National President's update: June 2017

At our June meeting the National Board was excited to note our the progress being made across the whole of AIA toward reaching our 2020 Vision. In particular, the wins in our Community is Everything campaign are a powerful demonstration of what a strong human rights movement in Australia can achieve.

Gabe Kavanagh, Director and President
Gabe Kavanagh, President and Board Director © Emma Davies

Successful Branch AGMs were held across the country, during which important conversations were held about reforming the governance of AIA. Workshops in each branch considered the key elements of a strong system of governance for our organisation. The Board heard a broad suite of views from members about the importance strong and transparent governance structures, led by a Board made up of a diverse group of members. A full report from these workshops will be made available to all Branch AGM attendees. These conversations will be continued at the upcoming National AGM.

To reach our ambitious vision we need strong support systems, including a database that will enable our movement as we grow our base of human rights defenders. We are conscious that we have faced some challenges in landing on a database that meets the diverse needs of AIA. Oversight of the database project is a top priority of the Board, and we are pleased with the initial steps that have been taken in this regard.

I am looking forward to our upcoming National AGM, where a number of important resolutions will be considered, and we will hold elections for five positions on our Board.

Preparations are under way for the 2017 National AGM on 1-2 July

The agenda for the upcoming National Annual General Meeting to be held in Sydney on 1-2 July 2017 is now available online. The focus will be Governance for Human Rights.

If you can’t make it to the Sydney Action Centre for our National AGM, you’ll be able to stream some sessions from home! You can find out more info and how to join by clicking here.

All papers are available here.

Key items will be:

  • Discussions and workshops around Amnesty International Australia’s Governance Reform to 2040
  • The election of the National Treasurer, National Secretary and three ordinary National Board Members (click here for information on the nomination process)
  • The election of the Amnesty International Australia Appeal Committee (for more information please contact frederique.blanc@amnesty.org.au)
  • The consideration of resolutions voted in at the Branch Annual General Meetings held on 20-21 May
  • Human rights workshops

We hope to see you there!