Bimonthly Board Reports
November-December 2022
General maintenance of the association
1. Interim
In November, the Board confirmed LC UNHAS in Indonesia as the host LC for our Interim meeting in February 2023. Since then, the OC from Indonesia and the Board have been working together on the registration form, the funding and the schedule for our mid-term meeting. Interim will be held from 01. – 15. February 2023 with three days of Department meetings, seven days of Interim and additional activities and excursions. Interim as well as the Department meetings will be hybrid.
2. Development Fund
With the Development Fund, IFSA supports individuals and LCs in organising activities or attending events. Every month a new Open Call is released, and the Board evaluates the applications. In November 2022, 350 Euros were allocated to support one individual member through the development fund. In December 2022, 957€ Euros were allocated to support two LCs through the development fund. More information can be found on the website: ifsa.net/development-fund/
3. Board Performance Assessment
In November and December, the Board held two reflective meetings to assess the performance of the Board this term so far. We reflected our work in our own position, but also the general performance of the Board and collected deficiencies, ideas for improvements and our core tasks and projects we want to achieve this term. The Board also decided to have these meetings on a quarterly basis, since the reflection meeting was seen to be very helpful!
4. Erasmus+ Proposal
In the end of November and beginning of December, the Board was exploring the possibility to apply for the Erasmus+ grant as it was also done in the past year (the application in the past year was unfortunately unsuccessful). However, since the requirements to apply for this grant changed changed considerably since the last Open Call and applying associations are now required to have staff (payed employees), the Board unfortunately had to decide to not apply for the Erasmus+ grant this year, as employing a person as a non-profit organisation would require a very large workload from IFSA’s side and additional organisational necessities with the tax and insurance offices in Germany.
5. New IFSA Bank account
With the whole Board we are working on finding a bank institute where we can create a new account for IFSA. Because the new account needs to meet many conditions, such as being fully accessible online, having service in the English language and being ecological friendly and based in Germany this is a rather hard task. So far, none of the contacted bank institutes could fulfil our conditions.
6. Summary of the accomplished plans from the previous period
- Interim OC
In November, the Board selected the OC (Organizing Committee) for Interim 2023. LC UNHAS from Indonesia will be hosting Interim as well as the Department Meetings in February 2023. More information can be found in the section above and will be communicated later on.
- Vacant Official positions: Design, Web, Podcast
The previously still missing Officials for the Sub-Commissions Design, Web, and Podcast were selected during the last two months. These are very important Sub-Commissions that ensure the continuous communication within and outside the association. We as the Board are very grateful to welcome three new Officials in our IFSA team. More information can be found in the Internal section below.
7. Welcome Call for New Officials and Commissioners
In the second week of December, a new Welcome Call was held given that since the beginning of the term, IFSA has gotten new officials and commissioners in different positions across the IFSA wheel. Until now, 18 commissioners have been added to the IFSA Officials team, and the number will continue to grow as other Head of Sub-Commission are currently looking for commissioners to help them execute their projects and ideas.
8. Plans for the next period
- Interim
The Interim OC and the Board are closely working together on the organisation of Interim 2023 in Indonesia. In the next month, we want to finalise the registrations and the schedule. In February 2023, Interim will be held in Indonesia and we are hoping and working on a successful event and a great experience for all Officials and Commissioners, in-person and online.
- Funding
Due to changes of the Erasmus+ funding eligibility rules IFSA is no longer eligible for the fund we used to apply for. Because this is not only a problem for IFSA but for other NGOs as well there was an open letter sent to Erasmus explaining the problem, which IFSA supported. The new Fundraising sub-commission is exploring different options for alternative funding in the future.
- New Bank account
Right now we are still exploring our options. As soon as we find a suitable bank institute we will create the new account and delete the old bank account. Hopefully this can happen until the end of February. If you have any suggestions for a suitable bank institute (see the conditions in paragraph 5) please don’t hesitate to send your suggestion to treasurer@ifsa.net. We would be very grateful for your help.
Board’s work in:
a) Internal sector
1. New Head of SC Design, Web, and Podcast
The Board appointed 3 new Heads of Sub-Commissions during this bi-monthly period, namely: Afeez Adewolu as the Head of Design Sub-Commission; Mukhtar Abdulquadir as the Head of Web Sub-Commission; and Emmanuel Ogooluwa Ebunoluwa as the Head of Podcast Sub-Commission.
2. Communications Workshop
The Board, together with the Communication Commission, organised the Communications Workshop last November 18 to share with the External Department vital procedures such as the News Factory, CommComms 101, and the newly-created Delegations and Meetings Social Media Reporting Guidelines.
3. Internal Department Meeting
The 2nd Bi-Monthly Internal Department Meeting took place last December 18. Before the year ends, the department assessed their performance for the first-half of the term and shared their plans for following months. The department’s workplan was also checked to ensure that the plans laid at the beginning of the term are being followed through. As a cherry on top of the meeting, Yeji Lee (HoSC Publications) was recognized as the Internal Department Official of the Month while Mert Can Ese (Discord Commissioner) was awarded the Commissioner of the Month.
4. Internal Department Bi-Monthly Report
One of the department’s goals for this term is to increase the transparency of our work and plans to the IFSA community which is why the bi-monthly Internal Department Report was created. You can check the September-October report here!
5. Summary of the accomplished plans from the previous period
During this bi-monthly period, the Internal Department has been meeting internally, creating a report for transparency, and planning all the commission and sub-commission activities behind the scenes. These will be revealed in the following months so stay tuned!
6. Plans for the next period
- IFSA Wrapped 2022
It has been a tradition of IFSA to look back at the year and summarise the annual milestones through social media cards. This year, the IFSA Board will continue this tradition by posting the IFSA Wrapped 2022 to reminisce the years’ achievements.
- Internal Department Meeting
The Internal Department will continue the bi-monthly department meetings, most importantly before the hybrid Interim in February 2023, to discuss plans and strategies.
- Capacity Building Workshop
The Internal Department has been planning for the 2nd Capacity Building Workshop in January 2023! More details will be released soon.
- Planning for Job Fair 2023
The IFSA Virtual Job Fair will be back in 2023! More details will be released soon. Stay tuned!
b) External sector
1. External Department Meeting
The second External Department meeting was held on 18th December, right before the winter holidays. During this meeting the department had an overview of the calendar of upcoming events, and set the deadlines for its implementation. Furthermore, the External Department was observed and discussed, tasks were divided among officials. Since the meeting was by the end of the year, everyone expressed their expectations for the next year. It will be a great and productive year for the External department and all IFSA community!
2. COP27 in Egypt
9 IFSA members participated in one of the biggest events on climate change – COP 27. This year it was happening in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where IFSA representatives took part in 3 panels and had a great opportunity to extend the IFSA network. You can check the delegation report here!
3. COP15 in Montreal
This year 10 IFSA representatives joined COP15, organised by UNCBD in Montreal, Canada. One side event and one co-organised event will be a great representation for IFSA, as well as personal communication of delegates with COP participants. The outcomes will be published soon, follow IFSA website updates!
4. Open Call: SC EFI
A great opportunity to join the External Department in IFSA officials family right now is open to all IFSA members. Open call for the Head of Sub Commission for EFI right now is running. You can check application details here: HoSC EFI!
5. Summary of the accomplished plans from the previous period
Both goals from the previous bimonthly report were achieved, on COFFI and COP 27 participation, with our great representatives. Furthermore, a big IFSA delegation joined COP15 in Montreal, which is a great push to increase activities of IFSA members in the North America region. Among great achievements and outcomes from these huge events, the feedback on the delegations organisations were received, which will be observed and included in the delegations guidelines for better delegations organisation in future.
6. Plans for the next period
- Updated calendar of events
The External department is preparing an updated calendar of events from IFSA partners and processes organisations. The calendar will be available on the IFSA website for all members to have an overview of external events and see the activities where IFSA is present.
- External department meeting
Hybrid External department meeting will be the first one to happen before the hybrid Interim in February 2023. This is where the External Department team will gather to discuss plans and ideas for the rest of the term.
- International Day of Forests (IDF)
IFSA traditionally celebrates IDF organising events, which involve IFSA partners, on the topic announced by FAO. This year’s topic for the IDF is “Forests and health”. During the next month the Externals team will be actively working on preparation for celebration. More information will follow on the IFSA website.
- IFSA webinar on Bioregions opportunities
The EFI Bioregion facility provides many opportunities for IFSA students to participate in online events and get the access to innovators and other organisations in different branches of forestry. Bioregions have a lot of opportunities, and it was decided to organise a separate webinar for IFSA students to talk about bioeconomy and opportunities provided by Bioregions. More information will be published on the IFSA website soon.
c) Membership sector
1. Membership Department meeting
In this period, only one Membership Department meeting took place (on 24th November). In this meeting, the department reviewed the progress in their work plans, discussed the upcoming activities and took a look at the opportunities to be shared with the LCs. In December, the meeting didn’t take place to have a bit of free time with families at the end of the year, but will continue in January.
2. Applications review
Several membership applications have been received in this bimonthly period. The Board has reviewed them and are waiting for the applicants’ corrections for being able to accept them as new LCs in the coming period.
3. LC Project of the Month
In November, the new initiative started – awarding LC Project of the Month, where every LC can nominate a project they have done with their LC in the given month. The Membership Department then reviews all the nominations and selects an awardee for that month, to be highlighted on the IFSA website and social media. The first-ever awardee of this initiative was LC UNHAS from Indonesia with their project I-CON. You can review it here. You are encouraged to nominate your LC’s project for this award via this submission form.
4. Capacity Building Workshop: Members recruitment and activity
On November 10th, the Membership Department in collaboration with the Capacity Development Commission organised this Capacity Building Workshop. Four speakers from four different IFSA regions shared how their LCs recruit new members and motivate them to be active. Over 40 participants joined the event.
5. Summary of the accomplished plans from the previous period
In the previous bimonthly period, we set up some goals for this period. From those, most of it has been achieved: start the LC Project of the Month, review incoming membership applications, and keep organising Membership Department meetings (even though the December one was skipped). On the contrary, Membership verification video has not been finalised, and so this stays as a plan for the upcoming bimonthly period.
6. Plans for the next bimonthly period
- Membership Department meetings
As the Membership Department meetings are a regular monthly thing since the last term, it is planned to continue in January (and hybrid one in February before Interim).
- Revision of incoming membership applications
Currently, there are 5 membership applications in process – most of them received in this bimonthly period. The Board will continue reviewing new incoming applications as they will be received.
- LC Project of the Month
As this initiative started in November, it is intended to be a monthly award. That needs to evaluate the submissions every month, which is done by the Membership Department, headed by the Membership Councilor. It will continue in the coming period as well.
- Membership Verification Video
The Internal Department in collaboration with the Membership Department, led by the Internal Councilor, have been working on a video explaining more in detail the Membership Verification process on the IFSA website. In the coming bimonthly period, the video is planned to be done and published.
