59^th Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference (6-8 September 2006)

Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting: May 4, 2006

1.0 Pre-Meeting Comments

1.1 The posters for the Conference had arrived and were presented, although a decision had already been made as to which would be chosen.

2.0 Adoption of the Agenda

2.1 The Agenda was adopted.

2.2 There was a suggestion that the sub-committee reports be arranged in a different order.

3.0 Adoption of the Minutes

3.1 The Minutes were adopted.

4.0 Discussion of Plenary and Roundtable Themes

4.1 There was discussion on potential speakers.

5.0 Discussion of Posters

5.1 Michaela said that she had met with Mr. Brandt, Sol, Rocco and his Chief Designer, the representative from Art Center, and others that morning. She reported that the group had a conversation regarding what to do with the posters that would not be chosen. There were some creative and enthusiastic ideas, with which some members of the Planning Committee agreed.

5.2 Michaela brought up the idea of having a competition for next year’s poster design, a decision haven’t been made but that decision have to be made by Fall this year.

5.3 Michaela presented the poster that was decided upon, and spoke about the modifications that would be made on it.

5.4 There was a request to clarify how the decision was made, without the Planning Committee.

5.4.1 Michaela clarified how the process of working solely with Art Center occurred, and that it might become a competition in the future.

5.4.2 Michaela clarified that the decision on the posters was made by a small group of people involved in the Conference and DPI, rather than by the entire Conference Planning Committee, in order to expedite the selection process.

5.4.3 Michaela reported a conversation that was held between the co-Chairs and others in the Resource Center earlier last week. She said that Mr. Brandt had suggested that major decisions be made by a small group, while Michaela and Sol believed that they should be brought to the Planning Committee.

5.4.3.1 Sr. Kirby commented that she believed the delay in the process was due to UN protocol and red tape, instead of delays by making decisions through the Planning Committee.

5.4.3.2 Sol discussed UN protocol and various time-intensive processes.

5.4.3.3 There was discussion on delays and timing on various issues, including the drafting and sending of invitation letters to speakers.

5.4.3.4 Joe Donnelly commented that Mr. Brandt’s decision to bypass the Planning Committee for major decisions was an affront to the Committee, as representatives to the NGO community, and should be clarified by Mr. Brandt. He further commented that Mr. Brandt’s decision warranted some kind of dialogue.

5.4.3.5 It was noted that Mr. Brandt was not present at this time, and would attend the meeting soon.

5.4.3.5.1 There were several comments from members of the Executive Committee, regarding a lack of communication, specifically with regard to Mr. Brandt’s schedule.

5.4.4 There was further discussion on the poster that was chosen, and re-considering some of its components for the sake of clarity.

5.4.4.1 Sol went to the selected poster and further explained the thinking behind the one that was chosen.

5.4.4.2 Fannie contrasted a poster from a few years back with this year’s choice, for the sake of levity.

5.4.4.3 It was noted that a poster that was not chosen had at least some support.

5.4.5 There was a motion to vote on the poster.

5.5 Michaela moved that the committee work on the poster, and that it take priority over the meeting.

5.5.1 Michaela presented each poster, and read their descriptions to the committee.

5.5.1.1 There was discussion on the language and overall message of each respective poster.

5.5.2 There was a vote on each poster by the committee. Michaela said that she would convey the results to Mr. Brandt.

6.0 Recommendation of Speakers

6.1 Michaela reminded the committee that if they had speaker to recommend that they fill out the forms, and let either her or Hunter know. Michaela’s contact is walshm@mville.edu; Hunter’s is: Bergschneider@gmail.com

6.2 There were some comments regarding contacts and potential speakers.

7.0 Subcommittee Reports

7.1 Media

7.1.1 The committee reported that the first interview had been held, with Michaela.

7.1.2 Suzanne said that she had shown a trailer at the media committee meeting today. She said that she had found a film and a production company that was willing to put up some funds. She described the film she found, which was about some events linked to the G7 meeting in Italy in 1994.

7.1.2.1 There was some discussion regarding the film screenings and how they would be sponsored.

7.1.3 Joan Levy reported that the committee had found an intern for the fall.

7.2 Networking

7.2.1 Fannie reported that the committee was looking for people to articulate how to use networking as a tool to achieve the MDGs. She said that she was working with Vanessa and others to get a questionnaire out.

7.2.2 Fannie reported that the committee would have two sessions; one formal and the other informal.

7.3 Resource Centre Support

7.3.1 Paolo noted that Nancy was still working on the design and functionality of the online registration, which would be done by 25 May. It was noted that Nancy requested support, in order to expedite the creation of the online form. Paolo said he would look for someone.

7.3.2 Michaela said that it would be prudent to find somebody to give the online registration a test run. This was agreed on by the committee.

7.4 Midday Workshops

7.4.1 Elizabeth reported that online registration was up on the conference website. The Conference Description and RoundTables were not yet on the website. Some participants were sent a comprehensive package of various Conference-related documents.

7.4.2 Elizabeth reported that the MDGs had been a major theme at a recent graduation speech she had attended.

7.4.3 Leslie reported that the committee was also asked to move forward on getting some interns for the midday workshop project. A letter requesting an intern had been drafted and was going through the editing and approval process. The committee expressed interest in getting the letter out as soon as possible. The committee laid out the parameters and logistics of the would-be interns.

7.4.4 The deadline for midday workshop form submission was changed from 15 May to 30 May.

7.4.5 The committee expressed that while their process was not ideal, they were moving in the right direction.

7.4.5.1 There was some discourse on interns, and how to get them, and how to get them credit for their service.

7.5 Internet

7.5.1 Vanessa reported that the link www.unngodpiconference.org was up and running. She also said that she would go over best practices with Fannie.

7.6 Multigenerational

7.6.1 Gala said that the committee discussed the possibilities regarding the website and how it would best be used for the Conference, especially in light of certain outreach and networking initiatives.

7.6.1.1 Gala said that the website might be more heavily used as an outreach tool this year. There might be links to different surveys and questionnaires, as well as discussion forums.

7.6.1.2 She reported that, in general, it was a very good meeting, and that they had discussed potential structures for outreach. She also said that they were working on their youth workshops, and that they were interested in unique and vibrant stories from young and old, without necessarily coming from an NGO.

7.7 Events and Fundraising

7.7.1 Sherrill said she had met with people all day regarding fundraising. She expressed hope for a positive response. She said she had found some leads regarding the possibilities of film and its funding.

7.7.1.1 Sherrill said she had been working through some issues with Gordon, including the tent.

7.7.1.2 Sr. Kirby commented that the DPI/ECOSOC planned to honour Kofi Annan at the reception. She said that we needed to invite him, and make sure that he would attend.

7.7.2 Sol said that she had drafted a memo for DPI for $10,000 to transfer to the NGO/DPI Executive Committee for travel of speakers, although she said she knew it was supposed to be $15,000, she now request that the $10,000 be sent with a proviso for the extra $5,000 be transferred once it was available.

7.8 Trouble Shooting

7.8.1 Michaela suggested that the troubleshooting committee express what had happened earlier in the meeting, especially in light of Mr. Brandt’s presence.

7.8.2 Margaretha Jones reported what happened earlier in the meeting, regarding posters and how to decide the one to be used. It was noted that there was quite a bit of discontent regarding the small-group poster choice, and the closed decision process.

7.8.3 Sr. Kirby noted that she felt the decision had been made more by the UN than NGO representatives.

7.8.4 Mr. Brandt claimed responsibility for the decision, and explained why it happened the way it did. He said that the process needed to be expedited, so that the planning could move on. He said that he thought, by involving the Chair of the Conference in the decision, that she would represent the Planning Committee.

7.8.5 Mr. Brandt promised the committee that next time a similar decision had to be made, that he had learned his lesson. He confirmed that the morning’s decision was final.

7.8.5.1 It was noted that there was significant concern with this decision.

7.8.5.2 Mr. Brandt was filled in on the details of all the suggestions that had been made by the Planning Committee in his absence.

7.8.5.3 There was special consideration on a potential miscommunication in the title, which read, approximately, “UN-Finished Business…” which some members argued could be misinterpreted to indicate the opposite of our message.

8.0 Other Business

8.1 Sherrill announced that she had lost two burgundy colored books at the last meeting, and would very much appreciate having them back.

8.2 Sr. Kirby expressed that her major concern regarding delay was having the speaker invitation letters prepared and ready for mailing. She noted that it was very late in the process, and that expediting these letters should have taken priority over the poster.

8.2.1 Mr. Brandt brought concerns of the DPI budget to light, and clarified why the poster moved faster than the letters. He further clarified that he would consider tweaking the poster, and that he was listening to the voice of the committee.

8.3 Mr. Brandt introduced Clemens Douglas, the new intern from the Munich School of Business.

8.4 Mr. Brandt also clarified that he had been late because he was securing a speaker for next week’s NGO briefing. He reported that he was successful in this.

8.5 Mr. Brandt informed the committee on a meeting about the Monterrey forum.

9.0 Next Meeting: Thursday, 11 May 2006 will be for co-chairs only. (Venue TBA)