming board discussion: Individual members and co-creation - There is need to define certain rules of the game, e.g. what should be the room of freedom? - What are the implications for the role of Board and the Council? - Will there be limits on how members can use our name? - AAUK has some experience, which we should learn from. - Working with co-creation also creates dilemmas, which we have to define. - It is important that co-creation builds on some recognised values, e.g. the AADK theory of change and our mission and vision. - There has to be some identity, thematic and political frames identified. Institutional members and co-creation Some of the discussions mentioned under individual members will also have to be addressed in relation to the institutional members. Point of departure for the discussion was Tour de Future, where the overall frame for the campaign is presented by AADK, while it should be the local steering committee, who decides how to organise the event in their city. There might be a tendency to centralise and focus on the Secretariat and it is a challenge to find the right format. Other issues related to individual members - AADK has previously had a natural food chain, when recruiting individual members with interest on development issues. This is not the case today, how are we going to address this? - AADK wants to have members all over the country how are we going to secure that? - AADK wants to have members from different age groups how are we going to secure that? Institutional Members FMJ had based on previous discussions in the board prepared a proposal on the bmj Page 2 of 6 Last edit:

3 AADK cooperation with institutional members. Board members welcomed the proposal and made the following comments: - It is a good idea to divide institutional members in three different categories. - We have to address questions like, what does AADK get out of having institutional members and what do the individual institutional members get out of it. - There shall be a supporter journey for the different categories of institutional members. - The issue of target figures for the three different categories was discussed, but the conclusion was that the mapping of the different categories (including those that are in the landscape but are (still) not institutional members) is more important than setting target figures. - The mapping of the institutional members should also include other strategic partnerships, where AADK is involved like NGO Forum and others. In her summing up HMR concluded that board members present recommend the Board to approve the proposal on the AADK plan for improving its cooperation with institutional members. She also concluded that it is important to continue discussing co-creation and the dilemmas to enable us to develop some guidelines. The Council shall also be involved in this discussion and the further development of AADK as an open organisation should be proposed as part of the Rolling Political Plan and AADK should test different approaches in this period. HMR mentioned that KB has proposed that AADK should invite representatives from DUF, Efterskoleforeningen and Globale Gymnasier to a joint meeting to discuss possible areas for cooperation and partnerships Application from Globale Gymnasier Board members present approved the application from Globale Gymnasier and recommended to send their recommendation in a written consultation to the Board to enable Globale Gymnasier to stand for the upcoming council election Democracy work in DK Global Platform and Training4Change Global Contact Cooperation with Sweden and Norway FMJ gave brief introduction to the draft cooperation agreement between AADK and AA Sweden, which as been approved by the AA Sweden Board AADK and AA Sweden have had different talks over the last years. AA Sweden has now adopted a strategy, which is close to the AADK strategy and it is therefore proposed that there should be a closer cooperation between the two countries. Board members welcomed the idea of having a closer relationship with AA Sweden, but regret the late involvement of the Board although it is recognised that this was also due to the fact that FMJ did not participate in the last board meeting. The board members present expressed the following viewpoints and questions: - In the agreement it is mentioned that AADK investigates the possibility for bilateral investments in the testing of the Danish concept in south Sweden. Response: This does not mean that AADK shall make an investment but explore the possibility of AAUK to make this investment. bmj Page 3 of 6 Last edit:

4 - Is there a market for Global Contact in Sweden and will the investment pay? The Alliance (umbrella organisation for sending organisation) has at an earlier stage not succeeded in finding a partner organisation, which could send out young people. Response: We have to build up a market, but it is a clear expectation that the investment will pay. - The issue of AA Sweden fundraising to the Global Platforms and AADK forwarding money raised in Sweden to other AA programmes was discussed. Response: Fundraising to Global Platforms AA Sweden will approach Swedish foundation and ask them to provide a number of scholarships to young people undergoing training on a Global Platform. This is the same approach we use in Denmark and the foundations will receive reports on scholarships provided. This will not influence the AADK ownership to the Global Platforms. Swedish fundraising to AA programmes forwarded by AADK. AADK and AA Sweden both want to support governance activities in other AA countries and it is part of the strategy in these countries that they should fundraise money for their activities. AA Sweden has the possibility to raise funds for programme activities, but does not have the capacity to secure a proper reporting, which we have in AADK and that is the reason behind this proposal. - Board members would have liked to see an overview of resources involved both staff and money. Board members also supported the idea of looking into possibilities of finding a partner organisation in Norway and it was recognised that the approval of establishing an AA Norway lies with the international board. In her summing up HMR stressed that board members present have discussed the draft agreement, which shall now be presented to the entire board together with the information given in the minutes for their final approval. 04. From the Contact Group Report from Council and Membership Day in January Frame for the ordinary Council Meeting on Board members discussed the proposed frame for the coming ordinary Council Meeting. Board members present recommended that we combine the Council Meeting with workshops that are integrated as part of the programme for the Council Meeting and preferably related to the topics propose as part of the strategic work of the Board and the Council. The purpose should be to create a space for some forward looking strategic discussions linked to the Rolling Political Plan, to create ownership to the political plan and to enable the Council to give ideas, raise concerns and give direction to how the Board should implement the rolling plan. There may be parallel workshops, where the participants select, which workshop(s) to participate in or there may be workshop(s) for all participants, e.g. with an introduction to the topic presented by an expert on that specific topic and then discussions in table groups. The groups can discuss dilemmas and propose solutions with respect to specific topics such as co-creation and/or decide on different scenarios. Board members stressed the importance of well-planned workshops and mentioned the good experience from last year with involvement of volunteer trainers. Possible workshop items could be: - What is AADK going to look like in the future? - Open organisation, movement & Co-creation bmj Page 4 of 6 Last edit:

5 - Democracy work in Denmark (depending the outcome of the discussion during the next board meeting) - AADK and the Private Sector - Global citizenship - Tax The board members present asked the Contact Group to try to revise the programme based on the discussions and present a new proposal to the next board meeting. 05. Status on the work ensuring ethical and ecological principles in travel, purchase and consumption at Fælledvej. The Secretariat presented a paper presenting the current status on the work ensuring ethical and ecological principles in travel, purchase and consumption at Fælledvej. Board members expressed that they found that principles could be presented better to show the actual commitment and ambitions, which are actually contained in the paper. Further there should be some plan for future priorities especially related to energy use at Fælledvej. GB proposed to also include IT and electrical articles, and also proposed to look at the AAI standards, which are being produced, to see if we could use this model. The possibility to compensate air travel should also be investigated. Some airlines offer to do this at the time of buying the ticket. GB volunteered to look at the AAI model and suggest some changes to the paper along the lines discussed. The secretariat will hereafter finalise the paper and present it at the next board meeting. It is important to know the financial implications to see, if the proposals are sensible in the economy of the organisation, e.g. the size of the admin expenses. 06. AOB Board members mentioned that the current format on the cover page indicating Purpose, Background Information and Role of the Board is fine, but it will be a good idea to include a fourth area like Areas of Special Attention. FMJ informed about the ongoing Danida review of AADK and about the attempts to sell AADK s property (former Country Office) in Zambia. The meeting closed at Enclosures: Forslag til ny tekst i implementeringsplan for udvikling af MS folkelige forankring og foreningsdemokrati. bmj Page 5 of 6 Last edit:

6 Forslag til ny tekst i implementeringsplan for udvikling af MS folkelige forankring og foreningsdemokrati. Under overskriften: MS vil udvikle samarbejdet med kollektive medlemmer. Således at de får en klarere rolle i foreningen og samtidigt er med til at styrke vores folkelige forankring. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke ønsker at knytte organisationer, som støtter vores vision, mission og vores arbejde tættere til os. Vi vil gerne have at sådanne organisationer melder sig ind som kollektive medlemmer og blander sig i vores foreningspolitiske liv. MS søger at række ud til organisationer, der arbejder med - eller repræsenterer målgrupper, som MS særligt ønsker at komme i kontakt med og give handlemuligheder som globale medborgere (især unge). Dette sker i form af indgåelse af egentlige strategiske samarbejdsaftaler, hvor det nærmere aftales hvorledes begge organisationer vil bidrage til at skabe handlemuligheder for disse målgrupper. Her tænkes f.eks på deltagelse i fælles kampagner, kapacitetsudvikling, fælles fundraising m.m. Det er vigtigt at sådanne aftaler nærmere afstemmer hvilke roller hver organisation vil spille, og hvad man kan forvente af hinanden. MS vil både arbejde med aftaler med paraplyorganisationer som f.eks efterskoleforeningen og højskoleforeningen, men vil også indgå særlige samarbejdsaftaler med de enkelte medlemmer af disse paraplyorganisationer. Det er f.eks tanken, at Tour de Future kampagnen fremover lokalt vil blive koordineret og støttet af lokale organisationer i de berørte byer, og at deres roller ansvar og råderum nærmere defineres og beskrives i flerårige aftaler. MS vil indgå sådanne samarbejdsaftaler med alle interesserede og relevante organisationer, men MS vil samtidigt opfordre disse organisationer til at melde sig ind i foreningen - og også af den vej søge indflydelse på MS s strategi og arbejde. Vi opdeler vores kollektive medlemmer i 2-3 grupper: 1. Organisationer, der med deres medlemskab grundlæggende ønsker at markere deres støtte til MS og vores arbejde, men ikke ønsker at deltage aktivt i aktiviteter. For disse medlemmer vil sekretariatet sikre, at vi har en kontaktperson i organisationen, og at det med denne afklares i hvilket omfang og på hvilken måde den pågældende organisation ønsker at blive holdt løbende orienteret om MS og MS s arbejde (nyhedsbrev, årsrapport, materiale til Rådsmedlemmer m.m.) 2. Organisationer, der ønsker en mere aktiv samarbejdsrelation med MS og som arbejder med eller repræsenterer - målgrupper i Danmark, som også MS særligt ønsker at komme i tættere kontakt med og give handlemuligheder som globale medborgere (f.eks. unge). MS vil etablere strategiske samarbejdsaftaler med disse medlemmer, som fastlægger samarbejdsrelationen og afstemmer gensidige forventninger. 3. Organisationer, som ønsker at samarbejde med MS om opnåelse af politiske mål inden for de områder, som MS har valgt at fokusere i kraft af vores strategi og vores kampagner. MS vil etablere en løbende dialog med sådanne organisationer om det politiske grundlag for arbejdet og hvorledes vi kan koordinere fortalervirksomhed, presse mv. Inden udgangen af 2014 vil MS have kategoriseret de eksisterende medlemmer i de 3 kategorier og have etableret kontaktpersoner og aftalt kommunikation med kategori 1 organisationer; lavet samarbejdsaftaler med kategori 2 organisationer og haft en drøftelse af samarbejdsflader og koordinationsmekanismer med kategori 3 organisationer. Præsenteret på bestyrelsesmødet den 5. marts bmj Page 6 of 6 Last edit: