Designation of Delegates to Wbu 9th General Assembly

NOTICE

Subject: IMPORTANT: WBU DELEGATE LISTS REQUIRED BY JUNE 18TH

IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING DELEGATIONS TO THE WBU 9TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  
NOTE: IMPORTANT DEADLINE OF JUNE 18TH FOR DELEGATE CONFIRMATIONS
  
TO:   WBU NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS
  
FROM: Arnt Holte, WBU President and Acting Secretary General  
  
SUBJECT: Designation of Delegates to WBU 9th General Assembly
  
  
Dear Members:
  
As you know, we are now just over four months from the commencement of the 9th General Assembly to be held in Orlando, August 19 – 24, 2016.
  
As specified in Article IV, Section 1 (d)
d)  Delegates to the Assembly shall consist of persons whose names are on the Secretary-General's list of delegates two months prior to the opening of the Assembly, except in cases of illness or emergency or admission of new members to the Union.  A delegate unable to attend a meeting of the Assembly may give his/her proxy to another delegate from the same national, special or grouped member, or in the case of a delegate of an international member, to the delegate of another international member.  In the foregoing sentence a meeting of the Assembly means any session or sessions of the Assembly.  Written notice of such a proxy must be given to the Secretary-General before the meeting at which it will be exercised.  Challenges to the validity of any proxy should be determined by the Assembly after receiving the advice of the Credentials Committee.
  
We are therefore requesting that all National and International members inform us of the official delegates from your country (international member) so that the official delegates list can be prepared.
  
Please forward the names of your delegates to the WBU Office at 1929 Bayview Avenue, Toronto Ontario Canada M4G 3E8
Email: info@wbu.ngo  or GA2016@wbu.ngo
Fax: +1 416 486 8107
  
The deadline for receiving your official delegates list is Saturday, June 18th.
  
This is also a good opportunity for you to confirm your contact information for us so that we can ensure that our website listing is updated.  So we would appreciate your taking the time to confirm the organization address, telephone and fax numbers and in particular, your email addresses since most of our contact with members is now via email.
  
For those members that have already forwarded their list of official delegates to the WBU Office, we thank you for that.  There is no need to resubmit it, but if you wish to confirm the delegates with us, that will be fine. 
  
We recognize that not all eligible delegates will be able to attend the General Assembly in person. If delegates are unable to attend, they may assign their proxy to a delegate from that same national member country, or to another international member delegate in the case of international members.  We have attached a copy of the proxy form that is to be used in all cases for the designation of proxies.  Proxies may only be permitted to and from delegates whose names are on the official delegate list.  A single delegate may carry more than one proxy.
  
It is very helpful to the Credentials Committee if the proxies can be forwarded to the WBU office in advance of the General Assembly at the office address, fax or email address indicated above.  However, proxy forms can also be brought to the Assembly by the delegates and must be brought to the WBU Secretariat office at the Assembly venue before Friday, August 19th.
  
Some important reminders:
§  The number of delegates for a national member is specified in the WBU constitution, Article IV, Section 4 (b) and is based on country population.
§  If a national member is comprised of more than one organization, it is up to the organizations working together to determine the delegates, with the total number of delegates from that national member as specified in the constitution. 
§  Only delegates from members that are in good financial standing with the WBU as of the beginning of the General Assembly will be allowed to vote at the Assembly.
§  As outlined in Article IV, Section 4 (b), it is desirable that member delegations reflect an equal number of male and female delegates.
  
We do hope that this information is helpful and clear.  If you are unclear about process or about the number of delegates your country is eligible for, please contact the WBU CEO, Dr. Penny Hartin atpenny.hartin@wbu.ngo and she will be happy to answer your questions.
  
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the General Assembly in Orlando.
  
With kind regards,
  
Arnt Holte
  
  
------------------
Ianina
-------
** Please note change to my email address: ianina.rodriguez@wbu.ngo **
Ianina Rodriguez
Administrative Assistant
World Blind Union
1929 Bayview Ave
Toronto Ontario, Canada M4G 3E8
Tel: 1-416-486-9698
Fax: 1-416-486-8107
Email: ianina.rodriguez@wbu.ngo
Web: www.wbu.ngo; www.worldblindunion.org
Twitter: @blindunion
‘Changing What It Means to be Blind’