Bimonthly Board Reports
September-October 2022
General maintenance of the association
1. Selection and appointment of the Officials
Right after being elected by the General Assembly in early September, the new Board had over 80 applications for evaluation and selection of this term’s Officials. Many great candidates submitted their applications, and it was difficult to select just part of them. Congratulations again to everyone who was selected, and don’t worry about those who were not – keep following the news for potential future opportunities in IFSA!
2. Welcome call for all Officials
On 8th October, the Vice President organised the Welcome Call for the Officials, to start getting to know each other, express their expectations for the term, to get familiar with the processes in IFSA.
3. Google Tools and Discord tutorial call
On the 15th of October, the Officials participated in a workshop about Google Tools and Discord, as these are the main communication platforms used within IFSA. The Vice-President explained the different Google Tools, e.g. Gmail, Google Chat, Drive and their main features, and gave a brief introduction to the IFSA Discord Server.
4. Strategy Work plan
One important task at the beginning of the term for the Board as well as for all Officials is to create their own work plans for the term. All projects included in these individual work plans are collected and aligned with the Goals and Subgoals of IFSA’s current Strategy 2022-2026. This way, the Board can ensure that IFSA fulfills its plans and goals. The Strategy Work plan will soon be published for everyone to access and read about the projects planned for this term.
5. Development Fund
The Development Fund for individual IFSA members and LCs was continued as in the previous term with an extra 70% of the total budget. 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. During the previous month, 795 Euros were allocated to support three individual members through the development fund. More information can be found on the website: ifsa.net/development-fund/
6. Board to Board meeting
Between October 7 and 9, the previous and current Board members met online to discuss some of the important topics for this year, but also from the long-term point of view. Those were very long, intense, but satisfying hours of work to improve IFSA as much as possible. The topics of discussion involved, among others, Funding and IFSA finances, the Board’s work plan, IFSS 2023, Interim, IFSA Strategy, Code of Conduct, and others.
7. Release of the Interim Open Call
Interim is a mid-term meeting of the Officials to discuss successes and challenges from the past half-term, as well as planning and shaping the priorities for the upcoming half-term and long-term. This event is always hosted by one of our LCs, and the Board in September released the Open Call for its Organising Committee.
8. Appointment of the Official of the Month
As it is already an IFSA’s tradition for the last several years, also this year, the Board continues awarding an exceptional contribution of the Officials in developing and improving our association. In this bimonthly period, the Board has awarded two Officials:
- September
As the Official of the Month for September, Apsana Kafle, the current Regional Representative for Northern America, was awarded. Find more details here.
- October
As the Official of the Month October, Bora Karatas, the current Regional Representative for Southern Europe, was awarded. Find more details here.
Congratulations to both Apsana and Bora! You are doing a great job, and we value it in IFSA.
9. Plans for the next bimonthly period
- Publishing the Strategy Work plan
The Board aims to publish the Strategy Work plan within the next few weeks. The work plan will include the action points/projects for each Sub-Goal with a short description and the person responsible for it.
- Decision about Interim Organising Committee (OC)
Within the next two months, the OC who will be hosting Interim in 2023 will be decided. This way, the appointed OC will have enough time to plan the meeting and coordinate with the Board about the schedule, etc.
- Filling the vacant Officials positions
As of the current situation, the positions for HoSC Web, Design, and Podcast are still vacant. Since Web and Design are especially crucial Sub-Commissions, it will be important to fill those positions as soon as possible. Open Calls for still vacant positions can be found on the IFSA website (https://ifsa.net/category/opportunities/) and on our social media.
Board’s work in:
a) Internal sector
1. Internal Department Changeover Meeting
Last September 27, the Internal Department officials from both the previous and current term gathered for the Changeover Meeting, which served as an opportunity for them to get to know each other and transfer necessary information and knowledge for each official position.
2. 1st Monthly Internal Dept HoC Meeting
On the 7th of October 2022, the Internal Councilor and the Head of Commissions in the Internal Department, together with the Vice President, had their first Monthly HoC Meeting. During this meeting, they strategized on the department and commission work plans and prepared for the first Internal Department meeting.
3. 1st Internal Department Meeting
On the 22nd of October 2022, the Internal Department officials conducted the first bi-monthly Internal Department meeting. During the meeting, the department officials got to know each other and discussed the significance of the IFSA Strategy and Indicators in each of the sub-commission’s work plans.
As agreed upon during the meeting, the 2nd bi-monthly Internal Department Meeting will take place in December 2022.
4. Monthly Sub-Commission Meetings
Starting in October 2022, the Internal Department has conducted Monthly Sub-Commission Meetings with all Head of Sub-Commissions. These monthly meetings serve as consultations where HoSCs will be guided on their upcoming projects.
5. Plans for the next bimonthly period
- Internal Department Meetings
The Internal Department will have its 2nd bi-monthly Internal Department Meeting in December 2022 to prepare for Interim 2023.
- Bi-Monthly Internal Department Report
To keep the IFSA community updated on the progress of the Internal Department’s plans, the bi-monthly internal department report will be written and published soon.
b) External sector
1. Participation in the 26th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry COFO26
The Twenty-sixth Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO26) was held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy from 3-7 October, 2022, in a hybrid format. IFSA attended as an observer organisation with a delegation of 4 members, Agustin Rosello (IFSA President), Julika Winterstein (FAO Commissioner), Marina Martinez (President of LC Palencia) and Elliot Eriksson (LC UMEA). COFO26 provided a platform for exchange and dialogue among participants and gave strategic direction for the future work of FAO in forestry. During COFO our President Agustin Rosello participated in the Youth Special Event “A Bright Future for Forestry: Investing in youth career development” and IFSA delegates could meet up with Alumnis, Government Officials and other stakeholders.
2. Participation in the EFI Annual Conference
Between October 4th and 8th, the European Forest Institute (EFI) held its Annual Conference, this time in Barcelona. It was the first physical one since the Covid-19 started. IFSA as an EFI’s partner received two spots for this event. Šimon Hrbek – the Membership Councilor, and Ester López from the LC Palencia in Spain represented our association. It involved voting for the new Board member of EFI, work plan for 2023 and other items, as well as communication with forestry experts from around Europe and bringing more opportunities for IFSA.
3. Participation in the World Food Forum Flagship Event
Once again the IFSA board was present at the FAO Headquarters in Rome. This time it was to represent the International Forestry Students Association in the second Flagship event of the World Food Forum. IFSA President Agustin Rosello together with the Head of FAO Sub-Commission Nicolas Domke who was part of the Organising Committee of the event, with this IFSA`s name was held high, even more so when he was elected as the Youth Representative for the SENA Group, and with this, taking the IFSA spirit to new and more diverse spaces. Congratulations Nicolas and the best of luck in this new challenge.
4. Plans for the next bimonthly period
- Participation in the Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI)
The 80th session of the ECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) will be held from 2 to 4 November 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland and IFSA will take a delegation of 3 members. During this event the delegates will be able to understand the forest sector from an economic perspective and network with important stakeholders from both the public and private sector.
- Participation in the 27th Session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties.
At COP27, countries come together to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. IFSA will be represented by a delegation of over 10 delegates divided into two weeks, some of which will participate in panels, side events and many other activities that have been planned for bringing the Climate Change COP experience to you all.
c) Membership sector
1. Acceptance of LC IFSA-Katari
At the end of the previous term, IFSA received a membership application from IFSA-Katari. The Council reviewed and sent comments that should be implemented in the Statutes of the applicant. During the IFSS 2022, the revised version of the application was received and the newly elected Council reviewed it. Since it was already seen as sufficient, LC IFSA-Katari from Nepal was accepted in September 2022.
Hence, there are currently 4 LCs in Nepal, 36 LCs in Asia Pacific and 134 LCs in total in IFSA. Welcome to the family, IFSA-Katari!
2. Membership Department meetings
At the end of September, the first Membership Department meeting organised by the Membership Councilor was held online, so that the Regional Representatives and the Board can meet together, get to know each other and discuss the overall work plan for the term.
A month later on 30th October, the second department meeting took place to proceed with the previously discussed plans and divide specific work.
3. Individual meetings with RRs
In mid-October, the Membership Councilor met individually the Representatives of each region to discuss the state of the art of the given region and individual work plans of the RRs.
4. Revision of incoming membership applications
In this bimonthly period, IFSA received the revised version of the membership application from Nepal as mentioned before, after which the LC IFSA-Katari was accepted, and one more that is currently under revision of the Council.
5. Contacting potential LCs
Emails to over 20 forestry faculties and student clubs were sent by the Membership Councilor in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific. Besides that, the Board and the Latin American RRs got in touch with students from Brazil interested in creation of a Local Committee. Let us hope for a successful proceeding.
Also, during the EFI Annual Conference, the Membership Councilor talked with representatives of three institutions from Spain, Belgium and Norway where we currently don’t have an LC, same as he travelled to two other institutions in Spain to present information about IFSA to attract potential new LCs.
6. Plans for the next bimonthly period
- Membership Department meetings
Since the Membership Department meetings are planned to be held on a monthly basis, two meetings are planned for the next bimonthly period.
- Revision of incoming membership applications
The Council will review the membership applications continuously in dependence on their receival.
- LC Project of the Month
As mentioned during the IFSS 2022, the plan is to start a project LC Project of the Month to celebrate and showcase the activities held by our LCs. The preparation work has already started and it is supposed to start in the upcoming bimonthly period.
- 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
