ILGA WORLD CONFERENCE 2019 – FIRST MAILING

(sent on 03 December 2018)

Dear ILGA member, dear friend,

On behalf of the Executive Board of ILGA, and Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, Tīwhanawhana Trust and RainbowYOUTH (the Host Rōpū), it is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 29th ILGA World Conference to be held in Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand from the 18^th to the 22^nd of March, 2019.

ILGA World Conferences are a reference point for the LGBTI activists’ world, and the event – held under the theme Celebrating the past to liberate the future, will be held in Oceania for the first time. This will be an historic moment where we will celebrate the 40 years of our global family, and an occasion to learn from each other in all our global diversity, as we also learn from our local hosts and their unique Pacific perspectives on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and sex characteristics.

The World Conference is the most important decision-making body of ILGA – it’s ILGA’s General Meeting where you can have your say in relation to ILGA’s operations, approval of new members and elections of a number of Board positions, This mailing provides you, as a member organisation, with the information you need to take part in the governance of ILGA.

There is plenty to discuss and decide in Wellington and you will be asked to adopt ILGA’s next Strategic Plan and to make changes to ILGA’s Constitution and Standing Orders. These changes will help make ILGA a more sustainable and effective organisation for its members and for LGBTI movements around the world.

At these meetings, between 300 and 700 representatives of civil society organisations from around the world come together for one week. Public officials, legislators, academics and representatives of the United Nations also participate, enriching our analysis and discussions.

PRE-CONFERENCES

The World Conference formally starts on Wednesday 20 March but will be preceded by 15 ILGA-organized half-day pre-conferences/caucuses starting on Monday 18^th March:

The agenda is being designed to minimize key clashes between competing caucuses. Some conflict is inevitable.

SCHOLARSHIPS

ILGA offers scholarships for activists who would otherwise be unable to participate in the Conference for financial reasons. We are thrilled to announce that we are granting over 120 scholarships for the Conference in Wellington. These scholars – chosen through a competitive process led by the ILGA World Board – represent the range and diversity of our world. More details on the range of diversity will be available in the next mailing. We encourage those who didn’t receive a scholarship to seek funding in advance within their own organisation or from other available sources.

FIRST MAILING

On behalf of the ILGA Board, we are now sending you the first of three conference mailings, which includes:

• A call to submit proposals (resolutions and amendments to the Constitution and the Standing Orders)
• A call for candidates to get involved in the only global membership-based LGBTI organisation:
  • nominations of people for the two positions of co-Secretary General
  • nominations of people for the two positions of alternate co-Secretary General;
  • nominations for the position of Chair of the new Bisexual Steering Committee
  • nominations for the position of Chair of the new Intersex Steering Committee
  • nominations for the position of Chair of the new Trans Steering Committee
  • nominations for the position of Chair of the new Women Steering Committee
  • nominations for the position of Chair of the new Youth Steering Committee
  • nominations of city and host organisation(s) to host the 2021 World Conference.
• Here are details on how to submit proposals. Here are the details of how to submit an application to be a board member and the Form for Candidates and their Nominating organisation. And here are the details on submitting a bid to host the 2021 world conference.
• Details about the new Steering Committees are here.

Please note that only full ILGA member organisations, the Executive Board and Regional Executive Boards can submit proposals and amendments to proposals, or nominate candidates for the Secretaries General and chairs of the Steering Committees.

Please also note that all full and reserve (alternate) members of the Board have to be from full member organisations of ILGA. A list of full ILGA Member Organisations can be found here: https://silga.com/member-organisations

You will find all the required documents and all documents relevant to the General Meeting, on ILGA’s website.

• The deadline for full member organisations to present proposals and nominations – as set out in the Standing Orders – is Monday 24 December 2018. Proposals and nominations must be sent to [email protected]
• The ILGA office will send the received proposals, together with the preliminary agenda, to all members with the second mailing 10 weeks before the conference: Monday 7 January 2019.
• ILGA member organizations will then have 4 weeks to react to these proposals and to propose amendments to them. These amendments must be sent 6 weeks before the conference, that is, by Monday4 February 2019. Bids to host the 30^th ILGA World Conference in 2021 must also be submitted by this date.
• The final agenda will be sent by the ILGA office with the third mailing 3 weeks before the conference, i.e. on Monday 25 February 2019.
• Please keep checking the conference page on our website for updated information: https://silga.com/world-conferences

A NOTE ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN

In Wellington, ILGA’s new Strategic Plan 2019-2022, which has been developed following consultation with members, will be presented for discussion and adoption.

• The proposal for the new Strategic Plan will be included in the 2nd Mailing on Monday 7 January 2019
• As member organisations, you will be able to propose amendments by 4th February 2019. 

OTHER IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Scholarship applications: Ended

Workshop proposals: Ended

Registration for paying participants

For those who need a visa: Friday 1 February 2019

For everyone else: Friday 1 March 2019

For all registrations: https://crm.silga.com/ILGA_World_Conference_2019_registration

The final Conference and Workshops Programmes will be available at the end of February 2019.

REGISTER TODAY!

We are looking forward to welcoming you all in Wellington! Please make sure you register before the deadlines! Early bird rates for paying participants are available until 20 December 2018.

Your participation – as an individual or as a delegation – is valuable and will contribute to the success of the Conference. If your organisation has a history of participation in ILGA Conferences, please consider bringing or paying for activists who otherwise would not be able to take part.

See you all in Wellington!

Ruth Baldacchino and Helen Kennedy
Co-Secretaries General, ILGA