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:

• Draft agenda
• Annual Report
• Board proposal on updating the VNGOC membership fees
• Draft minutes of the 2022 AGM
• Information on the candidates for the VNGOC board elections 2023
• How to vote in 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 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.

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

• Draft Minutes
• Presentation
• Draft Agenda
• VNGOC Annual Report 2021
• Strategic Plan 2022-25

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:

• Draft Agenda
• VNGOC Annual Report 2021
• Strategic Plan 2022-25

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:

• Powerpoint Presentation
• Agenda
• Draft Terms of Reference
• Statutes and Rules of Procedure

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:

• Draft Minutes of the AGM 2021 (Part 1 & Part 2)
• Draft Agenda
• Powerpoint Presentation
• VNGOC Annual Report 2021

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:

• Draft Minutes of the AGM 2021 (Part 1 & Part 2)
• Powerpoint Presentation
• Draft Agenda
• Proposal from membership to change the election procedure
• Election Procedure & Candidates
• VNGOC Annual Report 2020
• 2021 Call for Board Nominations