General remarks
To prepare the general assembly, the corresponding information was distributed via mail to all the members in advance. As members from outside Brussels could not be present, they were invited to send a proxy. We received 1 proxy. In total 8 members were present (incl.proxy); the quorum was given. The discussion followed the topics on the agenda (see annex).Result:
- The general assembly was opened by Mary Loizidou, president of the association.
- It was noted that the quorum was given.
- The agenda was approved as presented.
- Presentation of the financial report:
- The report was approved. The financial sheet is an only sheet, that is automatically modified due to the in- and outgoing payments
- It was stated that for further activities (preparation of the next “Ikarian Days” in 2018, projects on Ikaria, such as supply-bags) only 3,550 EUR are left.
- The activity report was presented and approved. The activities were well appreciated.
- Proposal for projects to be supported by the association in 2018:
- The list of projects had been presented to the members in advance. The general assembly approved the list.
- Proposal for activities of the association in 2018: The list of proposals was presented to the members in advance. The general assembly approved the list.
AOB
Preparation of the next “Ikarian Days 2018”: Financial situation
With view to the bank account and the upcoming preparation of the “Ikarian Days 2018” the following information was given: For the “Ikarian Days” the following advance-payments are necessary:- Airplane tickets for 5 musicians, 3 cooks, 1 teacher for the dance lesson = 9 x 200,- EUR (estimated price, return ticket Athens-Brussels) = 1,800 EUR
- Payment for the location of the room = 1,000 EUR
- Payment of the musicians for 2 days: 1,700 EUR
- Location of material, downpayment of the local products from Ikaria, transport costs, supplies for the cooking etc.: 2,000 EUR
- Total sum needed: 6,500 EUR; money available: 3,550 EUR
Preparation of the “Ikarian Days 2018”: support is needed
The “Ikarian Days 2018” are a yearly the key event of our association in Brussels. As we are organizing a 3 day event, many hands are needed. In January 2018 we will call an informal meeting of the Brussels based “Friends of Ikaria” and volunteers in order to discuss, how we can share the workload in front of us. The “Ikarian Days” are supposed to be a “fun factor” for everybody involved, so we should make it happen in this very sense. Public relation: Our web-page friendsofikaria.com is currently under construction. It was developped in 2016 to enhance the online-ticketing for the “Ikarian Days 2016”. Now the perspective is to have a web-page, where we can – among others – inform about our activities, present pictures of Ikaria and our projects. The aim is to have the new web-page online in January 2018 in order to start with the reservations/online-ticketing for the events during the “Ikarian Days 2018”. We noticed that not all our members are on Facebook and can follow there the information about our activities, such as projects and pre-announcement of activities on Ikaria (volunteer holidays in April and May 2018). Therefore it was decided to send more information via mail. In order to do so, we need more members to support us with the necessary translation of the information to GR and FR. We will send a message to our members to ask for volunteers to help out on this issue. We will continue with our activities on Facebook. We wish to be transparent in our activities and Facebook offers good possibilities to do so. Therefore we decided to publish after the general assembly the following documents on Facebook: activity report, list of projects in 2016/2017; list of projects for 2018, list of activities for 2018.Future activities of the association of “Friends of Ikaria”:
The future of the “Ikarian Days”: At the moment most of the activities of the association are done by the members of the management board (= 4 persons). As said, the organisation and realization of the “Ikarian Days” consume a lot of time and manpower (not only in Brussels, but also when we are on Ikaria). We like the concept of the “Ikarian Days”, that means having the Panigyri as the central event and to group further cultural events around it. The aim is to present Ikaria not only as a famous place for its Panigyris, but also as a place that is rich in art and culture. But, we have be honest. This kind of festival costs a lot of money (see the financial report above). Therefore we decided to have an in depth evaluation of the next “Ikarian Days” (financial and manpower-wise) in order to decide with our members, how we will continue with our activities. The target is to raise money for Ikaria and this should be done in the most effective way.Proposal for a new activity in 2018: to rent a shack on the Christmas Market in Brussels to present local products from Ikaria:
On this idea different opinions came up: one the hand the idea was appreciated as a good opportunity to promote Ikarian products, to support the tourism marketing for the island and to promote the activities of our association…. and it might be another source for some income for our association. On the other hand we have to realize, that we do not have enough supporters to cover the organisation and realisation of a Christmas shack for 4 weeks. A solution might be the participation at a small Christmas market for 3-4 days. Decision: we will collect further information about the possibilities for a shack on successful small Christmas markets and we will put it on the agenda for further discussion. If it could be combined with some other activity of our association, such as a music event, it might become a feasable and – financial wise – a successful idea.Mary Loizidou, President