2023 Annual General Assembly

Date: March 16, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Vienna International Centre, Room M-3 (M-building, 1st floor) and online via Zoom
VNGOC General Assembly
AGM background

The  Annual General Assembly  is scheduled for
Thursday, 16 March 2023 at 4 p.m. CET
at the Vienna International Centre, (Room M-3, M-building 1st floor) and online via Zoom

You can register for the Zoom meeting here: https://bit.ly/2023-agm

Relevant documents:

Please take note of the following additional information for the Annual General Assembly:

  1. Membership Fees: Please check if your organisation has already paid the 2023 membership fees and if not please do so as soon as possible but no later than Wednesday, 15th March 2022.
  2. Decisions will be made on the agenda items 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 (Annual Report, Budget, Appointment of an Auditor, Board proposal on restructuring the membership fees, Board Elections, and Appointment of a Nominations Committee).
    All members in good standing are permitted to cast their vote. Members in good standing are those that have paid their membership fees or send in their commitments forms for 2022 & 2023.
  3. The Board Elections are agenda item 12. All information on the candidates and the voting procedure can be found on the website.
    All member organisations in good standing are permitted to cast their vote. Members in good standing who cannot attend the meeting either in person or online can vote in advance or assign proxy votes.
  4. Voting in Person: Each organization must select one representative to vote for their organization by emailing the name of the voting representative to info@vngoc.org up to 24 hours in advance of the meeting, specifically by 15th March 2023 at 4 pm CET. Ballots will be handed out by the Nominations Committee to the representatives starting 30 minutes before the meeting in Room M-3.
  5. Voting in Advance: Members interested in voting electronically in advance should send an email expressing their interest and specifying the email address that should receive the voter key for their organization to info@vngoc.org no later than Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at 11:59 PM CET. Instructions and an individualized voter key will be sent to the email address specified.
  6. Proxy Voting: If you want to assign your vote to a proxy, complete the official form no later than Wednesday, 15th March 2022 at 11:59 PM CET.
    Both organisations have to be in good standing.
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VNGOC informal Meeting

Date: February 8, 2023
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Location: Online
VNGOC Informal Meeting
Informal-Meeting-02-2023

The board of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs is inviting all members and interested NGOs to participate in an informal membership meeting on Wednesday, 8 February at 4pm – 5.30pm CET (Vienna). The meeting will be held online via Zoom.

The meeting will serve to share updates regarding the upcoming 66th CND and the VNGOC Annual General Meeting and to discuss other current issues. No formal decisions will be made by the committee.

Useful Documents:

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VNGOC Informal Meeting

Date: September 22, 2022
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Vienna International Centre (VIC) and online via Zoom
VNGOC Informal Meeting
VNGOC Informal Meeting 09-22

The board of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs is inviting all members and interested NGOs to participate in an informal membership meeting on Thursday, 22 September at 2pm – 3pm CEST (Vienna). The meeting will be held at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), in Room CR-6 (7th floor, C-building) and online via Zoom.

The meeting will serve to discuss current issues and exchange updates and information. No formal decisions will be made by the committee.

Documents:

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2022 Annual General Assembly – PART 2

Date: March 17, 2022
Time: 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Vienna International Centre, Building E 11th Floor, Room E1175 and online via zoom
VNGOC General Assembly
AGM background

PART 2 of the AGM will take place on
Thursday, 17 March at 4.30 p.m. CET
at the Vienna International Centre, Building E 11th Floor, Room E1175 and online via zoom.

You can register for the Zoom meeting here: https://bit.ly/3sKqd99

Relevant documents

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2021 Annual General Assembly – PART 1

Date: March 10, 2022
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Location: Online
VNGOC General Assembly
AGM background

The VNGOC Board and the Nominations Committee have again decided to hold the AGM online and deliver this important meeting as follows:

PART 1 of the AGM will be held on Thursday, 10th March 15.00 – 16:30 CET using Zoom.
The AGM will be preceded by the informal briefing for NGOs attending the 65th CND hosted jointly with the UNODC Civil Society Unit. The AGM will then be formally opened and the Nominations Committee will introduce the candidates running for election. The meeting will then be suspended to allow online voting to take place.

  • On Monday, 14th March, there will be a 23hour period in which to vote online for the position of Deputy Chairperson.
  • On Tuesday, 15th March, there will be a 23hour period in which to vote online for the position of Treasurer.
  • On Wednesday, 16th March, there will be a 23hour period in which to vote online for the position of Secretary.

PART 2 of the AGM will then resume on Thursday, 17th March at 4.30PM CET (Vienna time) with the standing agenda items and the confirmation of the results of the board elections.

Please take note of the following additional information for the
Annual General Assembly
:

  1. Membership Fees. Please check if your organisation has already paid the 2022 membership fees and if not please do so as soon as possible. Please note that due to the pandemic we will not be able to accept cash payments this year. In order to be able to vote during the General Assembly please make sure to settle outstanding fees before Monday 7th March 2022. 

Relevant Documents:

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VNGOC Extraordinary General Meeting

Date: December 10, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: ONLINE via Zoom
VNGOC General Assembly

The VNGOC Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) will happen at 2pm on Friday 10th December 2021. 

The main purpose of the EGM will be to select a Nominations Committee to manage and oversee the Board elections in March 2022.

The reason this decision has been delayed until now is to allow the membership time to consider and discuss a new Terms of Reference for the Nominations Committee. The document has been developed following a proposal submitted by a group of members in March 2021, followed by discussions at the AGM, deliberations by a working group over the summer, and then a series of member consultations in September and October.

The aim of the Terms of Reference is to supplement the existing governance documents and provide greater clarity and support to the Nominations Committee. It also introduces a new part of the process – whereby the Nominations Committee is invited to agree and share a ‘slate’ of recommended candidates for members to consider when voting – taking into account the aspirations of balance, representation and suitability for the role of a VNGOC Board Member. Every VNGOC member will remain entirely free to vote for whomever they want – regardless of whether or not they are on the Nominations Committee ‘slate’.

At the EGM, the board will present this new document, and seek a decision on its adoption prior to selecting the new Nominations Committee itself.

We are also now inviting volunteers to join the Nominations Committee. This is a really important part of how the VNGOC runs in a transparent and open way, so if you are interested, please email info@vngoc.org any time between now and the start of the EGM.

In line with our Statutes and Rules, you can participate in this EGM online, or you can allocate a proxy to ‘vote’ on your behalf, or you can submit a ‘vote’ via email in advance on whether or not to adopt the new Nominations Committee Terms of Reference. Please see below for more details. 

Please take note of the following additional information:

  1. Decisions will be made on agenda items 5 and 6 (ToR Nominations Committee & Appointment of the Nominations Committee). 
    All members in good standing are permitted to vote. Members in good standing are member organisations that have paid their membership fees or send in their commitments forms for 2020 & 2021. 
  2. Attending: Due to the COVID-19 lock-down in Austria the meeting will be held entirely online, via Zoom. Please register using this link to receive your individual access link. 
  3. Proxy Votes: Members in good standing who cannot attend the meeting can assign proxy votes. If you want to assign your vote to a proxy, complete the official form no later than Thursday, 9th December 2021 at 11:59 PM CET. 
    Both organisations have to be in good standing, an organisation may not hold more than three proxy assignments. 
  4. Voting in advance: Members in good standing who cannot attend the meeting can also vote in advance. To vote in advance on agenda item 5 please send an email to info@vngoc.org,  no later than Thursday, 9th December 2021 at 11:59 PM CET.  

Relevant Documents:

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Informal Consultations

Date: September 28, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: Online via Zoom
Informal Meeting

Last April, at the VNGOC Annual General Meeting, it was agreed to form a working group to further develop possible changes to the election process, and to conduct a series of online consultations. After an open call, the working group comprises Amy Ronshausen, Arumugam Sankar, Ganna Dovbakh, Guilherme Godoy, Hellen Tanyniga, Jamie Bridge, Marie Nougier, Milutin Milošević, Monica Barzanti, Regina Mattson, Sarah Pirker and Stig Erik Sørheim. This working group has been meeting and coordinating over the summer, taking into account the original submission and the views expressed at the AGM itself.

As a result of our discussions, we have reached consensus on a draft document – and we have also come to the conclusion that the VNGOC’s existing Statues and Rules of Procedure do not need to be edited at this stage. Instead, we are pleased to present the proposal for a Terms of Reference for the VNGOC Nominations Committee for Board Elections – which we have translated into EnglishFrenchRussian and Spanish to facilitate your review and discussion. 

This is a new document which is intended to sit underneath the Statues and Rules of Procedure. It should provide greater guidance and clarity to future Nominations Committees, and it also tries to elaborate on the concept and aspirations of “balance” and what this means for the VNGOC Board. It also adds one extra task for the Committee – to deliberate and present a recommended ‘slate’ ahead of the elections. Crucially, VNGOC members remain free to vote for any nominee and they do not have to follow the Committee’s ‘slate’.

Over the coming weeks, the working group invites you to attend one of three online consultations, at which we will present and discuss the document and facilitate discussions between the membership.

These events have been designed to cater for members across different time zones as best as possible, but please note that the meetings themselves will be held in English only. In parallel to these online consultations, however, we also welcome contributions, comments and inputs from members by email if preferred (and in any language!) – ideally before 15th October 2021.

We look forward to discussing with you over the coming weeks. After the October consultations, the working group will use the feedback and comhttps://vngoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DRAFT-V1-VNGOC-Nominations-Committee-Terms-of-Reference-EN.pdfments to refine the document and proposal. We hope to then present this for formal adoption by the General Assembly at an Extraordinary General Meeting, currently scheduled for Friday 10th December (details and invitations to follow in due course).

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2021 Annual General Assembly – PART 2

Date: April 15, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: Online via Zoom
VNGOC General Assembly
AGM background

Due to COVID-19 the VNGOC Board has decided that all of the meetings during the 64th CND, including the Annual General Assembly and the Informal Dialogues, will be online events this year.

Part 2 of the AGM will take place on Thursday 15th April 2021 (16:30 – 18:00 Vienna time) using Zoom or Teams
This will allow us to confirm the results and welcome the new Board members together, before completing the final agenda items and closing the meeting.

The Draft Agenda will be made available below together with other useful documents. 

Relevant Documents:

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2021 Annual General Assembly – PART 1

Date: April 8, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: Online via Zoom
VNGOC General Assembly
AGM background

Due to COVID-19 the VNGOC Board has decided that all of the meetings during the 64th CND, including the Annual General Assembly and the Informal Dialogues, will be online events this year.

The VNGOC Board and the Nominations Committee have further decided to deliver this important meeting as follows:

  • Part 1 of the AGM will be on Thursday 8th April 2021 (15:00 – 16:30 Vienna time) using Zoom or Teams
    This will allow us to go through some of the standing agenda items together, present the annual report among other things, and introduce the candidates running for election. The meeting will then be suspended to allow online voting to take place:
  • On Monday 12th April, there will be a 24-hour period in which to vote online for the position of Chair.
  • On Tuesday 13th April, we will announce the previous election results, and there will be a 24-hour period in which to vote online for the position of Deputy Treasurer.
  • On Wednesday 14th April, we will announce the previous election results, and there will be a 24-hour period in which to vote online for the position of Deputy Secretary.
  • Part 2 of the AGM will then resume on Thursday 15th April 2021 (16:30 – 18:00 Vienna time) using Zoom or Teams
    This will allow us to confirm the results and welcome the new Board members together, before completing the final agenda items and closing the meeting.

The Draft Agenda will be made available below together with the Annual Report of Activities for 2020 and other useful documents. 

Please take note of the following additional information for the
Annual General Assembly
:

  1. Membership Fees. Please check if your organisation has already paid the 2021 membership fees and if not please do so as soon as possible. Please note that due to the pandemic we will not be able to accept cash payments this year. In order to be able to vote during the General Assembly please make sure to settle outstanding fees before Monday 5th April 2021. 

Relevant Documents:

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Informal Members Meeting

Date: March 18, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: Online vie Zoom
VNGOC Informal Meeting
Informal Meeting 2021-02

The board of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs is inviting all members and interested NGOs to participate in an online, informal membership meeting on Thursday, 18 March 2021 at 3pm – 4.30pm CET (Vienna).

The meeting will be held in English with interpretation in Spanish, and it will be recorded.

The meeting will serve to share updates about the upcoming 64th CND and the VNGOC Annual General Assembly including the board elections. No formal decisions will be made by the committee. A draft agenda will be shared as soon as possible.

The meeting will held via Zoom. After registration you will immediately receive the link to the meeting: http://bit.ly/3baDccR

Documents:

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