29th IUSSP General AssemblyZoom meeting, 19 November 2021
Since the 2021 International Population Conference could not take place in person, in Hyderabad, the IUSSP Council decided to hold the 29th General Assembly of the IUSSP online, as a zoom meeting. To not interfere with the numerous scientific activities proposed during the week of the International Population Conference, it was decided to hold the General Assembly before the conference, on Friday 19 November 2021, from 13:30 to 14:30 UTC (8:30-9:30 New York / 14:30-15:30 Paris / 19:00-20:00 New Delhi / 21:30-22:30 Shanghai), a time that would allow most if not all members around the world to attend the meeting. Background documents were shared with members in advance of the meeting and English-French simultaneous interpretation was made available. A total of 160 members attended the meeting.
AGENDA 1. Opening by IUSSP President Tom LeGrand2. Report by the Secretary General and Treasurer Nico van Nimwegen 3. Open general discussion 4. Approval of the Secretary-General and Treasurer's report (Online poll) 5. Break-out rooms with the IUSSP Panels and the Early Career Taskforce (20 min) 6. Introducing the next IUSSP Council and announcing IPC 2025 7. Closing by incoming IUSSP President (2022-2025) Shireen Jejeebhoy
1. Opening by IUSSP President Tom LeGrand.
IUSSP President Tom LeGrand welcomed members of the 29th IUSSP General Assembly. He presented the agenda, which was adopted, and shared his views on the accomplishments of the past Council and hinted on what awaits the incoming Council.
2. Report on the activities and financial situation of the Union
Nico van Nimwegen presented his report on the activities and financial situation of the Union for the 2017-2020 period along with the independent auditor’s report.
3. Open general discussion
Issues that were discussed with the members included how we are factoring in the covid pandemic in our activities e.g., through the special focus of the International Population Conference with a host of invited and regular sessions on covid-related topics and an inaugural Keynote on covid, and also through a dedicated page on the IUSSP website for covid research. The visibility of IUSSP activities, also for non-members, through our website, the N-IUSSP newsletter and, for instance, special email alerts was also discussed, as were the collaborations with other (regional) population associations, which are high on our agenda. Membership trends and policies to attract new members and keep current members were discussed, such as the free student membership and the special (covid-related) honour-based reduced membership fee to allow members to continue their membership in financially challenging times. Membership is of key importance to any association and making the IUSSP more attractive to join as a member is a top priority. At the same time, and to increase our impact and reach larger audiences, all virtual events are currently offered for free, also to non-members. It was noted that this approach is a success and we do reach more people than ever before, but it has not led to an increase in membership.
4. Approval of the report
The General Assembly unanimously approved the 2017-2020 report and financial results via an online poll conducted in Zoom.
5. "Meet and greet the IUSSP"
Taking advantage of the virtual environment, the 29th General Assembly offered an opportunity for members to meet for 20 minutes in separate “break-out rooms” with the IUSSP Scientific Panels and the Early Career Taskforce (ECT). Despite some technical problems to launch the break-out rooms and a hard-stop after 20 minutes, members appreciated this new means of interaction and seized this opportunity to meet with the Panels and the ECT.
6. Introducing the next IUSSP Council and announcing IPC 2025
The incoming President, Shireen Jejeebhoy, introduced the members of the incoming Council (2022-2025) and then announced the venue for the 2025 International Population Conference which will convene in Brisbane, Australia. A short video produced by the Australian National Organizing Committee was shown. 7. Closing by incoming IUSSP President (2022-2025) Shireen Jejeebhoy
In her closing speech, Shireen Jejeebhoy gave an overview of the challenges and opportunities for the IUSSP in the coming years.
The 29th IUSSP General Assembly was closed at 14:58 UTC.
Watch a video of the 2021 IUSSP General Assembly:
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